Aviva dividend: payout, cash cover and yield
In 2025, Aviva paid 35.74p per share against EPS of 26.50p. Cash remittances were £2,077 million versus £1,034 million of ordinary dividends, so cash sent to the parent covered the ordinary dividend, although earnings for common shareholders were £767 million.
What does Aviva pay shareholders per share?
Insurance revenue reached £25,437 million in 2025. The combined ratio improved to 94.6% in 2025. Operating return on equity rose from 9.4% in 2022 to 17.5% in 2025. EPS was 26.50p against a 35.74p dividend in 2025. Average diluted shares rose 6.5% in 2025 while buybacks were zero. The valuation is 41.4x trailing P/E and 2.4x price-to-book. The key cash-return figures are a 5.5% dividend yield and a 0.0% buyback yield.
Base dividends rise from 42p to 46p and then 50p. The declared 14p interim dividend and recent 39.3p annual payout support continued growth, while guidance calls for mid-single-digit cash-cost growth. The bear case gives 40p, then 38p and 38p, reflecting payout cover risk. The bull case gives 44p, 50p and 56p, requiring stronger earnings and remittances. Dividends already exceeded common earnings in 2025, so faster growth is not assumed automatically.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 26.50 | 23.30 | 37.20 | -34.70 | 10.00 |
| − Dividends, per share | 35.74 | 33.91 | 31.62 | 26.49 | 37.24 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 0.00 | 11.05 | 10.80 | 10.75 | 22.24 |
| = Paid out more, per share | 9.23 | 21.65 | 5.19 | 71.94 | 49.48 |
What this means. The company paid shareholders 9.23 pence more per share than it earned in 2025 because its dividends were higher than its earnings.
Does Aviva's cash cover its dividend?
Aviva’s earnings for common shareholders were £767 million in the latest year, while ordinary dividends were £1,034 million. It made no ordinary share buybacks. The previous year’s distributions exceeded common earnings by £588 million.
Operating own funds generation rose to £2,317 million in 2025. It measures capital created under Aviva’s Solvency II reporting, not necessarily money available for dividends. Cash remittances are different: they are payments from subsidiaries to the parent through dividends or internal-loan interest. They reached £2,077 million in 2025, while the £1.35 billion received for the Direct Line acquisition was excluded because acquisition funding is not recurring cash.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| = Earnings for common shareholders | 767 | 633 | 1,034 | -1,085 | 298 |
| − Dividends paid on ordinary shares | 1,034 | 921 | 878 | 828 | 1,110 |
| − Share buybacks | 0 | 300 | 300 | 336 | 663 |
| = Paid out more than it earned | 267 | 588 | 144 | 2,249 | 1,475 |
| Paid out, % of earnings for common | 134.8% | 192.9% | 113.9% | not meaningful | 595.0% |
| New shares sold | 1 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 6 |
What this means. The 2025 earnings for ordinary shareholders include 203 million pounds of special payments linked to preference shares, so they are not just the year's ordinary profit.
What could change Aviva's dividend?
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 925 (734 / 1,034) | 1,015 (677 / 1,128) | 1,077 (728 / 1,193) |
| Shares (millions) | 2,985 (3,012 / 2,958) | 2,970 (3,022 / 2,918) | 2,956 (3,033 / 2,881) |
| Dividends per share | 0.42 (0.40 / 0.44) | 0.46 (0.38 / 0.50) | 0.50 (0.38 / 0.56) |
| Price to earnings | 10.50 (8.50 / 12.00) | 10.00 (8.00 / 12.50) | 9.50 (8.00 / 13.00) |
What is Aviva's dividend yield at its share price?
Today’s price is 708.40p. The weighted price is 304.02p by October 2027, implying a 51% total loss. It is 328.72p by October 2029, implying a 35% total loss. The bear case carries 30% probability and the base case 55%. The bull case carries 15%.