With earnings season in full swing on the ASX this week, we heard from two titans of the ASX, and two companies that almost all of us visit at least once a week. Yep, both Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) have just dropped their results. Coles stock reported on Tuesday, while Woolies shares followed up on Wednesday.
The market reacted positively to both companies' numbers. By the time trading had wrapped up on Tuesday, the Coles share price had jumped 4.9%. Woolworths shares had gained 3.42% by the close of trading on Wednesday.
Both reports were arguably positive, with plenty of green numbers. You can read more about Coles' FY2026 here, or about Woolies' year here, if you're curious.
But today, I want to focus exclusively on the final dividends that both companies declared, and assess which was the more pleasing announcement.
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Coles stock or Woolies shares: Which had the better final dividend?
Let's go through Woolworths shares' new dividend first. Woolies revealed that its final dividend for 2026 will come in at 52 cents per share. Like all dividends from this ASX 200 stock, it will come with full franking credits attached. This final dividend represents a 15.56% increase over the equivalent payouts that shareholders enjoyed in 2025, worth 45 cents per share.
It takes Woolworths' full-year payouts for 2026 to 97 cents per share. That's up 15.48% from the 84 cents that shareholders bagged in 2025.
Meanwhile, owners of Coles stock are set to receive a final dividend of 37 cents per share for 2026. It will come fully franked. 37 cents per share is up 15.6% on the 32 cents investors bagged this time last year. It pushed Coles' full-year payouts up to 78 cents per share, which was up 13% from the 74 cents the company paid out over 2025.
So on the surface, it appears these two ASX stocks have delivered markedly similar dividend results this August. And they have. However, I still think there's a clear winner here.
Coles has given its income investors far more certainty over the past few years than Woolworths. 2026 marks the seventh year in a row that Coles has raised its annual dividends. In stark contrast, Woolies' recent dividends have been far more yo-yo-like. To illustrate, the company doled out $1.04 per share over 2023, $1.44 per share in 2024, and then 84 cents per share in 2025.
Finally, Coles stock is sitting on a trailing dividend yield of 3.3% right now, while Woolworths shares are trading on a 2.46% yield. Enough said.
