Meta Platforms pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, or $2.10 a year, which works out to a dividend yield of roughly 0.28% at the stock's October 14, 2026 close of $737.54. The most recent ex-dividend date was September 21, 2026, and as of October 16, 2026 Meta had not yet announced its next declaration.
That answer sums up Meta's dividend in one line: a small, steady payout from one of the largest companies in the US market, set beside heavy spending on artificial intelligence. Meta Platforms began paying cash dividends only in 2024, so its record is short. Readers who track income from large-cap technology names sometimes set Meta beside Microsoft and Apple, but every figure below covers Meta only.
According to Meta's September 10, 2026 announcement, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share on both Class A and Class B common stock, payable on September 28, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 21, 2026.
The yield in the table is a Gotrade calculation: the four-quarter rate of $2.10 divided by the $737.54 close on October 14, 2026 reported in Gotrade's October 15 Meta stock report. Because the yield moves every time the share price moves, treat it as a snapshot as of that date.
Item | Figure | Source and date |
|---|
Quarterly dividend per share | $0.525 | Meta declaration, September 10, 2026 |
Annualized dividend per share | $2.10 | 4 x $0.525 (Gotrade calculation) |
Share price used | $737.54 | Close, October 14, 2026 |
Indicated dividend yield | About 0.28% | $2.10 / $737.54 (Gotrade calculation) |
Latest record date (and ex-dividend date) | September 21, 2026 | Meta declaration, September 10, 2026 |
Latest payment date | September 28, 2026 | Meta declaration, September 10, 2026 |
Next declaration | Not announced as of October 16, 2026 | Meta investor relations |
Meta Dividend History Since 2024: One Raise, Then Flat at $0.525
Meta's dividend is young. Per Meta's 2024 annual report on Form 10-K, beginning in February 2024 the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share, which made 2024 the first year of payments. As reported in Meta's February 13, 2025 announcement, the board then raised the quarterly dividend by 5% to $0.525 per share, first payable on March 26, 2025 to stockholders of record as of March 14, 2025. Every declaration since then, including the December 3, 2025 declaration and the three 2026 declarations, has kept the rate at $0.525.
Year | Quarterly dividend per share | Dividend per share for the year | Total dividend and equivalent payments | Trend |
|---|
2024 | $0.50 | $2.00 | $5.07 billion ($4.38B Class A + $691M Class B) | First year of payments |
2025 | $0.525 | $2.10 | $5.32 billion ($4.60B Class A + $720M Class B) | Raised 5% |
2026 (three quarters declared) | $0.525 | $1.575 so far | $2.70 billion in the first half | Flat |
The 2024 payment totals come from the 2024 Form 10-K, the 2025 totals from Meta's 2025 annual report on Form 10-K, and the 2026 first-half figure ($2,699 million) from the cash flow statement in Meta's second quarter 2026 results. The 2026 declarations so far are dated February 12, 2026 (record date March 16, payable March 26), May 28, 2026 (record date June 15, payable June 25) and September 10, 2026 (record date September 21, payable September 28). With three years of payments and one raise, the record is still short.
Measured against earnings, Meta's dividend is small. Per the 2024 Form 10-K, diluted earnings per share were $23.86 in 2024, so the $2.00 paid per share equals a payout ratio of about 8.4%. Per the 2025 Form 10-K, diluted EPS was $23.49 in 2025, so $2.10 per share equals about 8.9%.
In the second quarter of 2026, according to Meta's Q2 2026 results release, diluted EPS was $6.18, down 13% from $7.14 a year earlier, which puts that quarter's $0.525 dividend at about 8.5% of earnings. These ratios are Gotrade calculations from Meta's reported figures.
Period | Diluted EPS | Dividend per share | Payout ratio (Gotrade calculation) |
|---|
2024 | $23.86 | $2.00 | About 8.4% |
2025 | $23.49 | $2.10 | About 8.9% |
Q2 2026 | $6.18 | $0.525 | About 8.5% |
Cash flow tells a different story in 2026. The same Q2 2026 release reports cash flow from operating activities of $31.86 billion, capital expenditures including principal payments on finance leases of $31.08 billion, and free cash flow of $784 million, against $8.55 billion of free cash flow in the second quarter of 2025.
Dividend and dividend equivalent payments in the quarter were $1.35 billion, which is more than that quarter's free cash flow. For the first half of 2026, free cash flow was $13.17 billion and dividend payments were $2.70 billion, or about 20% of free cash flow. The release also shows no repurchases of Class A stock in the first half of 2026, compared with $22.92 billion in the first half of 2025.
The balance sheet gives context for that gap. As of June 30, 2026, Meta reported cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $90.26 billion and long-term debt of $83.66 billion, and it raised $24.91 billion of net proceeds from long-term debt in the second quarter. Meta's outlook in the same release puts 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, at $130 billion to $145 billion.
A plain read: the dividend uses a small share of profits, and the company held a large cash and securities balance at mid-year. The pressure point is cash flow after capital spending, which fell sharply in the second quarter.
On policy, the 2025 Form 10-K states that Meta currently intends to continue to pay a quarterly cash dividend, while its risk factors also state that the declaration and payment of any dividend may be discontinued or reduced at any time. Future dividends remain at the board's discretion, and nothing in Meta's filings guarantees them.
Under the T+1 settlement cycle, FINRA's amended Rule 11140, operative since May 28, 2024, sets the ex-dividend date for ordinary cash dividends on the record date itself when that date is a business day, according to FINRA Regulatory Notice 24-04.
For Meta's latest dividend, that meant September 21, 2026 was both the record date and the ex-dividend date. A buyer had to purchase shares before September 21, 2026 to be entitled to the $0.525 paid on September 28, 2026.
The next ex-dividend date is not yet known. As of October 16, 2026, Meta had not announced a fourth-quarter 2026 declaration. For reference only, Meta's December 3, 2025 declaration set a record date of December 15, 2025 and a payment date of December 23, 2025, but a past schedule does not set a future one.
The record date, and with it the ex-dividend date, will be confirmed only when the board declares the next dividend on Meta's investor relations site.
Meta's dividend is best read as a modest capital return alongside a business that is reinvesting heavily. The yield of about 0.28% at the October 14, 2026 price is low for an income strategy, the payout ratio has stayed under 10% of earnings in each period covered here, and the quarterly rate has been flat at $0.525 since early 2025.
The factor to watch is the gap between capital spending and operating cash flow, which Meta will update in its next quarterly results, along with whether the board declares a fourth-quarter dividend and at what rate.
This article is for education and information only and is not investment advice. Investment decisions are your own after doing your own research.
Sources
