Principal Financial Raises Quarterly Dividend 2.5% to $0.82

Principal Financial Group raised its quarterly common dividend 2.5% to $0.82 per share from $0.80. The shares went ex-dividend on June 1, 2026, and the increase extends the company’s dividend-growth streak to 13 consecutive years.

Why the dividend changed

Principal paired the higher distribution with stronger first-quarter operating performance and a sizable capital buffer. Net income attributable to PFG was $425 million, while non-GAAP operating earnings were $456 million. Assets under management reached $770 billion, and the company reported $1.45 billion of excess and available capital. Those figures gave the board room to raise the dividend while continuing share repurchases and investing in growth, according to Principal’s first-quarter results.

The underlying businesses were broadly supportive. Retirement and Income Solutions benefited from higher revenue and expense discipline, Investment Management earnings rose on higher fees and assets under management, and Specialty Benefits benefited from improved underwriting. International Pension also posted higher revenue, while Life Insurance benefited from improved mortality, according to the first-quarter release. The mix matters because Principal funds shareholder distributions from a diversified group of fee, spread and insurance businesses rather than a single earnings stream.

Management framed the decision as ordinary capital allocation, not a split, spin-off or merger-related adjustment. Chief Executive Deanna Strable said, “We continue to execute on our commitment to return excess capital to shareholders while maintaining a robust capital position.” Principal’s 2026 outlook called for earnings-per-share growth, free-capital-flow conversion, return-on-equity improvement and continued capital deployment, providing the strategic setting for the increase.

Dividend track record

The latest move continued a pattern of small, frequent step-ups. The quarterly amount progressed from $0.73 on the December 2, 2024 ex-dividend date to $0.75, $0.76 and $0.78 during 2025, then to $0.79 on December 3, 2025. It advanced to $0.80 on March 11, 2026 and $0.82 on June 1, 2026. The subsequent ex-dividend entry increased again to $0.84 on September 3, 2026, according to Principal’s dividend history.

Annual totals show both continuity and variation in the pace of growth. The total was $2.24 in 2020, $2.44 in 2021, $2.56 in 2022, $2.60 in 2023, $2.85 in 2024 and $3.08 in 2025. Annual growth slowed to 1.6% in 2023 before accelerating to 9.6% in 2024 and 8.1% in 2025. The five-year record is 6.6% annual growth, while the 13-year streak shows that increases have persisted through different market and insurance cycles.

Is the dividend covered?

The dividend consumes 45% of earnings. That ratio indicates earnings cover the distribution with room for business volatility, reinvestment and other capital uses. It is not so low that the payout is immaterial, but it is well below the level at which the dividend would absorb nearly all reported profit.

SmarterDividends rates the dividend A, with a safety score of 89. The grade means very safe and falls within the score range of 80-100. It reflects a combination of earnings coverage, the established growth record and the company’s ability to deploy capital while retaining a robust capital position. The rating describes current coverage and resilience; it is not a guarantee of future declarations.

Yield and valuation

PFG’s forward yield is 2.95%, compared with a 5.70% median for the Financial Services sector. The lower yield means the shares provide less current dividend income than the sector midpoint. At an annual dividend per share of $3.36, 100 shares produce $336.00 in annual income.

The shares are priced at $113.96, giving Principal a market value of $24.4 billion after a 40.0% one-year gain. SmarterDividends estimates fair value at $114.53 and assigns a fair valuation verdict. Its valuation measure is 3% downside. The price gain helps explain why the yield trails the sector median despite continued dividend growth.

What to watch

The next quarterly results will show whether earnings growth, asset flows, underwriting and excess capital remain aligned with Principal’s capital-return framework. Principal’s second-quarter results described strong earnings growth, return-on-equity expansion and disciplined capital return. The later $0.84 ex-dividend entry makes future board declarations the next checkpoint for the pace of sequential increases.

Principal also completed its acquisition of Beam Benefits on September 1, 2026, adding more than 25,000 small-business customers and digital quoting and onboarding capabilities. The company said its capital-deployment and earnings-per-share growth targets for 2026 were unchanged after the transaction, according to the completion announcement. Integration progress, Benefits and Protection results, and any change to those targets are concrete items to monitor alongside the next dividend declaration.