SCHD dividend history highlights steady growth, compounding income, and consistency through market cycles.
Dividends
August 20, 2025
Table of Contents
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) has become one of the most popular dividend-focused ETFs for income investors. Since its launch in 2011, SCHD has built a consistent track record of quarterly payouts, rewarding shareholders with steady dividend growth. Below is a year-by-year summary of how SCHD’s dividends have grown from inception through 2023, excluding 2024 and 2025 to keep the focus on the fund’s long-term growth trajectory.
When a company earns a profit, it has three choices:
That third option is called a dividend.
Let’s say you own 100 shares of a company that pays a $1 dividend per share. That’s $100 paid to you just for holding the stock. No selling. No timing the market. Just ownership.
Many of the most recognizable companies in the world pay dividends. We’re talking about household names like Apple, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble. But dividend payers aren’t limited to the Fortune 100. Many small and mid-cap companies across sectors also distribute earnings this way.
Dividends are typically paid out quarterly, though some companies opt for monthly or annual payouts.
Here are the four key dates that every dividend investor should understand:
One important note: on the ex-dividend date, a stock’s price typically drops by the dividend amount. This isn’t a market reaction—it’s simply the market adjusting the stock’s value, now that new buyers won’t receive the announced payout.
Before diving into specific yearly payouts, it’s important to look at SCHD’s early trajectory. The ETF started small but quickly established itself as a reliable income vehicle, with dividends rising every single year since inception.
Summary: From 2011 through 2020, SCHD’s annual dividend increased every single year, climbing from less than a nickel per share in its first payout to more than $2 annually. This period laid the foundation for SCHD’s reputation as a consistent income ETF.
SCHD paid a total of $2.25 per share in 2021, representing an increase of about 10.9% over 2020. Each quarter saw higher payouts than the last, finishing with $0.6198 per share in December, the highest quarterly dividend in its history up to that point.
Dividends continued their climb in 2022, with SCHD paying $2.56 per share across the year. That marked a 13.9% increase from 2021. The second and fourth quarters were especially strong, each distributing over $0.70 per share.
In 2023, SCHD paid its highest annual dividend ever, totaling $2.66 per share. Growth was slower than in prior years but still positive, at around 3.8%. The December 2023 distribution came in at $0.7423 per share, a new quarterly record.
From its inception in 2011 through 2023, SCHD’s dividends rose from $0.04 per share in its first payout to $2.66 per share annually. That’s a more than 65-fold increase in distributions per share. For income-focused investors, SCHD has shown remarkable consistency in raising dividends, supported by a portfolio of established U.S. companies with strong fundamentals.
From its very first payout of $0.0406 in 2011, SCHD’s annual dividends have expanded dramatically to an equivalent of over $3.00 per share in 2025 (pre-split basis). That’s more than a 70x increase in just 14 years.
Today, SCHD offers investors a current dividend yield of 3.76%, making it not only a proven source of dividend growth but also a strong income generator in the present.
This growth reflects the strength of SCHD’s strategy: focusing on high-quality U.S. companies with sustainable dividend policies, delivering reliable income and consistent increases for long-term investors.
Tracking SCHD’s dividend growth highlights just how powerful dividend compounding can be. But waiting for annual reports or sifting through endless press releases often means you’re reacting late, after the market has already priced in the news.
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