VZ vs T Dividend: Yield, Growth, Coverage

VZ vs T dividend is a comparison of two quarterly payers in the same industry whose records diverge in one specific way. Verizon and AT&T have each paid a cash dividend every quarter through the last ten years, and only one of them has reset its quarterly rate lower inside that window. The panels below read that straight from the payment record: the ten year history first, growth by year second, yield and coverage third, and the calendar of ex dividend and payment dates last.

VZ vs T dividend history over ten calendar years

Dividend per share is the cash paid on a single share. Adding up every payment whose ex dividend date falls inside a calendar year gives one comparable annual figure per company, which is the first thing to look at when two payers are set side by side.

WITH paid AS
(
    SELECT
        id,
        any(ticker)                 AS tkr,
        any(ex_dividend_date)       AS ex_date,
        any(toFloat64(cash_amount)) AS amount
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker IN ('VZ', 'T')
      AND cash_amount > 0
    GROUP BY id
)
SELECT
    toYear(ex_date)                     AS year,
    round(sumIf(amount, tkr = 'VZ'), 4) AS vz_dps,
    round(sumIf(amount, tkr = 'T'), 4)  AS t_dps
FROM paid
WHERE toYear(ex_date) BETWEEN toYear(today()) - 10 AND toYear(today()) - 1
GROUP BY year
HAVING countIf(tkr = 'VZ') > 0 AND countIf(tkr = 'T') > 0
ORDER BY year

Verizon's annual total measured $2.2725 in 2016 and $2.7225 in 2025. AT&T's measured $1.92 and $1.11 over the same two years. The chart draws two different shapes. One line steps up a little every year with no interruption. The other climbs gently, then drops to a lower level and runs flat. Single ticker detail for each series lives on the Verizon dividend page and the AT&T dividend page.

One caution on annual sums. If a company's ex dividend dates shift enough that five of them land inside one calendar year, that year prints larger without the quarterly rate changing at all. The next panel removes the ambiguity by working in declared quarterly rates instead of yearly totals.

The step down in AT&T's per share dividend

Grouping AT&T's payment history by the declared amount gives one row per distinct quarterly rate, with the ex dividend date that rate started on and the number of quarters it has been paid.

WITH paid AS
(
    SELECT
        id,
        any(ex_dividend_date)       AS ex_date,
        any(toFloat64(cash_amount)) AS amount
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker = 'T'
      AND cash_amount > 0
      AND ex_dividend_date >= toDate('2014-01-01')
    GROUP BY id
)
SELECT
    toString(min(ex_date))                AS level_start,
    formatDateTime(min(ex_date), '%b %Y') AS level_start_label,
    round(amount, 4)                      AS quarterly_dps,
    count()                               AS quarters_paid,
    formatDateTime(max(ex_date), '%b %Y') AS latest_ex_label
FROM paid
GROUP BY amount
ORDER BY min(ex_date)

The oldest rate in view, $0.46, started in Jan 2014. From there the rows advance a penny at a time, the signature of a company raising once a year. Then the series steps down. The current quarterly rate is $0.2775 per share, first carrying an ex dividend date in Apr 2022, paid 18 times through Jul 2026. The rate immediately before it was $0.52.

That reset coincided with AT&T separating its media assets into Warner Bros. Discovery, a transaction that handed holders stock in the new company alongside the lower ongoing cash rate. A dividend cut is a change in the declared per share rate, which is exactly what this panel measures. It is a different event from a falling yield, which can move on price alone.

Dividend growth by year

Year over year percent change is the cleanest way to compare two growth records, since it normalizes for the fact that one company pays roughly twice as much per share as the other.

WITH
paid AS
(
    SELECT
        id,
        any(ticker)                 AS tkr,
        any(ex_dividend_date)       AS ex_date,
        any(toFloat64(cash_amount)) AS amount
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker IN ('VZ', 'T')
      AND cash_amount > 0
    GROUP BY id
),
yearly AS
(
    SELECT
        toYear(ex_date)           AS year,
        sumIf(amount, tkr = 'VZ') AS vz,
        sumIf(amount, tkr = 'T')  AS t
    FROM paid
    WHERE toYear(ex_date) BETWEEN toYear(today()) - 11 AND toYear(today()) - 1
    GROUP BY year
    HAVING countIf(tkr = 'VZ') > 0 AND countIf(tkr = 'T') > 0
),
prior AS
(
    SELECT
        year + 1 AS year,
        vz       AS prev_vz,
        t        AS prev_t
    FROM yearly
)
SELECT
    y.year                                 AS year,
    round(100 * (y.vz / p.prev_vz - 1), 2) AS vz_change_pct,
    round(100 * (y.t / p.prev_t - 1), 2)   AS t_change_pct
FROM yearly AS y
INNER JOIN prior AS p ON p.year = y.year
ORDER BY year

Verizon prints a positive figure in every year of the panel, generally in the low single digits. Its most recent completed year, 2025, measured 1.87%, and the run of annual raises behind that line is broken out in Verizon's dividend increase history. AT&T's column runs in two parts: small raises through the first half of the window, one deeply negative year at the reset, then figures close to flat. Its most recent completed year measured 0%.

