Four Payments a Year From 100 Dividend Companies

SCHD, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, pays a dividend four times a year, usually in late March, late June, late September and mid-December. In 2025 and 2026, each quarterly payment was around 25 to 28 cents per share, adding up to roughly $1.05 per share over twelve months.

At a share price of around $35, that works out to a dividend yield of around 3%. SCHD’s annual dividend has risen in every year from 2019 to 2025, growing from around 57 cents per share to around $1.05, although growth slowed sharply to around 2% in the twelve months to late 2026.

The market doesn’t care whether you understand the risks. It will expose you to them regardless. FRC’s three ETF programmes, ETF Investing for Beginners, ETF Investing Strategies and Advanced ETF Investing, explain how ETF dividends really work, how to judge whether they are sustainable and how to build an income you can rely on. They are written in plain English, need no finance degree, and are open to everyone.

This guide is part of FRC’s complete guide to SCHD, which starts with what SCHD is and how it works. It explains when SCHD pays, how much it pays, how its dividend has grown, how sustainable it is and how it is taxed.

SCHD’s Dividend Schedule

SCHD follows a regular quarterly pattern. Its ex-dividend dates usually fall in the last week of March, June and September and in the second week of December, with payment made a few days later.

In 2025, for example, SCHD’s ex-dividend dates were 26 March, 25 June, 24 September and 10 December, with payments on 31 March, 30 June, 29 September and 15 December. In 2026, the first three ex-dividend dates were 25 March, 24 June and 23 September, with payments on 30 March, 29 June and 28 September. The fourth payment of 2026 is expected to follow the usual pattern, with an ex-dividend date around 9 December and payment a few days later.

Schwab announces each distribution shortly before its ex-dividend date, so the exact amount is not known until then. Since US stocks moved to next-day settlement in 2024, SCHD’s record date now falls on the same day as its ex-dividend date. The December payment is usually announced in early December.

To receive a dividend, you must own SCHD before its ex-dividend date. If you buy on or after that date, the seller receives the payment instead. FRC’s dictionary entry on the ex-dividend date explains how it works.

How Much SCHD Pays Per Share

SCHD’s recent quarterly payments, adjusted for its 2024 share split, have been: around 24.9 cents in March 2025, 26.0 cents in June 2025, 26.0 cents in September 2025 and 27.8 cents in December 2025. In 2026, it paid around 25.7 cents in March, 25.3 cents in June and 26.7 cents in September.

Over the twelve months to September 2026, those payments added up to around $1.05 per share. On 1,000 shares, that is roughly $1,050 a year, or about $260 a quarter on average.

The amount changes every quarter because it depends on the dividends SCHD’s roughly 100 companies pay during that period. Some companies pay more in certain months, so SCHD’s payments are rarely the same two quarters running.

SCHD’s Dividend History

SCHD’s dividend has grown substantially since it launched in 2011, when its quarterly payments were only a few cents per share on a split-adjusted basis. Its annual payments, adjusted for the split, have been roughly $0.57 in 2019, $0.68 in 2020, $0.75 in 2021, $0.85 in 2022, $0.89 in 2023, $0.99 in 2024 and $1.05 in 2025.

SCHD has raised its annual dividend for 14 consecutive years. That growth continued through the 2020 pandemic crash and the 2022 bear market, when SCHD’s share price fell but its dividend still rose. The annual dividend grew by around 18% in 2020 and around 14% in 2022.

Over the long term, SCHD’s dividend has grown at an average of more than 10% a year since launch, around 9% a year over the past ten years and around 7.5% a year over the past five. At that ten-year pace, the dividend roughly doubles every eight years. FRC’s guide to SCHD’s price history shows how the price behaved while the dividend kept growing.

The Recent Slowdown in Dividend Growth

SCHD’s dividend growth has slowed noticeably. Its 2025 total was around 5% higher than 2024’s, and in the twelve months to late 2026, its dividend was only around 2% higher than a year earlier.

Several factors can cause slowdowns like this. Companies that SCHD holds may raise their dividends more slowly, and the annual reconstitution can replace higher-yielding companies with ones that pay less, as happened when utilities and some energy companies left the fund in 2026.

Whether the slowdown is temporary or lasting matters a great deal for long-term income investors. A dividend growing at 2% a year barely keeps pace with inflation, while one growing at 9% or 10% steadily increases an investor’s real income.

What Every Income Investor Needs to Know

Dividends feel like free money, but they are not guaranteed, they are not all taxed the same way, and a high or rising payout says little on its own about whether a fund is the right choice. Investors who understand where their income comes from, how sustainable it is and how it is taxed make far better decisions than those who simply chase the biggest number.

Imagine knowing exactly what you own, why you own it and how reliable its income really is. FRC’s three progressive ETF programmes take you from how ETF dividends work, through building an income strategy around your goals, to managing tax, sustainability and risk across a whole portfolio. ETF Investing for Beginners covers the foundations, ETF Investing Strategies covers income planning, and Advanced ETF Investing covers dividend analysis and risk in depth.

