QUALCOMM's (NASDAQ:QCOM) Dividend Will Be Increased To US$0.68
The board of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 23rd of September to US$0.68. This takes the dividend yield to 1.8%, which shareholders will be pleased with.
Check out our latest analysis for QUALCOMM
QUALCOMM's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, QUALCOMM was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 5.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 37%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.
QUALCOMM Has A Solid Track Record
Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$0.76 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$2.72. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 14% a year over that time. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. QUALCOMM has impressed us by growing EPS at 19% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.
We Really Like QUALCOMM's Dividend
Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that QUALCOMM is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for QUALCOMM that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a solid dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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