Weekly dividend watch, edition 2. Every yield below is the company’s declared annual dividend divided by the closing price on Friday 6 November 2026, with dividends taken from company releases and prices from the exchanges’ own pages. This week the list has twenty large dividend payers: the sixteen from edition 1 plus four new names (Engie, Verizon, China Mobile and China Construction Bank). It is a watchlist, not the whole market, and it skips German-listed shares because of the high German dividend withholding tax.
Markets are grouped by the MSCI Market Classification Review announced on 23 June 2026: the US, the UK, France, Italy and the Netherlands are developed markets, and China is an emerging market. The groups are never mixed: developed markets have their own chart and tables (sections 1 to 4), emerging markets have theirs (section 5). Japan, a developed market that we planned to add, is not in this edition: the Japan Exchange Group’s quote service was down for maintenance when we collected prices, so we have no verified Friday close to use.
How we read the numbers: yield is the annual dividend divided by the price, so it moves with the share price. A high yield on its own says little about safety, which is why we split the list four ways: the highest yields, the highest yields that look safest, the highest yields that look riskiest, and low yields with a strong record of dividend growth. Our safety screens are simple and ours alone: a REIT paying out about 75% of AFFO or less, an energy company paying out under 45% of operating cash flow, or an insurer paying out about 60-70% of earnings counts as safer; a payout near or above 100% of free cash flow, or heavy debt, counts as riskier; if the company gives no cover figure, we leave it unrated.
1. The highest current yields (developed markets)
Fourteen of the eighteen developed-market companies yield 4% or more. The top three are a US gas producer, a US casino REIT and a UK insurer, the same three as last week. Verizon is the new entry at 6.19%, and the highest-yielding continental European names are Engie, AXA, Poste Italiane and Enel, all between 5.1% and 5.6%. Share prices moved a lot during the week (TotalEnergies, Eni and Diversified Energy fell; AXA, Enel and Realty Income rose), so most yields changed without any change in the dividend.
| # | Company | Region | Close, 6 Nov 2026 | Annual dividend | Basis | Yield | Yield, 30 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diversified Energy | US | $12.705 | $1.16 | 4 x USD 0.29 (3Q26 dividend) | 9.13% | 8.03% |
| 2 | VICI Properties | US | $24.795 | $1.84 | 4 x USD 0.46 | 7.42% | 7.52% |
| 3 | Legal & General | UK | 304.7p | 21.79p | FY2025 dividend | 7.15% | 7.17% |
| 4 | Verizon | US | $45.71 | $2.83 | 4 x USD 0.7075 (declared 9 Sep 2026, unchanged) | 6.19% | new |
| 5 | Engie | Continental Europe | EUR 24.20 | EUR 1.35 | FY2025 ordinary dividend (10% loyalty bonus not counted) | 5.58% | new |
| 6 | Realty Income | US | $59.045 | $3.258 | current annualised monthly rate | 5.52% | 5.71% |
| 7 | Aviva | UK | 733.8p | 39.3p | FY2025 dividend (13.1 interim + 26.2 final) | 5.36% | 5.36% |
| 8 | AXA | Continental Europe | EUR 44.68 | EUR 2.32 | FY2025 dividend | 5.19% | 5.45% |
| 9 | Poste Italiane | Continental Europe | EUR 24.52 | EUR 1.25 | FY2025 dividend (0.40 interim + 0.85 balance) | 5.10% | 5.20% |
| 10 | Enel | Continental Europe | EUR 9.693 | EUR 0.49 | FY2025 dividend | 5.06% | 5.26% |
| 11 | Agree Realty | US | $69.87 | $3.252 | current annualised monthly rate (USD 0.271 x 12) | 4.65% | 4.78% |
| 12 | TotalEnergies | Continental Europe | EUR 79.73 | EUR 3.60 | 4 x EUR 0.90 interim | 4.52% | 4.21% |
| 13 | Eni | Continental Europe | EUR 25.05 | EUR 1.10 | 2026 ordinary dividend (EUR 0.46 special not counted) | 4.39% | 4.05% |
| 14 | PepsiCo | US | $141.34 | $5.92 | 4 x USD 1.48 | 4.19% | 4.31% |
Eni’s yield is 4.39% on its ordinary dividend. Adding the EUR 0.46 special dividend payable on 9 December 2026 would make it 6.23%, but a special dividend is a one-off and is not counted in the table.
