Principal dividend
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Principal pays a dividend of $0.85 per share. Its coverage depends on cash from premiums, fees and investments after claims, expenses, taxes, debt service and required insurance capital.
How much does Principal pay in dividends?
The October 27, 2026 results call must bridge Q3 results to the 2026 outlook under the changed earnings definition. The dividend is $0.85 per share. It is payable December 18, 2026, to holders of record on December 2. During 2027, Beam—Principal’s employee benefits business—must retain renewals, grow beyond acquired premiums, and lower administration costs. Through 2027–2029, persistent outflows or falling fee yield would pressure the case; positive flows and repeatable free-capital conversion would support it.
Dividends per share start at $3.40 in every case, because the declared quarterly dividend is $0.85. The base case rises to $3.68 in October 2028 and $4.00 in October 2029. The bear case stays at $3.40, while the bull case reaches $3.80 and $4.20. The steady increases in annual dividends from $2.44 in 2021 to $3.08 in 2025 support gradual growth, but capital needs could force a pause.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − Dividends paid, per share | 3.03 | 2.80 | 2.56 | 2.52 | 2.40 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 3.77 | 4.26 | 2.87 | 6.52 | 3.37 |
| = Kept, per share | 1.46 | 1.13 | 0.24 | ||
| = Paid out more, per share | 0.08 | 2.70 |
What this means. Share buybacks count as money paid to shareholders, so when dividends plus buybacks exceeded operating earnings, the table shows money paid out more than the company earned.
How much would Principal's dividend pay you?
$10,000 invested in Principal at its 3.1% dividend yield (our report of October 27, 2026) pays $310.00 in the first year, before tax. If its dividend per share keeps changing 6.0% a year, as it did from 2021 to 2025, and the dividends are reinvested, year 10 pays $742.67, with $4,922.30 received in all.
Before tax. Past dividend growth is not a promise. Information only, not investment advice.
Is Principal's dividend covered by its cash?
From 2021 through 2025, Principal used most of its operating earnings for dividends and share repurchases rather than acquisitions.
The table’s remainder is not a complete cash-flow statement. Operating earnings are Principal’s adjusted measure of continuing performance, not cash sitting in an account. Cash from premiums, fees and investments must also cover claims, expenses, taxes, debt service and required insurance capital. Customer retirement deposits cannot fund acquisitions because Principal owes them to customers.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating earnings (company's measure) | 1,865.5 | 1,640.5 | 1,602.8 | 1,618.8 | 1,640.9 |
| − Dividends paid | 684.0 | 658.4 | 625.5 | 642.3 | 654.1 |
| − Share buybacks | 851.2 | 1,001.7 | 701.4 | 1,664.7 | 921.0 |
| = Kept to grow and build capital | 330.3 | 275.9 | 65.8 | ||
| = Paid out more than it earned | 19.6 | 688.2 | |||
| Paid out, % of operating earnings | 82.3% | 101.2% | 82.8% | 142.5% | 96.0% |
What is Principal's dividend yield against its price?
The dividend yield of 3.1% is easier to understand, but dividends and buybacks depend on distributable capital. Insurance assets support future policyholder claims, reserves and regulatory cushions. Principal’s original 2026 plan called for $1.5–$1.8 billion of capital deployment, including $0.8–$1.1 billion of repurchases. Its 2.0x price-to-book ratio therefore needs to be read alongside $1.5 billion of excess and available capital, including $1.15 billion at the holding company.
| Today (Oct 27, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 110.13 |
| Price to book (calculated) | 2.0x |
| P/E on operating earnings, last 12 months (calculated) | 12.3x |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 3.1% |
What this means. The next twelve months' price-to-earnings ratio uses analysts' guesses about future profit, so it is not guaranteed.