Is MLNK or JEPQ a better dividend investment in 2026?

MLNK currently yields 10.00% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. JEPQ yields 11.10% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: JEPQ offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between MLNK and JEPQ?

MLNK has a forward dividend yield of 10.00% ($2.00/share annually). JEPQ yields 11.10% ($6.16/share annually). The yield gap is 1.10 percentage points.

Home › Compare › MLNK vs JEPQ

MLNK vs JEPQ: Dividend Comparison 2026

MLNK yields 10.00% · JEPQ yields 11.10%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 JEPQ wins by $23.3K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

MLNK

● Live price

10.00%

Share price

$20.01

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

-50%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.4K

Annual income

$1.06

Full MLNK calculator →

JEPQ

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

● Live price

11.10%

Share price

$55.52

Annual div

$6.16

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$44.8K

Annual income

$2,152.59

Full JEPQ calculator →

Portfolio growth — MLNK vs JEPQ

📍 JEPQ 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	MLNK	JEPQ
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, MLNK + JEPQ cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

MLNK pays

JEPQ pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

MLNK

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

$849.58/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$0.90/yr

JEPQ

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

$943.83/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$1,829.70/yr

At 15% tax rate, JEPQ beats the other by $1,828.80/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 MLNK + JEPQ for your $10,000?

MLNK: 50%JEPQ: 50%

100% JEPQ50/50100% MLNK

Portfolio after 10yr

$33.1K

Annual income

$1,076.82/yr

Blended yield

3.25%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on JEPQ right now

MLNK

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Hold

Price Target

$22.25

+11.2% upside vs current

Range: $19.00 — $25.50

Altman Z

1.6

Piotroski

5/9

JEPQ

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

MLNK buys

JEPQ buys

No recent congressional trades found for MLNK or JEPQ in the last 90 days.

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

MetricMLNKJEPQ

Forward yield	10.00%	11.10% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$6.16 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-50%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$21.4K	$44.8K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$1.06	$2,152.59 ✓
Total dividends collected	$1.0K	$16.3K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: MLNK vs JEPQ ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	MLNK Portfolio	MLNK Income/yr	JEPQ Portfolio	JEPQ Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,200	$499.75	$11,930	$1,110.39	$730.00 → JEPQ
2	$12,245	$261.55	$14,133	$1,224.34	$1.9K → JEPQ
3	$13,236	$133.63	$16,632	$1,340.46	$3.4K → JEPQ
4	$14,230	$67.49	$19,454	$1,457.97	$5.2K → JEPQ
5	$15,260	$33.91	$22,626	$1,576.08	$7.4K → JEPQ
6	$16,345	$16.99	$26,175	$1,694.09	$9.8K → JEPQ
7	$17,498	$8.50	$30,133	$1,811.32	$12.6K → JEPQ
8	$18,727	$4.25	$34,531	$1,927.17	$15.8K → JEPQ
9	$20,040	$2.13	$39,403	$2,041.08	$19.4K → JEPQ
10	$21,444	$1.06	$44,787	$2,152.59	$23.3K → JEPQ

MLNK vs JEPQ: Complete Analysis 2026

MLNK — Stock

MeridianLink, Inc., a software and services company, provides software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, specialty lending providers, and consumer reporting agencies in the United States. The company offers MeridianLink Consumer, a consumer lending and account opening platform; MeridianLink Opening, an online account opening software that unifies deposit account opening and funding for various channels and products; and MeridianLink DecisionLender, a loan origination software (LOS) for finance companies. It also provides MeridianLink Engage, an end-to-end consumer lending, account, and card marketing automation solution; MeridianLink Mortgage, a SaaS cloud-based end-to-end loan origination software; MeridianLink Collect, a cloud-based debt collection software; and Mortgage Credit Link, a web-based order fulfillment hub. In addition, the company provides solutions, including end-to-end platform, loan origination system, mortgage loan origination system, deposit account opening, data and reporting, collections, and consulting and analysis. MeridianLink, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California.

Full MLNK Calculator →

JEPQ — ETF

The fund seeks to achieve this objective by (1) creating an actively managed portfolio of equity securities comprised significantly of those included in the fund’s primary benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index (the Benchmark), and (2) through equity-linked notes (ELNs), selling call options with exposure to the Benchmark. It is non-diversified.

Full JEPQ 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.