Is AIC or XYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

AIC currently yields 6.94% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. XYLD yields 11.20% with 0.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: XYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between AIC and XYLD?

AIC has a forward dividend yield of 6.94% ($1.69/share annually). XYLD yields 11.20% ($4.30/share annually). The yield gap is 4.26 percentage points.

Home › Compare › AIC vs XYLD

AIC vs XYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

AIC yields 6.94% · XYLD yields 11.20%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 XYLD wins by $4.9K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 4

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

AIC

● Live price

6.94%

Share price

$24.33

Annual div

$1.69

5Y div CAGR

-47.8%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.0K

Annual income

$1.11

Full AIC calculator →

XYLD

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

11.20%

Share price

$38.36

Annual div

$4.30

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.9K

Annual income

$3,351.03

Full XYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — AIC vs XYLD

📍 XYLD pulled ahead of the other in Year 4

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	AIC	XYLD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, AIC + XYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

AIC pays

XYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

AIC

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$589.55/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$0.94/yr

XYLD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$952.37/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,848.38/yr

At 15% tax rate, XYLD beats the other by $2,847.43/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of AIC + XYLD for your $10,000?

AIC: 50%XYLD: 50%

100% XYLD50/50100% AIC

Portfolio after 10yr

$23.4K

Annual income

$1,676.07/yr

Blended yield

7.15%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

AIC buys

XYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for AIC or XYLD in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricAICXYLD

Forward yield	6.94%	11.20% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$1.69	$4.30 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-47.8%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$21.0K	$25.9K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$1.11	$3,351.03 ✓
Total dividends collected	$774.00 ✓	$20.2K
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: AIC vs XYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	AIC Portfolio	AIC Income/yr	XYLD Portfolio	XYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$11,062	$362.06	$10,840	$1,120.44	+$222.00 → AIC
2	$12,032	$195.39	$11,786	$1,249.59	+$246.00 → AIC
3	$12,978	$103.68	$12,854	$1,397.78	+$124.00 → AIC
4← crossover	$13,941	$54.55	$14,063	$1,568.33	$122.00 → XYLD
5	$14,945	$28.59	$15,434	$1,765.19	$489.00 → XYLD
6	$16,006	$14.95	$16,995	$1,993.14	$989.00 → XYLD
7	$17,134	$7.81	$18,777	$2,257.95	$1.6K → XYLD
8	$18,338	$4.08	$20,818	$2,566.58	$2.5K → XYLD
9	$19,624	$2.13	$23,163	$2,927.50	$3.5K → XYLD
10	$20,999	$1.11	$25,865	$3,351.03	$4.9K → XYLD

AIC vs XYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

AIC — Stock

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE: AAIC) currently invests primarily in mortgage related and residential real estate and has elected to be taxed as a REIT. The Company is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information, please visit www.arlingtonasset.com.

Full AIC Calculator →

XYLD — ETF

The Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index.

Full XYLD Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.