Wells Fargo dividend: payout, coverage and yield
Wells Fargo paid $1.71 per share in 2025. Wells Fargo's dividends and buybacks exceeded EPS by $0.86 per share, so shareholder payouts were not fully covered by that year's earnings.
How much does Wells Fargo pay per share?
The spread narrowed: NIM fell from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.6% in 2025. Revenue reached 83,699 million as efficiency improved to 66.0%. Credit provisions fell to 3,658 million, while CET1 declined to 10.6%. EPS reached $6.26 as the diluted share count fell 6.5%. The dividend was $1.71 per share and buybacks were $5.40. Together, payouts exceeded EPS by $0.86 per share.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 6.26 | 5.37 | 4.83 | 3.27 | 5.08 |
| − Dividends, per share | 1.71 | 1.51 | 1.31 | 1.11 | 0.60 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 5.40 | 5.61 | 3.19 | 1.57 | 3.53 |
| = Kept, per share | 0.34 | 0.60 | 0.95 | ||
| = Paid out more, per share | 0.86 | 1.75 |
What this means. The company’s declared dividend per actual share can differ from this table’s dividend per share because this table divides total declared dividends by the average number of diluted shares.
Is Wells Fargo's dividend covered by its cash?
Wells Fargo returned almost all recent common-shareholder earnings through dividends and buybacks, especially after the asset cap began to loosen.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| = Earnings for common shareholders | 20,285 | 18,606 | 17,982 | 12,562 | 20,818 |
| − Dividends declared on common shares | 5,543 | 5,243 | 4,879 | 4,243 | 2,455 |
| − Share buybacks | 17,516 | 19,448 | 11,851 | 6,033 | 14,464 |
| = Kept to grow and build capital | 1,252 | 2,286 | 3,899 | ||
| = Paid out more than it earned | 2,774 | 6,085 | |||
| Paid out, % of earnings for common | 113.7% | 132.7% | 93.0% | 81.8% | 81.3% |
What this means. The company's dividend payout ratio is much lower than our paid-out percentage because its figure counts only dividends, while ours also counts share buybacks.
What could change Wells Fargo's dividend?
Dividends rise gradually in the base case, from $2.05 per share in October 2027 to $2.35 in October 2029. The path starts from the latest $0.50 quarterly declaration and assumes measured increases rather than a fixed growth commitment.
The bear case cuts dividends to $1.60 after October 2027 because credit losses or capital pressure could force restraint. The bull case reaches $2.65 as stronger earnings support larger increases. The recent dividend record is upward, but the board expressly links future payouts to earnings, capital and stress-test outcomes.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book value | 165,804 (159,304 / 168,504) | 173,704 (161,804 / 179,304) | 182,504 (166,804 / 191,504) |
| Shares (millions) | 2,917 (2,944 / 2,873) | 2,832 (2,886 / 2,744) | 2,747 (2,828 / 2,616) |
| Dividends per share | 2.05 (2.00 / 2.15) | 2.20 (1.60 / 2.40) | 2.35 (1.60 / 2.65) |
| Price to book value | 1.45 (1.15 / 1.65) | 1.50 (1.05 / 1.80) | 1.55 (0.95 / 1.95) |
What is Wells Fargo's dividend yield against its share price?
Wells Fargo is a bank whose share price reflects both the profits it earns today and the capital it must keep to remain safe. At $80.74, the central question is whether its improved returns can last long enough to justify paying more than the accounting value of its assets.