Is ESSA or XYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

ESSA currently yields 2.91% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. XYLD yields 10.98% with 0.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: XYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between ESSA and XYLD?

ESSA has a forward dividend yield of 2.91% ($0.60/share annually). XYLD yields 10.98% ($4.30/share annually). The yield gap is 8.07 percentage points.

Home › Compare › ESSA vs XYLD

ESSA vs XYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

ESSA yields 2.91% · XYLD yields 10.98%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 ESSA wins by $354.3K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

ESSA

● Live price

2.91%

Share price

$20.61

Annual div

$0.60

5Y div CAGR

55.8%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$379.6K

Annual income

$210,681.63

Full ESSA calculator →

XYLD

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

10.98%

Share price

$39.13

Annual div

$4.30

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.3K

Annual income

$3,219.02

Full XYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — ESSA vs XYLD

📍 ESSA 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	ESSA	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, ESSA + XYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

ESSA pays

XYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

ESSA

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

$247.45/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$179,079.39/yr

XYLD

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

$933.63/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,736.17/yr

At 15% tax rate, ESSA beats the other by $176,343.22/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 ESSA + XYLD for your $10,000?

ESSA: 50%XYLD: 50%

100% XYLD50/50100% ESSA

Portfolio after 10yr

$202.4K

Annual income

$106,950.33/yr

Blended yield

52.83%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

ESSA buys

XYLD buys

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

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

MetricESSAXYLD

Forward yield	2.91%	10.98% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$0.60	$4.30 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	55.8% ✓	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$379.6K ✓	$25.3K
Annual income after 10y	$210,681.63 ✓	$3,219.02
Total dividends collected	$341.3K ✓	$19.6K
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

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

Year	ESSA Portfolio	ESSA Income/yr	XYLD Portfolio	XYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,154	$453.57	$10,818	$1,098.39	+$336.00 → ESSA
2	$12,671	$736.61	$11,738	$1,222.51	+$933.00 → ESSA
3	$14,776	$1,218.47	$12,774	$1,364.64	+$2.0K → ESSA
4	$17,880	$2,068.99	$13,944	$1,527.86	+$3.9K → ESSA
5	$22,777	$3,645.32	$15,270	$1,715.87	+$7.5K → ESSA
6	$31,133	$6,761.58	$16,775	$1,933.09	+$14.4K → ESSA
7	$46,769	$13,457.28	$18,490	$2,184.87	+$28.3K → ESSA
8	$79,479	$29,436.46	$20,450	$2,477.63	+$59.0K → ESSA
9	$157,882	$72,839.13	$22,697	$2,819.19	+$135.2K → ESSA
10	$379,615	$210,681.63	$25,280	$3,219.02	+$354.3K → ESSA

ESSA vs XYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

ESSA — Stock

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust that provides a range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses in Pennsylvania. The company accepts savings accounts, interest bearing demand accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as commercial checking accounts. Its loan portfolio includes first mortgage loans for the purchase, construction, or refinancing of one- to four-family residential real estate property; commercial real estate loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; and commercial and other consumer loans, as well as loans secured by deposits and personal unsecured loans. In addition, the company offers insurance benefits consulting services, such as health insurance, life insurance, short term and long term disability, dental, vision, 401(K) retirement planning, and individual health products, as well as asset management and trust, and investment services. As of September 30, 2021, it operated 21 community offices, including seven offices in Monroe County, three offices in Lehigh County, five offices in Northampton County, one office in Lackawanna County, one office in Luzerne County, one office in Chester County, two offices in Delaware County, and one office in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Full ESSA 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.