What Is the Dividend of 100 Shares of Coca-Cola? (How to Calculate KO Dividend Income)

You’ve probably heard that some companies “pay you” just for owning their stock, and Coca-Cola is one of the most famous examples. But what does that actually mean for your wallet? If you owned 100 shares, how much money would you really get, and is it as complicated as it sounds? (Hint: It’s not.)

Think of it this way: when you buy a share, you own a tiny piece of the company. As a reward for being a part-owner, some companies choose to share a portion of their profits with you. This regular payment is called a dividend, and it’s one of the main ways people earn money from investing.

This guide provides a straight answer by calculating the exact dividend of 100 shares of Coca-Cola to show what that annual dividend income looks like. There’s no confusing financial jargon, just simple math that gives you a clear, real-world number.

We’ll break down how it works for KO stock—the company’s nickname on the stock market—and show you how to find this information yourself. By the end, you’ll feel confident that you understand this core investing concept completely.

What Is a Dividend? Your Share of the Company’s Success

When you buy a share of stock in a company like Coca-Cola, you aren’t just getting a digital receipt. You’re actually buying a tiny slice of the entire business. Think of it like owning one single brick in a giant building—it makes you a part-owner, even if your piece is very small.

Because you’re a part-owner, many established companies choose to share their success directly with you. When the business earns a profit, its leadership can decide to distribute a portion of that money to all its shareholders. This direct payment, your reward for being an owner, is called a dividend.

A great way to think about this is to imagine you own a small rental property. Every few months, you get a check from your tenant. A dividend works in a very similar way. It’s the company sending you your “rent” for owning a piece of its business, paid right into your investment account.

On the stock market, every company has a short nickname called a ticker symbol to make it easy to find—Coca-Cola’s is KO. Now we can look at the real numbers for KO and see exactly what that payment looks like.

Calculating Your Dividend for 100 Shares of KO

To calculate the dividend for KO stock, you start with the amount the company pays per share. As of early 2024, Coca-Cola pays a dividend of $0.485 for every single share an investor owns. This specific amount can change over time, but the company has a long history of regularly increasing it.

If you own 100 shares, the math is straightforward. The per-share amount is simply multiplied by the number of shares you hold. This means Coca-Cola would pay you $48.50 for that period. This payment happens every three months, a schedule that is known as a quarterly payment cycle.

A simple graphic showing the calculation: (Image of a single Coca-Cola can) x 100 = (Image of a stack of 100 cans), with text underneath: "$0.485 per share x 100 shares = $48.50 per quarter"

That quarterly payment is just one piece of the puzzle. Since it arrives four times a year, you can easily figure out your total annual dividend income from 100 KO shares. By multiplying your quarterly payment of $48.50 by four, you get a total of $194.00 for the year. This is passive income you receive just for being a shareholder, without having to sell any of your stock.

For many investors, this steady and predictable income is a huge part of the appeal. It’s a tangible reward for their ownership in the business. But how exactly does this payment schedule work, and when do you have to own the stock to receive your money?

How Often Does Coca-Cola Pay Dividends? Understanding the Schedule

Coca-Cola pays its dividend in a predictable rhythm, much like a quarterly rent check. The company follows a quarterly schedule, meaning shareholders receive a payment every three months. While the exact dates can vary slightly year to year, you can typically expect these payments to arrive during the following months:

April
July
October
December

To qualify for these payments, however, you need to be aware of one crucial deadline: the ex-dividend date. Think of this as the cutoff day for getting paid. You must own the stock before the ex-dividend date to receive that quarter’s dividend. If you buy shares on or after that date, the previous owner gets the payment, and you’ll have to wait until the next quarter. It’s like buying concert tickets—you have to get them before the show starts to get in.

Fortunately, you don’t have to guess these dates. This information is public and easy to find on financial news sites like Yahoo Finance or by simply searching online for the “KO dividend schedule.” Remember, “KO” is the company’s ticker symbol, which is its unique identifier on the stock market. Using it ensures you get the right information.

Is Coca-Cola’s Dividend Good? A Simple Way to Compare Stocks

Knowing Coca-Cola pays a dividend is one thing, but figuring out if it’s a “good” dividend is another. A payment of $1.94 per share a year sounds nice, but that number is hard to judge on its own. After all, a $2 dividend from a stock that costs $20 is much more impactful than a $2 dividend from one that costs $200. To understand the value, you need to see how the dividend compares to the stock’s price.

