Is VLI or BTI a better dividend investment in 2026?

VLI currently yields 408.16% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. BTI yields 5.40% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: VLI offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VLI and BTI?

VLI has a forward dividend yield of 408.16% ($2.00/share annually). BTI yields 5.40% ($3.15/share annually). The yield gap is 402.76 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VLI vs BTI

VLI vs BTI: Dividend Comparison 2026

VLI yields 408.16% · BTI yields 5.40%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 VLI wins by $13266.31M in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VLI

● Live price

408.16%

Share price

$0.49

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$13266.35M

Annual income

$8,951,942,333.18

Full VLI calculator →

BTI

● Live price

5.40%

Share price

$58.26

Annual div

$3.15

5Y div CAGR

11.3%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$37.8K

Annual income

$2,802.29

Full BTI calculator →

Portfolio growth — VLI vs BTI

📍 VLI 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	VLI	BTI
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, VLI + BTI cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VLI pays

BTI pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

VLI

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

$34,693.88/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$7,609,150,983.20/yr

BTI

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

$459.05/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,381.95/yr

At 15% tax rate, VLI beats the other by $7,609,148,601.26/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 VLI + BTI for your $10,000?

VLI: 50%BTI: 50%

100% BTI50/50100% VLI

Portfolio after 10yr

$6633.19M

Annual income

$4,475,972,567.73/yr

Blended yield

67.48%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on BTI right now

VLI

No analyst data

BTI

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Buy

Price Target

$40.00

-31.3% upside vs current

Range: $40.00 — $40.00

Altman Z

2.1

Piotroski

7/9

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)

VLI buys

BTI buys

No recent congressional trades found for VLI or BTI in the last 90 days.

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

MetricVLIBTI

Forward yield	408.16% ✓	5.40%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$3.15 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	11.3% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$13266.35M ✓	$37.8K
Annual income after 10y	$8,951,942,333.18 ✓	$2,802.29
Total dividends collected	$12871.54M ✓	$14.4K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	Consumer Staples

Year-by-year: VLI vs BTI ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VLI Portfolio	VLI Income/yr	BTI Portfolio	BTI Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$51,516	$40,816.33	$11,301	$601.08	+$40.2K → VLI
2	$251,637	$196,514.69	$12,799	$706.58	+$238.8K → VLI
3	$1,166,352	$897,100.58	$14,527	$832.38	+$1.15M → VLI
4	$5,134,082	$3,886,085.48	$16,527	$982.75	+$5.12M → VLI
5	$21,480,272	$15,986,803.86	$18,846	$1,162.95	+$21.46M → VLI
6	$85,494,655	$62,510,763.88	$21,545	$1,379.49	+$85.47M → VLI
7	$324,004,581	$232,525,300.29	$24,694	$1,640.41	+$323.98M → VLI
8	$1,170,251,307	$823,566,405.33	$28,378	$1,955.69	+$1170.22M → VLI
9	$4,032,156,309	$2,779,987,409.90	$32,702	$2,337.79	+$4032.12M → VLI
10	$13,266,349,583	$8,951,942,333.18	$37,794	$2,802.29	+$13266.31M → VLI

VLI vs BTI: Complete Analysis 2026

VLI — Stock

NuStar Energy L.P. was a publicly traded master limited partnership (MLP) engaged in the terminalling and storage of petroleum products, transportation of petroleum products and anhydrous ammonia, and marketing of petroleum products. The company operated through three segments: storage, pipeline, and fuels marketing. NuStar’s assets included refined product terminals, crude oil storage tanks, and pipeline networks. On May 3, 2024, Sunoco completed its acquisition of NuStar Energy L.P., and NuStar shares were delisted.

Full VLI Calculator →

BTI — Consumer Staples

British American Tobacco p.l.c. provides tobacco and nicotine products to consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States. It offers vapour, heated, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company provides its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Newport, Natural American Spirit, and Camel brands. The company distributes its products to retail outlets. British American Tobacco p.l.c. was founded in 1902 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Full BTI 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.