Corrections to edition 1. Agree Realty raised its monthly dividend 1.5% to USD 0.271 on 13 October 2026, before edition 1 was published, but edition 1 used the previous USD 0.267 rate (USD 3.204 a year). On the correct rate its edition 1 yield would have been 4.85%, not 4.78%. Realty Income’s edition 1 rate (USD 3.252 a year) was also slightly out of date: the company reports an annualised dividend of USD 3.258 at 30 September 2026, which would have made its edition 1 yield 5.72%, not 5.71%. The “Yield, 30 Oct” column shows the figures as published last week.
2. High yield and the safest cover
These are the highest yields where the company’s own figures show a comfortable payout. Safer is not safe: all of these dividends depend on the business continuing to perform. The payouts in the last column are our calculations from the company figures shown (dividend divided by guided AFFO, earnings or free cash flow), except where marked as the company’s own figure.
| Company | Region | Yield | What the company reports | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VICI Properties | US | 7.42% | Dividend $1.84 vs 2026 AFFO guidance $2.47-2.48 per share | about 74% of AFFO |
| Verizon | US | 6.19% | Dividends paid $8.8bn vs free cash flow $18.0bn in the first nine months of 2026 (company release, 26 October 2026) | about 49% of free cash flow |
| Engie | Continental Europe | 5.58% | FY2025 dividend EUR 1.35 = 67% payout of net recurring income (company figure); company policy 65-75% with a EUR 1.10 floor | 67% of net recurring income (company) |
| Realty Income | US | 5.52% | Dividend $3.258 vs 2026 AFFO guidance raised to $4.45-4.46 per share on 2 November 2026; the company says Q3 dividends were 72.6% of AFFO | about 73% of AFFO |
| AXA | Continental Europe | 5.19% | Dividend EUR 2.32 vs underlying EPS EUR 3.86 (FY2025) | about 60% of underlying earnings |
| Enel | Continental Europe | 5.06% | Dividend EUR 0.49 vs about EUR 0.69 expected ordinary EPS quoted in February 2026 (a forecast) | about 71% of expected earnings |
| Agree Realty | US | 4.65% | Dividend $3.252 vs 2026 AFFO guidance $4.58-4.59 per share | about 71% of AFFO |
| TotalEnergies | Continental Europe | 4.52% | Dividends paid $6,372m vs cash flow from operations $30,635m in the first nine months of 2026; gearing 9.1% | about 21% of operating cash flow (39% of cash flow after organic investments) |
| Eni | Continental Europe | 4.39% | Company target: 35-45% of cash flow from operations; ordinary dividend EUR 1.10 plus a EUR 0.46 special dividend payable 9 December 2026 | target 35-45% of operating cash flow |
VICI Properties tops the group at 7.42% with about three quarters of AFFO paid out. Verizon pays out about half of its free cash flow, which is a comfortable ratio on that measure alone; we have not screened its debt. In Europe the best combination is Engie (5.58% with a 67% payout) and AXA (5.19% with about 60% of earnings paid out). The Enel payout rests on a company forecast, not a reported result.
3. High yield, higher risk or less visibility
These are not predictions of dividend cuts. They are the names where the cover is thin, the debt is heavier than the company’s own target, or the company does not publish enough for us to judge.
| Company | Region | Yield | Why we flag it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversified Energy | US | 9.13% | Highest yield in this edition, and the share price fell 12.1% in the week. The 3Q26 dividend stayed at $0.29. Net debt rose to 2.66 times EBITDA at 30 September 2026, above the company’s own 2.0-2.5 times target (it was 2.45 times in the second-quarter release we used last week). On cover, the company says about $63m of year-to-date shareholder returns came from its fixed dividend, against free cash flow of $255.6m ($426.9m on its adjusted definition): about 25% of free cash flow (our calculation). The release states no dividend cover. A gas and oil producer, so cash flow follows commodity prices. |
| PepsiCo | US | 4.19% | Dividends paid in the first nine months of its fiscal year were $5,935m against free cash flow of $5,857m, so dividends alone used about 101% of free cash flow (our calculation from the 8 October 2026 release). The 2026 core EPS growth guidance was lowered to +2.5% to +3.5%. The dividend is still being raised ($5.92 a year, up from $5.69), so this is a thin-cover warning, not a cut. |
| Legal & General | UK | 7.15% | Third-highest yield. The company says it improved dividend cover, but the interim release states no cover figure or payout ratio, so we cannot rate it from official data. Dividend growth is guided at 2% this year. |
| Aviva | UK | 5.36% | Interim dividend raised 7% to 14.0p under a policy of growing the cash cost of the dividend by mid-single digits. The release states no cover ratio, and operating capital generation fell 5% to £911m in the first half, so we leave it unrated. |
| Poste Italiane | Continental Europe | 5.10% | The company’s AGM release gives the EUR 1.25 dividend but no payout ratio, so we leave it unrated. |
4. Low yield today, strong dividend growth
These pay little now (0.6% to 2.2%) but have a record of raising the dividend, with a low share of profit or cash flow already paid out. That is room to grow, not a promise of it: the table shows what the companies reported, not a forecast.
