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Data last updated: Oct 16, 2026
Dividend Yield: 2.30%
Dividend Frequency: quarterly
Years of Dividend History: 21
The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF dividend comes from a passively managed fund that tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, holding common stocks from companies known for above-average dividend payouts. VYM currently yields 2.31%, with a trailing annual dividend rate of $3.6755 per share paid quarterly. The next ex-dividend date is September 18, 2026. With a beta of 0.742, VYM stock moves less than the broader market, which suits income investors who prioritize lower volatility alongside regular distributions.
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF pays out dividends sourced from the underlying holdings of the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, with a payout ratio classified as not applicable (fund/ETF). Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF dividend safety rests on the fund's full-replication strategy: it holds all securities in the index, so income flows directly from the dividends paid by those constituent companies. The primary pressure point is that any broad reduction in dividends across the fund's underlying holdings would flow through directly to VYM distributions, since the fund has no retained earnings buffer of its own.
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF dividend history shows a CAGR of 7.2% per year from 2011 to 2025. Per-share payments grew from $1.3270 to $3.5008 over that window (2026 data is a partial year and excluded from this calculation). The smallest annual increase in the window was 0.2% in 2025, a sharp deceleration from the 20.0% peak recorded in 2012.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +2.5% | $3.25 (2022) | $3.50 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +3.8% | $2.91 (2020) | $3.50 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +5.0% | $2.15 (2015) | $3.50 (2025) |
VYM fits dividend investors who want broad equity income with lower price swings than the overall market. The yield sits in the moderate (2–4%) range at 2.31%, which is above the fund's own 5-year average of 2.11%, meaning current buyers are locking in a slightly better entry yield than the recent norm. Growth has averaged 7.2% annually over 14 years, though the 2025 increase of just 0.2% shows that pace is not guaranteed year to year. What an investor gets here is diversified exposure to high-dividend equities through a passive, full-replication structure. The trade-off is that income is entirely dependent on what the underlying index constituents pay out.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-18 | $0.8869 |
| 2026-06-18 | $0.9795 |
| 2026-03-20 | $0.8617 |
| 2025-12-19 | $0.9474 |
| 2025-09-19 | $0.8417 |
| 2025-06-20 | $0.8617 |
| 2025-03-21 | $0.8500 |
| 2024-12-20 | $0.9642 |
| 2024-09-20 | $0.8511 |
| 2024-06-21 | $1.0237 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $2.7281 |
| 2025 | $3.5008 |
| 2024 | $3.4945 |
| 2023 | $3.4780 |
| 2022 | $3.2518 |
Project income from VYM with the VYM dividend calculator or track your full portfolio with the dividend tracker.