Every earnings season, it is the blue chips of the ASX that investors arguably look forward to hearing from the most. Even if an investor doesn't own one of these shares, what these companies have to say has ASX-wide implications and even provides insight into the health of the Australian economy. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is one of those shares, and we heard about the company's latest numbers, including the new Woolworths dividend, this morning.
As my Fool colleague covered earlier, it was a strong set of numbers that the company had to show for itself. Woolworths reported revenue of $71.54 billion for the 12 months to 30 June, up 3.6% from the prior year.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before significant items were up an even healthier 6.7% to $6.09 billion. Meanwhile, Woolworths posted a net profit after tax (NPAT) and before significant items of $1.6 billion. That was up a pleasing 15.4%.
But let's talk about the new Woolworths dividend.
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Everything you need to know about the next Woolworths dividend
Woolworths just revealed that its final dividend for 2026 will be worth 52 cents per share. That's a 15.56% increase over the final dividend of 45 cents per share that investors enjoyed in 2025. Like almost every dividend that this company pays, this one will come with full franking credits attached.
Together with the interim dividend of 45 cents per share (also fully franked), this final dividend takes Woolworths' 2026 payouts to 97 cents per share, up 15.48% from the 84 cents per share that investors enjoyed over 2025. This represents a payout ratio of 74.1% from the $1.309 in earnings per share (EPS) that the company made over FY 2026.
If one doesn't yet own Woolworths shares but would like to receive the latest payout, Woolworths has set 1 September as the ex-dividend date. That means investors will need to hold Woolworths shares in their names by the end of August to be eligible for the dividend.
Anyone who buys Woolworths shares on or after 1 September will leave the right to receive the payout behind with the seller. Payment day will then roll around on 25 September next month.
Woolworths is running its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for this latest dividend. That means investors who wish to receive additional Woolworths shares in lieu of a cash payment can nominate to do so by 3 September.
Woolworths is currently trading with a trailing dividend yield of 2.21%. However, the company can now be assigned a forward yield of 2.38%.