| Company | Region | Close, 6 Nov 2026 | Annual dividend | Yield | Growth record and room to grow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RELX | UK | 3,016p | 67.5p | 2.24% | Total dividend 67.5p for 2025, up 7% from 63.0p. About 52% of adjusted EPS of 128.5p (our calculation). |
| Schneider Electric | Continental Europe | EUR 228.65 | EUR 4.20 | 1.84% | EUR 4.20 for fiscal 2025, the 16th consecutive year of dividend increases according to the company. |
| Visa | US | $422.86 | $3.12 | 0.74% | Quarterly dividend raised 16% on 27 October 2026 to $0.78. Dividends paid in fiscal 2026 were $5,112m, about 23% of free cash flow of $22,057m (our calculation from the release). |
| ASML | Continental Europe | EUR 1,283.60 | EUR 7.50 | 0.58% | EUR 7.50 for 2025 (three interims of EUR 1.60 plus a EUR 2.70 final), a 17% increase according to the company. The company’s 14 October 2026 release shows a 2026 interim dividend of EUR 1.88 per share, 17.5% above EUR 1.60 (our calculation); the table keeps the 2025 total as its basis. Shares closed down 9.1% on the week. |
5. Asia-Pacific: emerging markets (China)
This is the first Asia-Pacific section. Both companies are listed in Hong Kong and are shown separately because MSCI classes China as an emerging market, and the risks differ from the developed-market names above: Chinese dividends are declared in renminbi and paid in Hong Kong dollars or renminbi, shares trade in Hong Kong dollars, and source withholding tax, currency risk and broker access vary, so check them with your own broker before buying. The prices are the Hong Kong Exchange’s last prices on Friday 6 November 2026 as shown at 16:08 Hong Kong time.
| Company | Close, 6 Nov 2026 | Annual dividend | Basis | Yield | Cover and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Mobile | HK$81.10 | HK$5.27 | FY2025 dividend: HK$2.75 interim + HK$2.52 final | 6.50% | The company says the 2025 payout was 75% of profit; free cash flow was RMB82.0bn, so the dividend was about 125% of free cash flow (our calculation: 75% of RMB137.1bn profit). The 2026 interim dividend is RMB2.51 (HK$2.9003), up 5.5% in Hong Kong dollars, and first-half free cash flow was RMB53.9bn against an interim dividend of about RMB54.4bn. We flag it as thin cover, not as a cut: it expects a full-year 2026 payout ratio that is “stable-to-rising”. |
| China Construction Bank | HK$10.53 | about HK$0.449 (RMB0.3887) | FY2025 dividend: RMB0.1858 interim + RMB0.2029 final (RMB0.3887) | 4.27% | The company’s cash dividend ratio is 30% of net profit (company figure), so we rate cover as comfortable. The yield is our calculation: the renminbi dividend is converted at HK$1.1555 per RMB, the rate implied by China Mobile’s own RMB2.51 = HK$2.9003 conversion, so it is approximate. The 2026 interim dividend proposed is RMB0.201 per share. |
6. Scorecard: edition 1 against what happened
For the sixteen companies in edition 1, here is how the safe, risky and growth views held up in the first week. One week is far too short to test a dividend rating, so treat this as a log, not a verdict. No dividend was cut by any of the sixteen. Our searches this week covered new company releases for Realty Income, Agree Realty, Diversified Energy, ASML and the new names; for the others we found no new dividend announcement in the sources listed in edition 1, but we did not search every company’s news feed. Price moves are Friday 30 October close to Friday 6 November close and are not part of the safe or risky ratings.
