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Data last updated: Sep 21, 2026
Snapshot (as of Sep 21, 2026): Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) pays a $3.52 annual dividend ($0.30 monthly), yielding 4.53% at $77.67/share. Next ex-dividend date 2026-09-01. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 4.53%
Annual Dividend: $3.52 per share
Ex-Dividend Date: 2026-09-01
Dividend Frequency: monthly
Sector: Financial Services
Years of Dividend History: 18
The Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF dividend is built around one purpose: delivering steady monthly income from investment-grade corporate bonds with maturities between one and five years. The fund currently yields 4.53%, with a trailing annual dividend rate of $3.5209 per share paid monthly, and the next ex-dividend date falls on September 1, 2026. VCSH carries a beta of 0.41, meaning its price moves far less than the broader market, which suits investors who prioritize income over capital appreciation.
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF pays out dividends as a pass-through of bond interest income, making a traditional payout ratio not applicable (fund/ETF). Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF dividend safety rests on the fund's mandate to hold only investment-grade corporate debt, which limits exposure to lower-quality issuers that are more prone to default. The primary pressure point is interest rate movement: as rates shift, the income generated by the underlying bonds changes, and that directly affects what VCSH passes through to shareholders each month.
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF dividend history shows a CAGR of 4.3% per year from 2010 to 2025. Per-share payments grew from $1.8550 to $3.4655 over that period (2026 is a partial year and excluded from the growth calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 58.1% in 2023, though the data also contains at least one year-over-year decline exceeding 5%, reflecting how closely VCSH payouts track the interest rate environment rather than a corporate earnings cycle.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +31.8% | $1.51 (2022) | $3.47 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +12.9% | $1.89 (2020) | $3.47 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +7.8% | $1.64 (2015) | $3.47 (2025) |
VCSH fits income-focused investors who want monthly cash flow from high-quality short-duration bonds without taking on significant price risk. The current yield is classified as high (above 4%), and at 4.53% it sits well above the fund's own 5-year average of 3.1%, meaning today's income level is elevated relative to recent history. The trade-off is that dividend amounts are not set by a board and can move with interest rates, so the payout is less predictable than a traditional dividend-paying stock. What an investor gets is a low-volatility income stream backed by investment-grade debt. What they accept is that the monthly amount will fluctuate as the underlying bond portfolio turns over.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | $0.3033 |
| 2026-08-03 | $0.2990 |
| 2026-07-01 | $0.2876 |
| 2026-06-01 | $0.2965 |
| 2026-05-01 | $0.2906 |
| 2026-04-01 | $0.2970 |
| 2026-03-02 | $0.2703 |
| 2026-02-02 | $0.2972 |
| 2025-12-18 | $0.3005 |
| 2025-12-01 | $0.2911 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $2.3415 |
| 2025 | $3.4655 |
| 2024 | $3.0909 |
| 2023 | $2.3939 |
| 2022 | $1.5140 |
Project income from VCSH with the VCSH dividend calculator or track your full portfolio with the dividend tracker.