FRC’s programmes and memberships are open to everyone, whether you are investing $500 or $500,000. Your hard-earned money represents years of work. Give it the respect it deserves.

SCHD’s Dividend Yield

SCHD’s dividend yield compares its annual dividend with its share price. With around $1.05 per share in annual dividends and a price of around $35, SCHD’s yield in November 2026 was around 3%.

The yield changes every day as the price moves. In April 2026, when SCHD traded at around $30.50, its yield was nearer 3.5%. After a strong rally, the yield fell to around 3%, even though the dividend itself was slightly higher. That left it below the roughly 3.4% SCHD has averaged in recent years, a sign that investors were paying more for each dollar of its income.

Different websites quote different yields. A trailing yield uses the past twelve months of payments, a forward yield projects the latest payment over a year, and the 30-day SEC yield is a standardised measure based on the fund’s recent income. They can differ by a few tenths of a percentage point.

Yield on Cost: Why Long-Term Holders Earn More

Because SCHD’s dividend has grown, investors who bought years ago now earn a much higher yield on what they originally paid. This is called yield on cost.

An investor who bought SCHD in early 2019, when the split-adjusted price was around $17 and the annual dividend around 57 cents, was earning around 3.4% at the time. By 2025, with the dividend at around $1.05, their yield on that original investment had risen to around 6%.

Yield on cost does not change what an investment is worth today, but it shows how dividend growth can steadily increase the income produced by money invested long ago.

Is SCHD’s Dividend Sustainable?

The best guide to whether SCHD’s dividend can continue is the health of the companies it holds. Its index only admits companies that have paid dividends for at least ten consecutive years, and it ranks them on cash flow to debt and return on equity as well as yield and dividend growth.

SCHD’s companies have paid out a little over half of their earnings as dividends, a payout ratio of around 55% in 2026. That leaves room for them to keep paying, and to raise their dividends, even if earnings dip.

That does not make the dividend guaranteed. A deep recession, a sector downturn or a large reconstitution could reduce SCHD’s income. But its focus on financially strong companies is designed to make cuts less likely than in funds that simply chase the highest yields. FRC’s guide on why a high ETF dividend yield can be misleading explains the risk of yield traps.

Don’t start investing and then start learning how investing works. ETF Investing Strategies shows you how to judge whether a fund’s income is sustainable before you depend on it.

Where SCHD’s Dividends Come From

SCHD’s dividends are simply the dividends paid by the companies it owns, collected and passed on to investors after the fund’s small annual fee. Its largest holdings include companies such as Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Home Depot, Texas Instruments, Amgen, Abbott Laboratories, Chevron and UnitedHealth Group.

Some of these companies have raised their dividends every year for decades. Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, for example, each have records of more than 60 consecutive years of dividend increases.

Because SCHD holds around 100 companies, a cut by any single company has only a small effect on its total payout. That diversification is one of the main advantages of owning a dividend ETF rather than a handful of individual dividend stocks.

How SCHD’s Dividends Are Taxed

Nearly all of SCHD’s dividends are qualified dividends, because it holds established US companies. In a taxable brokerage account, qualified dividends are taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your income, provided you have held the shares for long enough.

To qualify, you generally need to have held SCHD for more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date. Dividends that do not meet that test are taxed as ordinary income.

In an IRA or Roth IRA, the dividends are not taxed when paid. FRC’s guide to how ETFs are taxed in the United States explains the rules in more detail.

Reinvesting SCHD’s Dividends

Many investors reinvest SCHD’s dividends automatically, using their broker’s dividend reinvestment plan, or DRIP. Each payment buys more SCHD shares, often including fractional shares, which then earn dividends of their own.

Over long periods, reinvestment makes a large difference. The number of shares an investor owns keeps rising, and with SCHD’s dividend also growing, the income from the holding compounds over time.

Reinvested dividends are still taxable in a taxable account in the year they are paid, even though the investor never receives the cash. FRC’s guide on how ETF dividends work explains reinvestment and payment dates.

How Much Income Can SCHD Produce?

At a yield of around 3%, every $10,000 invested in SCHD produces roughly $300 a year, or about $75 a quarter. Every $100,000 produces roughly $3,000 a year.

Working backwards, $100 a month needs roughly $40,000 invested, $500 a month roughly $200,000 and $1,000 a month roughly $400,000. These figures move with SCHD’s price and dividend, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.

FRC’s guide to SCHD for passive income looks at how investors build an income stream from SCHD over time.

Quarterly vs Monthly Dividends

SCHD pays quarterly, not monthly. Investors who rely on it for living expenses need to plan their spending across three-month gaps between payments.

Some investors combine SCHD with funds that pay monthly, so that income arrives more regularly. FRC’s guide to SCHD vs JEPQ compares SCHD with a popular monthly-paying income fund.

