The State of Dividends, Q3 2026

The State of Dividends, Q3 2026. SmarterDividends tracked 2,957 listed dividend payers during the quarter.

237 raised a regular dividend and 11 cut one, 21.5 increases per cut; 12 companies initiated a dividend and 10 paid a special.

The median increase was 8.1% and the median cut 50.0%.

As of 2026-10-02, 48% of payers with a fair-value estimate trade below it, and 471 are both undervalued and graded 75 or higher for dividend safety.

67% of the period's cuts came from companies graded C or lower beforehand.

Dividend increases widened their lead over cuts in the quarter. The 222 increases and 11 cuts produced 20.2 increases per cut, up from 14.1 in the prior quarter. August accounted for 103 increases, and increases outnumbered cuts in every month.

Industrials accounted for more entries among the ten largest increases than any other sector. PANL and ILPT each raised their dividends 100.0%, while APC rose 92.3%, RGR rose 90.9% and DHT rose 90.6%. Most names among the largest increases had no established growth streak; ETD had the longest at 7 years.

The largest cuts were distributed across Basic Materials, Financial Services, Communication Services and four other sectors. MSB had the deepest reduction at 79.2%, followed by MSIF at 69.4% and SSRM at 57.1%. Lower safety grades were common before cuts, with 67% graded C or lower. TU was graded B before its 54.7% cut, and CAG and CHCT were also graded B before reducing their dividends.