Is ESMAX or RYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

ESMAX currently yields 36.55% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. RYLD yields 12.39% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: ESMAX offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between ESMAX and RYLD?

ESMAX has a forward dividend yield of 36.55% ($4.40/share annually). RYLD yields 12.39% ($1.81/share annually). The yield gap is 24.16 percentage points.

Home › Compare › ESMAX vs RYLD

ESMAX vs RYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

ESMAX yields 36.55% · RYLD yields 12.39%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 ESMAX wins by $146.5K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

ESMAX

● Live price

36.55%

Share price

$12.03

Annual div

$4.40

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$191.7K

Annual income

$30,039.52

Full ESMAX calculator →

RYLD

● Live price

12.39%

Share price

$14.64

Annual div

$1.81

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$45.3K

Annual income

$2,682.98

Full RYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — ESMAX vs RYLD

📍 ESMAX pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	ESMAX	RYLD
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, ESMAX + RYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

ESMAX pays

RYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

ESMAX

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

$3,106.35/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$25,533.59/yr

RYLD

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

$1,053.44/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,280.53/yr

At 15% tax rate, ESMAX beats the other by $23,253.06/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 ESMAX + RYLD for your $10,000?

ESMAX: 50%RYLD: 50%

100% RYLD50/50100% ESMAX

Portfolio after 10yr

$118.5K

Annual income

$16,361.25/yr

Blended yield

13.81%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

ESMAX buys

RYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for ESMAX or RYLD in the last 90 days.

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

MetricESMAXRYLD

Forward yield	36.55% ✓	12.39%
Annual dividend / share	$4.40 ✓	$1.81
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$191.7K ✓	$45.3K
Annual income after 10y	$30,039.52 ✓	$2,682.98
Total dividends collected	$140.3K ✓	$19.4K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: ESMAX vs RYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	ESMAX Portfolio	ESMAX Income/yr	RYLD Portfolio	RYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$14,355	$3,654.53	$11,939	$1,239.34	+$2.4K → ESMAX
2	$20,262	$4,902.72	$14,158	$1,382.89	+$6.1K → ESMAX
3	$28,148	$6,467.67	$16,682	$1,532.59	+$11.5K → ESMAX
4	$38,516	$8,397.09	$19,537	$1,687.64	+$19.0K → ESMAX
5	$51,950	$10,738.22	$22,752	$1,847.20	+$29.2K → ESMAX
6	$69,123	$13,536.21	$26,355	$2,010.43	+$42.8K → ESMAX
7	$90,794	$16,832.50	$30,376	$2,176.45	+$60.4K → ESMAX
8	$117,813	$20,663.34	$34,847	$2,344.43	+$83.0K → ESMAX
9	$151,118	$25,058.37	$39,800	$2,513.54	+$111.3K → ESMAX
10	$191,736	$30,039.52	$45,269	$2,682.98	+$146.5K → ESMAX

ESMAX vs RYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

ESMAX — Stock

The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in securities of small-capitalization European issuers, and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics similar to such securities. The fund's manager considers an issuer to be a small-capitalization issuer if it has a market capitalization, at the time of purchase, no larger than the largest capitalized issuer included in the Russell 2000® Index. The fund invests primarily in equity securities and depositary receipts.

Full ESMAX Calculator →

RYLD — ETF

The Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF (RYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Russell 2000 BuyWrite Index.

Full RYLD 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.