The payment schedule does not change how much SCHD pays over a year. It is a matter of convenience and budgeting rather than return.

Common Mistakes With SCHD’s Dividend

Buying just before the ex-dividend date to capture the payment. SCHD’s price falls by roughly the amount of the dividend on the ex-dividend date, so buying just to collect the dividend does not create extra value, and it can create a tax bill.

Assuming the dividend will always grow at 10% a year. SCHD’s dividend growth has varied widely and slowed sharply in 2026. Past growth is no guarantee of future increases.

Judging SCHD on yield alone. SCHD’s yield is lower than many income funds, but it comes with dividend growth and the full upside of its companies’ share prices. Total return matters more than yield.

Forgetting about tax. In a taxable account, dividends are taxed every year, even if they are reinvested. Holding SCHD in a tax-advantaged account can avoid that.

Your portfolio deserves an educated investor. FRC’s three progressive ETF programmes, from ETF Investing for Beginners to Advanced ETF Investing, teach you to judge any income fund by where its income comes from, how sustainable it is and how it is taxed.

Common Questions

How much does SCHD pay in dividends? SCHD paid around $1.05 per share over the twelve months to September 2026, in four quarterly payments of around 25 to 28 cents each.

How often does SCHD pay dividends? Quarterly, four times a year, usually in late March, late June, late September and mid-December.

When is SCHD’s next dividend? SCHD’s next payment after September is usually in December, with an ex-dividend date in the second week of the month. Schwab announces the exact amount shortly beforehand.

Does SCHD pay monthly dividends? No. SCHD pays quarterly. Investors who want monthly income often combine it with monthly-paying funds.

What is SCHD’s dividend yield? Around 3% in November 2026, based on around $1.05 per share in annual dividends and a price of around $35. The yield changes daily with the share price.

How much does 1,000 shares of SCHD pay? At around $1.05 per share a year, 1,000 shares pay roughly $1,050 a year, or around $260 a quarter on average.

Has SCHD ever cut its dividend? SCHD’s annual dividend has risen in every year from 2019 to 2025. Individual quarterly payments sometimes fall compared with the previous quarter or the same quarter a year earlier, because SCHD’s companies pay at different times.

Why did SCHD’s dividend change this quarter? Each payment depends on the dividends SCHD’s companies paid during the quarter, which vary with their payment schedules and any increases or cuts. Changes to the fund’s holdings at the annual reconstitution also affect its income.

How fast does SCHD’s dividend grow? SCHD’s dividend growth rate has been around 9% a year over the past ten years and around 7.5% a year over five years, but growth slowed to around 2% in the twelve months to late 2026.

Are SCHD dividends qualified? Nearly all of them are. Qualified dividends are taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rates in a taxable account if you meet the holding period.

How much does 100 shares of SCHD pay? At around $1.05 per share a year, 100 shares pay roughly $105 a year, or around $26 a quarter.

How many shares of SCHD do you need to make $1,000 a month? $1,000 a month is $12,000 a year. At around $1.05 per share in annual dividends, that would take roughly 11,400 shares, worth around $400,000 at a price of $35.

How much SCHD do you need to make $50,000 a year? At a yield of around 3%, roughly $1.7 million, or around 47,600 shares at $1.05 per share in annual dividends.

How much SCHD do you need to live off dividends? It depends on your spending. Divide the yearly income you need by SCHD’s yield: $40,000 a year at a 3% yield needs roughly $1.33 million. Many retirees also keep cash or bonds alongside, because dividends and prices can fall.

What is the tax rate on SCHD dividends? Most SCHD dividends are qualified, taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on your income, if you have held the shares for more than 60 days around the ex-dividend date. Any non-qualified portion is taxed as ordinary income.

How many shares of SCHD do you need to make $500 a month? $500 a month is $6,000 a year. At around $1.05 per share in annual dividends, that would take roughly 5,700 shares, worth around $200,000 at a price of $35.

How much does $10,000 in SCHD pay in dividends? At a yield of around 3%, $10,000 invested in SCHD, around 285 shares at $35, pays roughly $300 a year, or around $75 a quarter.

What is SCHD’s payout ratio? SCHD’s companies paid out around 55% of their earnings as dividends in 2026, leaving room to maintain and grow their payments.

Your Portfolio Deserves an Educated Investor

SCHD’s dividend is one of the main reasons for its popularity: four payments a year from around 100 financially strong companies, with a long record of growth. But its yield moves with its price, its growth has recently slowed, and its income is never guaranteed.

The question isn’t whether financial education costs money. It’s what a lack of it could cost you. FRC’s three progressive ETF programmes take you from how dividends work, through building an income strategy, to managing tax and risk across everything you own. FRC’s programmes and memberships are open to everyone, whether you are investing $500 or $500,000.

Invest in understanding the market before investing in the market itself. Know where your income comes from before you depend on it.