Dividends and DRIP

The Dividends tab projects your forward income, shows upcoming and historical dividends, and lets you toggle dividend reinvestment (DRIP) per holding or for all holdings. This page explains what the tab shows, how to read each figure, and how the income projections are computed. The Dividends tab is available on the Free, Pro Lite, and Pro plans.

Before you begin

Sign in on a plan that allows portfolios. The Dividends tab is available on Free, Pro Lite, and Pro.
Build a portfolio with at least one dividend-paying holding first. For the steps, see Build your first portfolio.
This tab is part of the portfolio page and is separate from the standalone Dividend Forecaster tool, which has its own tier limits.

Quickstart

Open the Dividends tab
Go to the Dividends tab and select your portfolio.
Read your forward income
Read the forward annual income and forward yield for your current holdings.
Turn on DRIP where you want it
Use the DRIP toggle per stock, or the all-stocks toggle, to mark holdings for reinvestment.

What it shows

Forward annual income and forward yield for your current holdings.
A calendar of upcoming dividends for the next 90 days, and a history of dividends received.
Income concentration, income growth, and a count of dividend-paying positions.
A DRIP toggle, per stock and for all stocks, to mark holdings for reinvestment.

Inputs

DRIP per symbol: on or off.
DRIP for all stocks: on or off, applied in bulk.
No numeric inputs. Projections read your holdings and dividend history.

Outputs and how to read them

Forward income: estimated dollars of dividends over the next year at your current holdings.
Forward yield: that income as a percent of total portfolio value.
Income growth: how this year's projected income compares to the prior year.
Coverage and dividend-paying positions: how much of the portfolio actually pays dividends.
Lifetime dividends: total dividends your holdings have generated historically.

How it is calculated

Four figures drive this tab: forward income, forward yield, income growth, and lifetime dividends.

Forward annual income

Forward income assumes each holding keeps paying what it paid over the last year, and sums the result.

forward income = sum over holdings of (shares × trailing 12-month dividends per share)

In this formula, shares is your current shares held, and trailing 12-month dividends per share sums the per-share cash dividend amount with an ex-dividend date in the last 365 days, in US dollars. For example, 100 shares of a stock that paid 0.50 four times last year give 100 times 2.00, which is 200. The estimate assumes the last 12 months repeat, so a cut, a raise, or a special dividend is not predicted.

Forward yield

Forward yield expresses projected income as a share of the whole portfolio.

forward yield = forward income / total value × 100

Here total value is holdings value plus cash in US dollars. For example, a forward income of 4,000 on a 200,000 portfolio gives 2.00%. Because the denominator includes cash, a large cash balance lowers the yield figure.

Income growth

Income growth compares your projected income to the same projection a year ago.

income growth = (forward income − prior-year income) / prior-year income × 100

In this formula, prior-year income uses dividends from 366 to 730 days ago. The figure is blank when the prior year is zero. For example, a forward income of 4,000 against a prior year of 3,500 gives plus 14.29%. It is based on the history of the symbols you hold today, not a forecast of future hikes.

Lifetime dividends

Lifetime dividends total what your held shares earned over time.

lifetime dividends = sum over each past ex-dividend date of (shares held on that date × amount per share)

Here shares held on that date is derived from your transaction history, and amount per share is the cash dividend per share in US dollars, summed across a 60-month window. For example, holding 100 shares for a 0.50 dividend gives 50, accumulated across all such events. It counts dividends only for symbols currently in your holdings set during the window, and rounding is applied per month.

Data and timing

Dividend amounts and ex-dividend and payment dates come from AlphaVantage corporate dividend data. Income recomputes on ledger and DRIP changes and on the daily data refresh. DRIP is a tracking preference that flags holdings for reinvestment when the portfolio recomputes.

Use cases

See your expected yearly dividend income and yield.
Plan around upcoming ex-dividend and payment dates.
Turn on DRIP for income compounding on chosen holdings.

Limitations and disclosures

Forward income is an estimate based on the trailing 12 months, not a guarantee. A dividend cut, a raise, or a special dividend is not predicted, and the yield denominator includes cash.

GNG Research provides equity research and educational tools, not investment advice. Nothing on the platform is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Do your own research and consider your circumstances before making any investment decision.