Service Corporation International Raises Dividend 5.9% to $0.36

Service Corporation International raised its quarterly dividend 5.9% to $0.36 a share from $0.34. The first payment at the new rate traded ex-dividend on June 15, 2026, and the annual dividend is now $1.44 a share.

Why the dividend changed

SCI’s declaration said the board approved the higher quarterly payment but gave no event-specific financial rationale. The company said it intends to continue paying regular quarterly dividends, while emphasizing that each declaration remains subject to the board’s review of financial performance. The increase was a regular dividend action, not the result of a stock split, merger, spin-off or special distribution. SCI dividend announcement

The operating backdrop offered more context. Shortly before the decision, SCI reported that first-quarter revenue grew $22.3 million, while net cash provided by operating activities rose 7% to $333.8 million. Comparable cemetery preneed sales production increased 10%, and comparable funeral preneed sales production increased 6%. Management said disciplined cost control and resilient revenue per funeral service helped offset a 6% decline in comparable funeral volume. SCI first-quarter results

Subsequent results strengthened the cash-flow context. Second-quarter operating cash flow increased 43% to $238.7 million, helped by lower cash taxes and stronger receipts from cemetery preneed sales. SCI raised the midpoint of its full-year operating cash-flow outlook by $50 million to $1,085 million while confirming the midpoint of its adjusted earnings guidance. Management said cash generation provides flexibility for acquisitions, cemetery development, real estate and new funeral homes as well as shareholder returns. SCI second-quarter results

The dividend is one component of that capital-allocation program. SCI also expanded its share-repurchase authorization to $600 million, showing that the board is directing capital to both cash distributions and buybacks. SCI repurchase authorization

Dividend track record

The latest increase extends SCI’s dividend-growth streak to 15 consecutive years. The quarterly payment moved from $0.30 in December 2024 to $0.32 for the first three payments of 2025, then to $0.34 in December 2025 and March 2026. It reached $0.36 for the June 15, 2026 and September 15, 2026 ex-dividend dates. That sequence shows a pattern of more than one increase within some annual cycles rather than a single fixed annual reset.

Full-year distributions rose from $0.78 a share in 2020 to $0.88 in 2021, $1.02 in 2022, $1.12 in 2023, $1.20 in 2024 and $1.30 in 2025. The five-year dividend growth rate was 11.0% annualized. SCI’s last annual dividend cut occurred in 2005, making the current record long but not unbroken across the company’s entire history. The company’s payment history confirms the recent quarterly progression. SCI dividend history

Is the dividend covered?

The dividend consumes 36% of earnings, leaving most reported profit available for reinvestment, debt service, acquisitions and repurchases. That provides a meaningful earnings cushion if operating performance weakens, although future declarations still require board approval.

SmarterDividends rates the dividend A with a safety score of 84. That grade means very safe, within the score range of 80-100, and reflects the modest earnings payout and established growth record. It does not guarantee that the dividend will remain unchanged under every business or financing condition.

Yield and valuation

At a share price of $77.97, SCI’s forward dividend yield is 1.85%. That is below the Consumer Cyclical sector median forward yield of 2.66%, so the stock provides less current dividend income than the sector benchmark despite the higher payment.

SmarterDividends estimates fair value at $56.99 and classifies the shares as overvalued. The stock’s one-year price return was a decline of 6.9%, but its market valuation still leaves the dividend yield below the sector median. SCI’s market value is $10.6 billion.

What to watch

The next operating update will show whether the stronger cemetery preneed collections that supported SCI’s higher cash-flow guidance persisted. Funeral service volume, average revenue per service and cemetery preneed production remain important because management identified those measures as central drivers of revenue, margins and future backlog. SCI second-quarter results

Capital deployment also warrants attention. Dividends compete with repurchases, acquisitions, cemetery development, property investment and new funeral-home construction for SCI’s cash. The 36% earnings payout leaves room for those priorities, while the board’s quarterly review of financial performance remains the formal gate for future dividend declarations.