Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF Has Raised Dividends by 71% Since 2016 Despite Falling Yield
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) has increased its dividend payout from $4.14 per share in 2016 to $7.07 in 2025, a rise of about 71%. However, the fund's yield—dividend divided by price—has nearly halved due to faster growth in the ETF’s price than its dividend payout. The S&P 500 index itself has also seen strong performance. Its dividends rose from $45.70 per share in 2016 to a record $78.92 by 2025, while earnings grew even more rapidly—by about 155%. Companies have increasingly used buybacks rather than dividends as their primary method of returning cash to shareholders. The ETF’s price has tripled since late 2016 due in part to a rising P/E ratio and strong earnings growth. For new investors, the yield is now around 1%, meaning $10,000 invested today would generate about $104 annually in dividends—half of what it did nine years ago.
Tickers: $VOO
Topics: dividend yield changes ETF dividends S&P 500 VOO dividend history