When it comes to passive income, I think CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares are often overlooked.
The biotech shares have had a bad rap recently and its share price has slumped over the past 18 months.
It doesn't have the highest yield among ASX dividend shares, but it does have a strong track record of growing its dividend payout over time. And that makes the CSL shares an interesting option for income-focused investors.
But what exactly does that passive income look like?
Let's take a look.
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What's the latest out of CSL shares?
At the time of writing, CSL shares are down around 1% and changing hands at $171.90 a piece. But the shares jumped higher in mid-August after it posted an impressive FY26 earnings result. An investor rotation back into ASX healthcare shares has also helped drive its share price higher.
CSL shares are now up around 28% over the past month alone, and are nearly flat for the year-to-date.
How many CSL shares can I buy for $10,000?
At the current share price of $171.90, a $10,000 investment would buy around 58 shares.
What dividend does the biotech stock pay its shareholders?
CSL has a long history of paying its shareholders a regular partially franked or unfranked dividend dating back to 2004. These are typically paid out every six months, in April and October.
As part of its FY26 results announcement last month, management declared an unfranked dividend of $2.277 per share. Combined with its $1.81 interim dividend paid in April, that brings CSL's total FY26 dividend to $4.086.
At the time of writing, this translates to a dividend yield of roughly 2.4% for FY26.
Going forward, analyst projections suggest CSL could increase its annual payout per share to US$3.10 (equivalent to AU$4.30) in FY27. That translates to a forward dividend yield of 2.5% at the time of writing.
So, what passive income can I earn off my $10,000 investment?
I've crunched the numbers using the estimated dividend payout figures above, to estimate roughly how much passive income investors can expect from a $10,000 investment in CSL shares.
In FY26, your 58 shares would generate around $236.98 in passive income.
If that increases its dividend to the forecasted $4.30 per share in FY27, those 58 shares would generate around $249.40 in passive income for the year.
What do brokers tip next for CSL shares?
I think there is a lot of potential for the company to grow over the next few years. CSL is operating in a high-growth market, and its blood plasma division dominates the market for rare blood disorders and immunoglobulin products.
And CSL's latest results show that the company's growth initiatives are starting to work.
At the moment, forecasts show the experts are mixed about the outlook for CSL shares going forward, but the majority see an upside ahead.
TradingView data shows that 10 out of 19 have a hold rating on the stock. The other nine rate the shares as a buy/strong buy.
The average $173.04 target price implies a potential upside of around 1%, at the time of writing. But some expect the shares to jump another 20% to $206.76 over the next 12 months.
