What this calculator does
Dividend per share (DPS) is the cash a company pays out for each share of common stock, over a year or a single payment period. It is the raw dollar figure sitting underneath ratios like dividend yield and payout ratio, so knowing how to calculate dividend per share matters even when the headline number you actually want is one of those derived ratios.
The calculation itself is simple division, but the numerator needs a small correction most people skip: if a company has preferred shares outstanding, those holders get paid first, and only what is left over is split among common shareholders. Ignoring that step overstates DPS whenever preferred dividends exist.
The formula
Subtract any preferred dividends from the total dividends paid, since preferred shareholders are paid before common shareholders and their portion is not part of a common-share DPS figure. Divide what remains by the number of common shares outstanding.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DPS | Dividend per share: the dividend paid to common shareholders, on a per-share basis. |
| Total dividends paid | The full cash amount a company distributes to all shareholders, preferred and common, over the period being measured. |
| Preferred dividends | The fixed amount paid to preferred shareholders first, which does not get divided among common shares. |
| Shares outstanding | The number of common shares currently held by all shareholders, the denominator in the DPS calculation. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Total dividends paid ($) | The total cash dividend the company paid out over the period, before any deduction for preferred shares. |
| Preferred dividends (if any) ($) | Dividends paid to preferred shareholders, if the company has any outstanding. Leave at zero if it does not. |
| Common shares outstanding | The number of common shares outstanding over that same period. |
When to use it
Checking a company’s own reported DPS
Annual reports usually state DPS directly, but recomputing it from total dividends and shares outstanding is a quick way to confirm the figure, or to see how it moved when shares outstanding changed through buybacks or new issuance.
Companies with preferred stock
Where a company has preferred shares, its total dividend payment includes an amount already earmarked for those holders. Subtracting that first avoids overstating what common shareholders actually received per share.
Feeding into yield or payout calculations
DPS is the starting figure for dividend yield (DPS divided by share price) and payout ratio (DPS divided by earnings per share), so getting this number right first keeps those downstream figures accurate.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
DPS at a fixed dividend total, as shares outstanding change
The same total dividend payment, spread across a range of share counts.
| Shares outstanding | Dividend per share |
|---|---|
| 500,000 | $8.00 |
| 1,000,000 | $4.00 |
| 2,000,000 | $2.00 |
| 4,000,000 | $1.00 |
| 8,000,000 | $0.50 |
| 10,000,000 | $0.40 |
DPS at a fixed share count, as preferred dividends change
A fixed total payment and share count, with the amount paid to preferred shareholders varied.
| Preferred dividends | Dividend per share |
|---|---|
| $0 | $1.50 |
| $250,000 | $1.38 |
| $500,000 | $1.25 |
| $750,000 | $1.13 |
| $1,000,000 | $1.00 |
| $1,500,000 | $0.75 |
Questions
How do you calculate dividend per share?
Subtract any preferred dividends from the total dividends a company paid, then divide the remainder by the number of common shares outstanding: DPS = (total dividends − preferred dividends) ÷ common shares outstanding.
How is DPS different from dividend yield?
DPS is a dollar amount per share. Dividend yield takes that dollar amount and divides it by the share price to express it as a percentage, which is what the dividend yield calculator does with a DPS figure as its input.
Do I need to know preferred dividends to use this calculator?
Only if the company has preferred shares outstanding. If it does not, leave that field at zero and the total dividend figure is simply divided by shares outstanding.
Why would DPS change from one year to the next even if the dividend policy stays the same?
Share buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding, which raises DPS on an unchanged total payout, while new share issuance dilutes it downward. DPS can move even when the company’s underlying dividend commitment has not changed at all.
Once you have a DPS figure, the dividend yield calculator turns it into a percentage against the share price, and the dividend income calculator runs the same relationship in reverse, from shares held and DPS to total income.