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SO vs COST: Dividend Comparison 2026

SO yields 3.42% · COST yields 4.00%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 COST wins by $6.3K in total portfolio value
10 years
SO
The Southern Company
● Live price
3.42%
Share price
$84.20
Annual div
$2.88
5Y div CAGR
3.1%
Payout ratio
72%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$21.7K
Annual income
$613.85
Full SO calculator →
COST
COST
● Live price
4.00%
Share price
$50.00
Annual div
$2.00
5Y div CAGR
5%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$28.0K
Annual income
$899.19
Full COST calculator →

Portfolio growth — SO vs COST

📍 COST 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 PeriodSOCOST
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, SO + COST cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan
—
Feb
—
Mar
—
Apr
—
May
—
Jun
—
Jul
—
Aug
—
Sep
—
Oct
—
Nov
—
Dec
—
SO pays
COST pays
Both pay
Neither
💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

SO
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$290.74/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$521.77/yr
COST
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$340.00/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$764.31/yr
At 15% tax rate, COST beats the other by $242.54/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of SO + COST for your $10,000?

SO: 50%COST: 50%
100% COST50/50100% SO
Portfolio after 10yr
$24.9K
Annual income
$756.53/yr
Blended yield
3.04%
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

SO buys
0
COST buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for SO or COST in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricSOCOST
Forward yield3.42%4.00% ✓
Annual dividend / share$2.88 ✓$2.00
Payout ratio72%50% ✓
1-year div growth3%5% ✓
5-year div CAGR3.1%5% ✓
Portfolio after 10y$21.7K$28.0K ✓
Annual income after 10y$613.85$899.19 ✓
Total dividends collected$4.7K$6.4K ✓
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorUtilitiesConsumer Staples

Year-by-year: SO vs COST ($10,000, DRIP)

YearSO PortfolioSO Income/yrCOST PortfolioCOST Income/yrGap
1← crossover$10,833$352.65$11,120$420.00$287.00 → COST
2$11,728$375.81$12,357$458.31$629.00 → COST
3$12,692$400.29$13,721$499.76$1.0K → COST
4$13,727$426.14$15,227$544.58$1.5K → COST
5$14,839$453.42$16,885$593.02$2.0K → COST
6$16,034$482.21$18,713$645.34$2.7K → COST
7$17,316$512.58$20,724$701.81$3.4K → COST
8$18,692$544.59$22,938$762.73$4.2K → COST
9$20,167$578.32$25,372$828.41$5.2K → COST
10$21,749$613.85$28,047$899.19$6.3K → COST

SO vs COST: Complete Analysis 2026

SO — Utilities

Southern Company is a Dividend Aristocrat with 23+ consecutive years of increases. It serves 9M+ customers across Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi through its regulated electric and gas utilities. Vogtle Unit 4 nuclear plant completion in 2024 adds decades of low-carbon baseload generation capacity.

Full SO Calculator →

COST — Consumer Staples

COST is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in COST shares.

Full COST 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.