Dividend yield: what it means and how to read it
What is Dividend yield?
Yearly dividend ÷ share price. 3% means ₹3 a year for every ₹100 you invest.
Dividend yield is the cash a shareholder receives each year as a share of what the stock costs today. A share at ₹500 that paid ₹15 in dividends over the year yields 3%. It is the part of an investor's return that arrives whatever the share price does.
The yield moves with both its parts. It rises when a company pays more, and it also rises when the share price falls. A very high yield is therefore often a sign that the market expects the dividend to be cut, not a gift.
How it is calculated
A worked example
Why does Dividend yield matter?
Shows how much cash comes back to you without selling.
What is a good Dividend yield?
Very high yields can be a warning: the price may have fallen because the dividend is expected to be cut.
Compare the yield with what a fixed deposit or a government bond pays, then ask whether it can last: is the payout comfortably covered by profit and by free cash flow, and has it been paid without a miss for years? In India, mature public sector companies, utilities and some IT companies pay the higher yields; fast growers pay little because they reinvest.
What are the common mistakes with Dividend yield?
What is a typical Dividend yield in India today?
The median across the 1065 listed companies that report it, as of 12 Oct 2026. Half sit above each figure and half below.
By company size
By industry
What is Dividend yield for India's largest companies today?
The latest figure for the largest companies with a page here. Each links to what the rest of that company's numbers mean.