This is where a simple but powerful metric called dividend yield comes into play. Dividend yield is a percentage that tells you how much of a return the dividend provides based on the share’s current price, similar to the interest rate on a savings account. A higher yield means you are getting a larger dividend payment for every dollar you invest in the stock.

The formula for dividend yield is just the stock’s total annual dividend per share divided by its current share price. For example, if Coca-Cola pays $1.94 in dividends annually and its stock price is around $61, its dividend yield is approximately 3.2% ($1.94 ÷ $61). This single percentage provides a clear and useful benchmark.

This percentage is what allows for a true apples-to-apples comparison. You can easily look up the dividend yield for Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo and instantly see which one currently offers a higher dividend return on your investment, regardless of their different share prices. While yield is a great tool, it also helps to understand the thinking behind the payout.

Why Does Coca-Cola Pay a Dividend in the First Place?

For a giant, established company like Coca-Cola, there comes a point where it doesn’t need to reinvest every dollar of profit into massive expansion—it already operates in nearly every country on Earth. Instead of letting that steady cash sit idle, the company chooses to share a portion of its earnings directly with its owners: the shareholders. It’s a direct reward for owning a piece of a successful and consistently profitable business.

This commitment to sharing profits isn’t a recent trend. In fact, Coca-Cola has a remarkable history of not only paying a dividend but increasing it every single year for over 60 years. This consistent KO stock dividend growth rate demonstrates a powerful, long-term dedication to its shareholders, providing a predictable and rising stream of income over time.

Because of this incredible consistency, Coca-Cola has earned a special title: a Dividend Aristocrat. This isn’t just a fancy name; it’s a prestigious status awarded to companies that have increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. The Coca-Cola dividend aristocrat status acts as a strong signal of financial stability and a deep-rooted commitment to rewarding investors.

The Power of Compounding: What Is a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)?

That quarterly dividend payment from Coca-Cola lands in your account as cash. You could withdraw it, but there’s a more powerful option for long-term growth. Many investors choose to automatically put that money right back to work with a program available at most brokerages.

This program is called a Dividend Reinvestment Plan, or DRIP. Instead of receiving your dividend as cash, your broker uses that money to automatically buy more shares of Coca-Cola for you. You don’t have to lift a finger. This even allows you to buy tiny fractions of a share, making sure every single cent is put to use.

The magic behind a DRIP is a concept called compounding. Think of it like a small snowball rolling down a hill. Your dividends buy more shares, which then earn their own dividends in the next quarter. This slightly larger dividend payment then buys even more shares, and the cycle continues. Over many years, this effect can dramatically accelerate the growth of your investment. A Coca-Cola dividend reinvestment plan leverages the company’s steady payouts to fuel this growth.

Turning on a DRIP is often as simple as checking a box in your brokerage account settings. It’s a classic “set it and forget it” strategy for building wealth. But whether you take the dividend as cash or reinvest it, you should be aware of taxes.

Is Dividend Income Free Money? A Quick Note on Taxes

That regular KO stock payout feels great, but the government doesn’t see it as a gift. Whether you take the cash or reinvest it through a DRIP, dividend payments are considered taxable income. This is a crucial detail to remember so you aren’t caught by surprise when tax season arrives.

The taxes on stock dividends are often compared to the interest you earn from a savings account. Just as your bank reports your interest earnings to the IRS, your brokerage will report the dividend income you’ve received. It’s simply another form of income in the eyes of the tax code.

Because everyone’s financial situation is unique, the exact amount of dividend income tax you’ll owe can vary. It depends on your total income and other personal factors. While understanding the basics is empowering, figuring out the specific impact on your tax bill is a conversation best had with a qualified tax professional.

From Theory to Practice: What You Now Know

The idea of a stock “paying you” is no longer abstract. You can confidently calculate that owning 100 shares of Coca-Cola currently translates to about $194 in annual income, delivered in quarterly payments of around $48.50. You’ve turned a financial term into a real number you can understand and use.

This KO dividend summary boils down to a simple process you can apply to any dividend-paying stock:

Calculate quarterly income: (Dividend Per Share) x (Number of Shares)
Find the annual total: (Quarterly Income) x 4
Use the dividend yield to quickly compare stocks apples-to-apples.

This knowledge isn’t limited to Coca-Cola. As a simple next step, try looking up the dividend for another company you know, like PepsiCo (PEP) or McDonald’s (MCD), just for practice. Instead of just seeing a brand on a store shelf, you can now see a potential income stream—foundational knowledge for anyone considering how to buy Coca-Cola stock for dividends.