| Company | Edition 1 view | Dividend | Price, 30 Oct to 6 Nov |
|---|---|---|---|
| VICI Properties | Safe | Unchanged ($0.46 a quarter) | +1.3% |
| Realty Income | Safe | Raised slightly: annualised $3.258 (edition 1 used $3.252) | +3.7% |
| AXA | Safe | Unchanged (EUR 2.32 for FY2025) | +4.9% |
| Enel | Safe | Unchanged (EUR 0.49 for FY2025) | +4.0% |
| Agree Realty | Safe | Edition 1 base was our error: the rate was already $3.252 (edition 1 used $3.204) | +4.2% |
| TotalEnergies | Safe | Unchanged (EUR 0.90 a quarter) | -6.7% |
| Eni | Safe | Unchanged (EUR 1.10 ordinary; EUR 0.46 special still due 9 Dec) | -7.7% |
| Diversified Energy | Riskier | Held at $0.29; leverage rose to 2.66x; payout about 25% of free cash flow, lower than we implied | -12.1% |
| PepsiCo | Riskier | Unchanged ($1.48 a quarter) | +2.9% |
| Legal & General | Riskier / unrated | Unchanged; still no cover figure published | +0.3% |
| Aviva | Riskier / unrated | Unchanged; still no cover ratio published | 0.0% |
| Poste Italiane | Riskier / unrated | Unchanged; still no payout ratio published | +2.0% |
| RELX | Growth | Unchanged (67.5p for 2025) | +0.8% |
| Schneider Electric | Growth | Unchanged (EUR 4.20 for fiscal 2025) | -3.7% |
| Visa | Growth | Unchanged ($0.78 a quarter, raised 27 Oct) | +2.3% |
| ASML | Growth | 2026 interim EUR 1.88 vs EUR 1.60 in 2025 (announced 14 Oct, before edition 1; our table used the 2025 total) | -9.1% |
What we got right and wrong. Right: no dividend among the sixteen was cut, and the riskiest-flagged share price, Diversified Energy, fell the most (12.1%). Mixed: Diversified Energy’s dividend covers well on free cash flow, so the flag rests on debt and commodity exposure rather than thin cover, and we have updated the table above to say so. Wrong: our edition 1 dividend base for Agree Realty was stale, and Realty Income’s was slightly stale; both are corrected in this edition. Among the seven names we rated safe, five rose and two fell (TotalEnergies and Eni, both energy). A cumulative summary will follow once there are three editions to compare.
Taxes and brokers
Dividends are taxed at source in the country of the company, and the rate depends on the country and your tax residence. For US shares, a W-8BEN form is what normally gets non-US investors the reduced treaty rate — see our guide to Form W-8BEN. Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong have their own withholding rules and currency conversions; ask your broker before buying. Yields above are before any tax.
Sources
Prices are closing prices on Friday 6 November 2026, read on 7 November 2026 from the exchanges: Euronext (TotalEnergies, Eni, AXA, Enel, Poste Italiane, ASML, Schneider Electric, Engie; valuation close), the London Stock Exchange (Legal & General, Aviva, RELX), the NYSE closing prices published on Nasdaq.com (Realty Income, Agree Realty, VICI, PepsiCo, Diversified Energy, Visa, Verizon) and the Hong Kong Exchange (China Mobile, China Construction Bank; last price as shown at 16:08 Hong Kong time). Market classification: MSCI 2026 Market Classification Review (23 June 2026).
Dividends and payout data new or updated this week: Realty Income: third quarter 2026 results (2 November 2026). Agree Realty: increased monthly dividend release (13 October 2026). Diversified Energy: third quarter 2026 results (conference call 5 November 2026). ASML: third quarter 2026 results (14 October 2026). Verizon: dividend declaration (9 September 2026) and third quarter 2026 results (26 October 2026). Engie: full-year 2025 results (25 February 2026) and its dividend page. China Mobile: 2025 annual results (26 March 2026) and 2026 interim results (13 August 2026). China Construction Bank: 2025 annual results (27 March 2026) and 2026 interim results (28 August 2026).
All other dividend figures are unchanged from edition 1, where the company releases are listed (TotalEnergies, Eni, AXA, Enel, Poste Italiane, Schneider Electric, Legal & General, Aviva, VICI Properties, PepsiCo, RELX and Visa).
Not investment advice. Yields change daily with prices, dividends can be cut or suspended, and figures marked as our calculation are derived from the company’s numbers and are not reported by the company.
