Is QLDY or DGRO a better dividend investment in 2026?

QLDY currently yields 16.58% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. DGRO yields 2.10% with 9.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: QLDY offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between QLDY and DGRO?

QLDY has a forward dividend yield of 16.58% ($6.44/share annually). DGRO yields 2.10% ($1.47/share annually). The yield gap is 14.48 percentage points.

Home › Compare › QLDY vs DGRO

QLDY vs DGRO: Dividend Comparison 2026

QLDY yields 16.58% · DGRO yields 2.10%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 QLDY wins by $27.5K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

QLDY

● Live price

16.58%

Share price

$38.85

Annual div

$6.44

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$59.1K

Annual income

$4,589.76

Full QLDY calculator →

DGRO

iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF

● Live price

2.10%

Share price

$70.18

Annual div

$1.47

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$31.6K

Annual income

$235.38

Full DGRO calculator →

Portfolio growth — QLDY vs DGRO

📍 QLDY 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	QLDY	DGRO
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, QLDY + DGRO cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

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Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

QLDY pays

DGRO pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

QLDY

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

$1,409.03/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$3,901.30/yr

DGRO

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

$178.14/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$200.07/yr

At 15% tax rate, QLDY beats the other by $3,701.22/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 QLDY + DGRO for your $10,000?

QLDY: 50%DGRO: 50%

100% DGRO50/50100% QLDY

Portfolio after 10yr

$45.3K

Annual income

$2,412.57/yr

Blended yield

5.33%

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

QLDY buys

DGRO buys

No recent congressional trades found for QLDY or DGRO in the last 90 days.

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

MetricQLDYDGRO

Forward yield	16.58% ✓	2.10%
Annual dividend / share	$6.44 ✓	$1.47
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$59.1K ✓	$31.6K
Annual income after 10y	$4,589.76 ✓	$235.38
Total dividends collected	$30.3K ✓	$2.2K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: QLDY vs DGRO ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	QLDY Portfolio	QLDY Income/yr	DGRO Portfolio	DGRO Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$12,358	$1,657.68	$11,290	$209.57	+$1.1K → QLDY
2	$15,137	$1,914.49	$12,722	$213.54	+$2.4K → QLDY
3	$18,389	$2,191.69	$14,314	$217.18	+$4.1K → QLDY
4	$22,164	$2,488.26	$16,080	$220.53	+$6.1K → QLDY
5	$26,518	$2,802.93	$18,040	$223.59	+$8.5K → QLDY
6	$31,509	$3,134.21	$20,215	$226.40	+$11.3K → QLDY
7	$37,195	$3,480.41	$22,627	$228.96	+$14.6K → QLDY
8	$43,638	$3,839.70	$25,302	$231.31	+$18.3K → QLDY
9	$50,903	$4,210.15	$28,268	$233.44	+$22.6K → QLDY
10	$59,056	$4,589.76	$31,557	$235.38	+$27.5K → QLDY

QLDY vs DGRO: Complete Analysis 2026

QLDY — Stock

Actively managed ETF that seeks current income (primary objective) and capital appreciation (secondary). It uses a “LightningSpread” strategy: long exposure via deep in-the-money long-dated calls, and daily writing of zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) put spreads on the Nasdaq-100 index or ETFs tracking it. Also uses short-term U.S. Treasury securities / money market funds for uninvested cash. Aims to deliver income twice weekly.

Full QLDY Calculator →

DGRO — ETF

The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.

Full DGRO 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.