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Data last updated: Sep 06, 2026
Snapshot (as of Sep 06, 2026): Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) pays a $3.61 annual dividend, yielding 2.11% at $123.37/share. Next ex-dividend date 2026-09-08. 11 consecutive years of dividend growth. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 2.11%
Annual Dividend: $3.61 per share
Payout Ratio: 46.2%
Ex-Dividend Date: 2026-09-08
Sector: Industrials
Years of Dividend History: 31
Canadian National Railway Company dividend investors are looking at a freight rail network spanning roughly 19,500 miles across Canada and the United States, hauling everything from grain and petroleum products to intermodal containers and finished automobiles. The current yield stands at 2.11%, with a trailing annual dividend rate of $3.6050 per share. The next ex-dividend date is September 8, 2026, with the last payment of $0.6612 per share. CNI's beta of 0.949 puts it just below the broader market in volatility, which suits income investors who want freight rail exposure without sharp price swings.
Canadian National Railway Company pays out 46.2% of earnings as dividends, a payout ratio classified as moderate (40-60%). That level leaves a meaningful buffer of retained earnings, supported by a diversified freight base that spans agricultural commodities, petroleum, minerals, and automotive supply chains, none of which are single-customer or single-commodity dependent. Canadian National Railway Company dividend safety faces its most realistic pressure from freight volume cyclicality, since a broad economic slowdown would reduce shipments across multiple cargo categories simultaneously, squeezing the earnings that underpin the payout.
Canadian National Railway Company dividend history shows a CAGR of 5.9% per year from 2010 to 2025. Per-share payments grew from $1.08 to $2.5473 over that period (2026 is a partial year and excluded from the growth calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 20.4% in 2011, though the data also contains at least one year-over-year decline exceeding 5%, so growth has not been perfectly linear.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +4.1% | $2.26 (2022) | $2.55 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +8.1% | $1.72 (2020) | $2.55 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +9.5% | $1.03 (2015) | $2.55 (2025) |
CNI stock fits dividend investors who want moderate, growing income from an essential freight infrastructure business rather than a high-yield payout. The current yield of 2.11% sits above the 5-year average of 1.87%, meaning today's entry point delivers more income than the historical norm. The yield classification is moderate (2-4%), and the 46.2% payout ratio leaves room for continued increases. The trade-off is straightforward: growth at 5.9% per year is real but not fast, and the yield itself will never dominate a high-income portfolio. What CNI offers is a freight rail business with 11 consecutive years of dividend increases and a payout structure that is not stretched.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-08 | $0.6612 |
| 2026-06-09 | $0.6555 |
| 2026-03-10 | $0.6746 |
| 2025-12-09 | $0.6407 |
| 2025-09-08 | $0.6427 |
| 2025-06-09 | $0.6489 |
| 2025-03-10 | $0.6150 |
| 2024-12-09 | $0.5987 |
| 2024-09-06 | $0.6231 |
| 2024-06-07 | $0.6180 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $1.9913 |
| 2025 | $2.5473 |
| 2024 | $2.4618 |
| 2023 | $2.3242 |
| 2022 | $2.2600 |
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