What a month it has been for Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares. CBA stock has had one of its worst periods in a long time over the past two months or so.
Back in early August, this ASX 200 bank stock was going for over $180 a share. Today, those same shares are asking just $150.37 at the time of writing. That's a fall worth a nasty 16.9% – even more than the precipitous 10% drop we saw back in May following a quarterly trading update.
But of course, many investors buy CBA shares for their dividend potential, not just an expectation of endless capital growth. And, as any good dividend investor knows, a lower share price means a higher starting dividend yield, all else equal.
So today, let's dive into what kind of dividend yield you can expect from CBA shares at their current pricing.
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CBA shares: Show me the money
Over the past 12 months, CBA has funded two dividend payments, as is its habit. The first of those came in February, with an interim dividend worth $2.35 per share. The second is the bank's final dividend for 2026, which, coincidentally, will be doled out this week on 29 September. That payment will be worth $2.70 per share. Since CBA has already traded ex-dividend for this payment, we'll use it as part of our yield calculations.
As is typical with Commonwealth Bank, both of its 2026 dividends will come with full franking credits attached.
2026 has been a bumper year for CBA's dividend investors. Both of those payments represent healthy rises over their 2025 equivalents. The $5.05 in total dividends per share that the bank will pay out this year represents a 4.12% increase over the $4.85 paid out in 2025.
At CBA's price of $150.37 (at the time of writing), that $5.05 in dividends per share gives this bank a trailing dividend yield of 3.36%. That's still pretty low by ASX bank standards, but a lot better than the sub-3% yields investors may have become used to seeing on CBA shares when its price was markedly higher.
Of course, this is just a trailing yield, though. An investor who buys CBA shares today is not guaranteed to get that kind of yield. The bank will need to keep its 2027 dividend payments at least level with those paid out over 2026 to make this yield a forward-facing one. CBA has built up an impressive track record with dividend growth in recent years, with shareholders getting an annual dividend pay rise every year since 2021 (following the big COVID-induced cuts of 2020).
But only time will tell if that trend continues into 2027.