Growth of a percent or two a year sits below the pace of consumer prices in many years, which is the number a holder spending the income actually feels. A flat rate does not shrink in dollars, and it does not keep up with prices either.

Trailing yield, payout ratio, and cash flow coverage

Trailing yield is the last twelve months of declared dividends divided by the current share price, stated as a percent. It has two moving parts, and the price moves far more often than the rate.

WITH
paid AS
(
    SELECT
        id,
        any(ticker)                 AS tkr,
        any(ex_dividend_date)       AS ex_date,
        any(toFloat64(cash_amount)) AS amount
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker IN ('VZ', 'T')
      AND cash_amount > 0
    GROUP BY id
),
ttm AS
(
    SELECT
        tkr,
        sum(amount) AS ttm_dps
    FROM paid
    WHERE ex_date > today() - 365
      AND ex_date <= today()
    GROUP BY tkr
),
base AS
(
    SELECT
        tkr,
        sum(amount) AS dps_10y_ago
    FROM paid
    WHERE ex_date > today() - 4015
      AND ex_date <= today() - 3650
    GROUP BY tkr
),
val AS
(
    SELECT
        ticker,
        argMax(toFloat64(price), date)              AS px,
        argMax(toFloat64(earnings_per_share), date) AS eps,
        max(date)                                   AS as_of_date
    FROM global_markets.stocks_ratios
    WHERE ticker IN ('VZ', 'T')
      AND date >= today() - 45
      AND price > 0
    GROUP BY ticker
)
SELECT
    v.ticker                                                  AS ticker,
    round(v.px, 2)                                            AS price,
    round(tt.ttm_dps, 4)                                      AS ttm_dps,
    round(100 * tt.ttm_dps / v.px, 2)                         AS trailing_yield_pct,
    round(b.dps_10y_ago, 4)                                   AS dps_10y_ago,
    round(100 * (pow(tt.ttm_dps / b.dps_10y_ago, 0.1) - 1), 2) AS dps_cagr_10y_pct,
    round(100 * tt.ttm_dps / v.eps, 1)                        AS eps_payout_pct,
    formatDateTime(v.as_of_date, '%b %e, %Y')                 AS as_of
FROM val AS v
INNER JOIN ttm AS tt ON tt.tkr = v.ticker
INNER JOIN base AS b ON b.tkr = v.ticker
ORDER BY ticker DESC

As of Sep 23, 2026, Verizon's trailing twelve month dividend of $2.795 against a share price of $46.52 works out to a yield of 6.01%. AT&T's $1.11 against $25.3 works out to 4.39%. The panel also compounds each ten year change into a single annual growth rate: Verizon at 2.15% a year, AT&T at -5.28%.

The payout column divides the trailing dividend by trailing earnings per share. Verizon reads 71.9% and AT&T reads 35.5%. A payout ratio above 100% says a company declared more per share than it earned per share over the window, which happens in years carrying large non cash charges against reported earnings.

Earnings are an accounting measure. Dividends leave the building as cash, so the harder test divides the cash actually sent to shareholders by free cash flow, the cash from operations left after capital spending. Telecom builds and maintains networks, which makes that second number the one worth watching.

WITH
raw AS
(
    SELECT
        arrayJoin(tickers)                                  AS tk,
        period_end,
        filing_date,
        toFloat64(net_cash_from_operating_activities)       AS ocf,
        toFloat64(purchase_of_property_plant_and_equipment) AS capex,
        toFloat64(dividends)                                AS divs_paid
    FROM global_markets.stocks_cash_flow_statements
    WHERE timeframe = 'quarterly'
      AND period_end >= toDate('2019-01-01')
      AND hasAny(tickers, ['VZ', 'T'])
),
q AS
(
    SELECT
        tk,
        period_end,
        argMax(ocf, (filing_date, period_end))       AS ocf,
        argMax(capex, (filing_date, period_end))     AS capex,
        argMax(divs_paid, (filing_date, period_end)) AS divs_paid
    FROM raw
    WHERE tk IN ('VZ', 'T')
    GROUP BY tk, period_end
)
SELECT
    toYear(period_end) AS year,
    round(100 * sumIf(abs(divs_paid), tk = 'VZ') / sumIf(ocf - abs(capex), tk = 'VZ'), 1) AS vz_fcf_payout_pct,
    round(100 * sumIf(abs(divs_paid), tk = 'T') / sumIf(ocf - abs(capex), tk = 'T'), 1)   AS t_fcf_payout_pct
FROM q
GROUP BY year
HAVING countIf(tk = 'VZ') = 4 AND countIf(tk = 'T') = 4
ORDER BY year

