Key Takeaways
- Altria raised its dividend 4.7% in August and yields 5.9%, while Comcast held its quarterly dividend at $0.33 and yields 5.4%.
- Comcast’s dividend used 24% of its free cash flow over the twelve months to Sept. 30, against 78% for Altria.
- Altria targets mid-single-digit dividend growth each year through 2028, while Comcast plans to separate NBCUniversal by the middle of 2027 and is still working out its capital plans for both companies.
- At their 5-year dividend growth rates, Comcast’s income on a $10,000 investment would pass Altria’s around 2029.
Any retiree hunting for a yield above 5% is going to come across Altria Group (MO) and Comcast (CMCSA). Altria pays 5.9% at its current rate. On Oct. 29 it raised its full-year earnings guidance, after an August dividend increase it called “our 61st increase in 57 years.”
Comcast’s 5.4% comes with more change attached. On Oct. 22 it held its quarterly dividend at $0.33, and it’s on track to separate NBCUniversal into its own company by the middle of next year. Retirees seeking income want a check they can count on. So which of these two is it?
| Metric | Altria (MO) | Comcast (CMCSA) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield (current rate) | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Annual dividend | $4.44 | $1.32 |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020-2025 | 4.1% a year | 7.5% a year |
| Cash dividend payout ratio (TTM to Sept. 30, 2026) | 78% | 24% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 1.7x | 2.3x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 10.9x | 4.3x |
| Forward P/E (NTM) | 13x | 7.2x |
Source: TIKR and StockAnalysis, Nov. 9, 2026.
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Altria’s raises keep coming
Altria’s third-quarter net revenues rose 1.0% from a year earlier to $6.1 billion, and adjusted diluted EPS rose 4.8% to $1.52. It raised its 2026 guidance to $5.66-$5.74 a share, from $5.56-$5.72, and the stock jumped on the report. Nicotine pouches are the growth: on! shipment volume rose 13.3% in the quarter. Altria lists declining domestic cigarette and MST volumes among its own risks.
That business pays $4.44 a share a year, which took 78% of free cash flow over the twelve months to Sept. 30. Free cash flow has topped dividends paid in every fiscal year since 2018, and dividends took between 75% and 82% of it from fiscal 2021 to 2025:
Altria’s goal targets “mid-single digits dividend per share growth annually through 2028.” With most of its free cash flow already paid out, those raises need cash flow to keep growing. This year’s guidance of 4.5% to 6.0% EPS growth fits that goal. The board also added $1 billion to the buyback in October.
Comcast’s cushion is much bigger
Comcast’s dividend uses far less of its free cash flow than Altria’s. Over the twelve months to Sept. 30, it paid $4.82 billion of dividends from $19.66 billion of free cash flow, a well-covered 24%. Dividends took between 22% and 31% of free cash flow from fiscal 2021 to 2025, and fiscal 2025’s $21.9 billion was the most of the ten years shown:
The business underneath is mixed. Third-quarter free cash flow fell 14.8% from a year earlier, from $4.95 billion to $4.21 billion. Comcast also lost 144,000 domestic broadband customers in the quarter as fiber and fixed wireless rivals compete on price. On the other side, wireless lines reached 10.6 million with 368,000 added, and Peacock earned $261 million of adjusted EBITDA, against a $217 million loss a year earlier.
The dividend has stopped growing for now. Comcast’s $1.32 a year matches what it paid per share in fiscal 2025. Buybacks have been paused since July 1 and stay paused through the separation. On Oct. 22 Comcast named Michael Angelakis to run what remains of the company after the split, and it expects a fourth-quarter charge of more than $1 billion tied to job cuts. In July, CFO Jason Armstrong said the company would “take the coming months, obviously, to work through capital allocation, capital structure policies” for the two businesses.
So which dividend wins?
For a retiree, I’d go with Comcast. A dependable check rests on the cash behind it, and Comcast pays its dividend from a quarter of its free cash flow, while Altria uses more than three-quarters of its own. That cushion matters more to me than Altria’s extra half-point of yield. Comcast could keep paying through a weak broadband year or a messy split.
Retirees also aren’t paying much for that cushion. At 7.2x forward earnings, Comcast trades well below its five-year average of 9.5x:
At its 7.5% five-year rate, Comcast’s income on $10,000 would pass Altria’s around 2029, as long as its raises resume.
Altria’s dividend is still safe. It pays the bigger check today, $590 a year on $10,000 against $543, and it carries less debt and covers its interest far better. Management will fight hard to protect a record of 61 raises in 57 years. Still, with so little free cash flow left over and cigarette volumes under pressure, Altria has less room for error than Comcast.
Of course, the picture could change by the middle of next year, once the split closes and both companies set their dividends.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
