Buffett Calls Rising Dividends Berkshire's Secret Sauce as S&P 500 Yield Sits at 1.04%
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 7
Buffett Calls Rising Dividends Berkshire's Secret Sauce as S&P 500 Yield Sits at 1.04%
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 7
Summary
Warren Buffett said consistently increasing dividends were the key driver behind Berkshire Hathaway’s long-term gains, echoing a point he made in his 2023 shareholder letter.
In a 2019 Yahoo Finance interview, Buffett said a retiree with a $1 million stock portfolio generating $30,000 a year could live comfortably if the house was paid off and children were grown.
That 3% income target is harder to reach now: the S&P 500 yields about 1.04%, and has stayed below 3% since July 2009.
Even Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF yields only about 2.54% as of August 2026, underscoring how scarce higher payouts have become.
Deutsche Bank Research Institute said companies have shifted toward buybacks for decades as high-growth tech firms reinvest cash instead of paying larger dividends.