In 2025, the last complete fiscal year in the panel, Verizon's dividend payments took 57% of free cash flow and AT&T's took 42.1%. A reading under 100% means the cash dividend fit inside the cash the business produced after building and maintaining its network. A reading over 100% means the gap was met from somewhere else, such as cash on hand or borrowing. The full mechanics of that test are worked through in dividend safety and cash flow coverage.

Here is the trade off these panels set up, stated plainly. A trailing yield is arithmetic on today's price, and it rises when the price falls. A rate reset is a decision, and it stands until the company decides otherwise. One of these two companies has reset its rate inside the last ten years and one has not, and the yield figures alone do not tell a reader which.

VZ and T dividend dates: the ex dividend and payment calendar

To receive a dividend, a holder has to own the shares before the ex dividend date. Buy on or after the ex date and the seller keeps that payment. The record date follows the ex date, and the pay date is when the cash actually lands, normally a few weeks later.

WITH paid AS
(
    SELECT
        id,
        any(ticker)           AS tkr,
        any(ex_dividend_date) AS ex_date,
        any(pay_date)         AS pay_dt
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker IN ('VZ', 'T')
      AND cash_amount > 0
      AND ex_dividend_date >= today() - 500
    GROUP BY id
)
SELECT
    toString(toStartOfQuarter(ex_date))                     AS quarter,
    maxIf(formatDateTime(ex_date, '%b %e, %Y'), tkr = 'VZ') AS vz_ex_date,
    maxIf(formatDateTime(pay_dt, '%b %e, %Y'), tkr = 'VZ')  AS vz_pay_date,
    maxIf(formatDateTime(ex_date, '%b %e, %Y'), tkr = 'T')  AS t_ex_date,
    maxIf(formatDateTime(pay_dt, '%b %e, %Y'), tkr = 'T')   AS t_pay_date,
    maxIf(dateDiff('day', ex_date, pay_dt), tkr = 'VZ')     AS vz_days_ex_to_pay,
    maxIf(dateDiff('day', ex_date, pay_dt), tkr = 'T')      AS t_days_ex_to_pay,
    abs(dateDiff('day', maxIf(ex_date, tkr = 'VZ'), maxIf(ex_date, tkr = 'T'))) AS ex_date_gap_days
FROM paid
GROUP BY quarter
HAVING countIf(tkr = 'VZ') > 0 AND countIf(tkr = 'T') > 0
ORDER BY quarter

Both companies run a quarterly cycle, and the two calendars sit close together. In the most recent quarter in the panel, Verizon's ex dividend date fell on Jul 10, 2026 with payment on Aug 3, 2026, a wait of 24 days. AT&T's ex date fell on Jul 10, 2026 with payment on Aug 3, 2026, a wait of 24 days. The two ex dates sat 0 days apart. Owning both names lands the income in the same weeks of each quarter rather than spreading it out, which two payers on offset cycles would do. Dates for the rest of the market are tracked on upcoming ex dividend dates.

FAQ

Does Verizon or AT&T pay the higher dividend yield?

As of Sep 23, 2026, Verizon's trailing yield measured 6.01% and AT&T's measured 4.39%. Yield moves with price every trading day, so the ranking can change without either company touching its declared rate.

Has AT&T ever cut its dividend?

Yes. The payment record shows the quarterly rate stepping from $0.52 to $0.2775 per share, first paid with an ex dividend date in Apr 2022, and it has held at that level for 18 quarters since.

When are the Verizon and AT&T ex dividend dates?

Both run quarterly cycles whose ex dates sit within days of each other. In the most recent quarter above, Verizon's ex date was Jul 10, 2026 and AT&T's was Jul 10, 2026. Cash followed about 24 days after the ex date for Verizon.

What payout ratio counts as covered?

There is no single threshold. The cash test used here divides dividends paid by free cash flow: a reading under 100% means the payment fit inside the cash the business generated after capital spending. Capital heavy industries such as telecom are usually judged on that cash figure rather than on reported earnings.

Do VZ and T dividends grow at the same rate?

No. Over the ten year window, Verizon's per share dividend compounds at 2.15% a year and AT&T's at -5.28%, a gap that sits almost entirely in the single reset year shown above.

Every panel here ships with the SQL that produced it, so any figure can be traced back to the individual payment rows. To run the same comparison on another pair of dividend payers, ask the question in plain English on the Strasmore terminal.