Key Takeaways
- Dominion Energy yields 4.3% and WEC Energy Group 3.8%, and both reaffirmed their 2026 earnings guidance in late July.
- Dominion’s dividend has been $2.67 a share every year since fiscal 2022, while WEC raised its dividend 6.7% in January.
- Dividends took 78% of normalized EPS at Dominion in fiscal 2025 and take 75% on fiscal 2026 estimates, against 68% on both measures at WEC.
- WEC’s Wisconsin rate case orders, expected by year-end, and Dominion’s proposed merger with NextEra Energy are the things to watch.
Dominion Energy (D) and WEC Energy Group (WEC) both reaffirmed their 2026 earnings guidance at the end of July, and both are building new power plants and grid capacity to serve data centers.
For anyone buying a utility for income, though, the two dividends look nothing alike. Dominion yields 4.3% at the Oct. 7 close, against 3.8% for WEC. Meanwhile, WEC’s January raise marked its 23rd straight year of higher dividends, by the company’s count, and Dominion has paid the same $2.67 a share since fiscal 2022.
So put $10,000 in either one today: which pays you more over the next 10 years?
| Metric | Dominion Energy (D) | WEC Energy Group (WEC) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 4.3% | 3.8% |
| Annual dividend | $2.67 | $3.81 |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020 to 2025 | -5.0% a year | 7.1% a year |
| Payout ratio of normalized EPS, fiscal 2025 | 78% | 68% |
| Payout ratio of normalized EPS, fiscal 2026 consensus | 75% | 68% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 6.34x | 5.78x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 2.59x | 2.69x |
Dominion: the bigger check
Dominion has more than 53 gigawatts of data center capacity in various stages of contracting, as of its second-quarter call, about 12 gigawatts of it under electric service agreements. Operating earnings came to $1.75 a share for the first half of 2026, up from $1.68 a year before. On July 31, Dominion reaffirmed its 2026 guidance of $3.45 to $3.69 a share, along with its dividend guidance.
The dividend has stayed flat through that growth. Dominion cut it from $3.45 a share in fiscal 2020 to $2.52 in fiscal 2021, and has paid $2.67 every year since fiscal 2022. Here’s how that dividend has lined up against normalized EPS.
Coverage has been bumpy. Dividends took 134% of normalized EPS in fiscal 2023 and 96% in fiscal 2024. In fiscal 2025, the payout ratio fell to a tighter but manageable 78%, and it drops to 75% on fiscal 2026 estimates.
CFO Steven Ridge calls the financial plan “appropriately conservative, but not unreasonably so.” The risk is the debt load: net debt runs 6.34x EBITDA. Dominion also has its proposed merger with NextEra Energy (NEE) still to complete.
WEC: 23 years and counting
WEC is chasing the same data center demand. Microsoft’s campus at Pleasant Prairie and Vantage and Oracle’s Port Washington site help drive a $37.5 billion five-year capital plan. Second-quarter 2026 net income rose to 91 cents a share, from 76 cents a year before.
In January, WEC raised its dividend 6.7% to an annual $3.81 a share. It plans to keep growing the dividend 6.5% to 7% a year while paying out 65% to 70% of earnings. The record shows how closely WEC has held to that.
Dividends have taken between 65% and 68% of normalized EPS every year since fiscal 2016. The payout ratio was a steady 68% in fiscal 2025 and stays at 68% on fiscal 2026 estimates, inside the company’s own target.
The cost of funding that capital plan is new stock: WEC expects to issue about $1.1 billion of common equity this year.
So which dividend wins?
WEC pays you more over the next 10 years.
Put $10,000 in each and assume Dominion holds its dividend at $2.67, which is its pace now. Dominion pays about $4,300 over the decade. WEC, growing at its fiscal 2025 rise of 6.9%, pays about $5,222, or about $922 more. At each stock’s 5-year rate, which includes Dominion’s cut, the gap widens to about $1,831. Either way, WEC’s income passes Dominion’s in 2028.
WEC also looks able to keep up that rate. Consensus has normalized EPS climbing from $5.27 in fiscal 2025 to $6.50 in fiscal 2028.
WEC guides to 7% to 8% annual EPS growth from 2026 to 2030. That’s a bit faster than the dividend raises it plans, so the payout can stay inside its target. At its 5-year rate, the $10,000 would pay about $706 in year 10, a 7.1% yield on your cash today.
Dominion’s case is real. It pays the bigger check today: $430 a year on $10,000, against $380 from WEC. It also trades at 16.8x forward earnings, against 19.1x for WEC, and its payout ratio falls to 75% on fiscal 2026 estimates. But a flat dividend can’t keep up with one compounding at 6.5% to 7% a year, and Dominion’s payout ratio was still 96% as recently as fiscal 2024.
Of course, WEC’s growth leans on its regulators. Orders in its Wisconsin rate case are expected by year-end, with new rates taking effect in January 2027.
So what is WEC Energy Group stock actually worth?
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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!
