Dividend Income Summary: Bert’s May Dividend Income Summary (2025)

May was a strange month for my dividend income.  Shockingly, we took a step back.  Our dividend income dropped by 15% in May!  In this article, we will review our total dividend income, learn why our income decreased, and then share a few other observations about our dividend income total.

Why I Invest in Dividend Stocks

I invest in dividend stocks to grow a my passive income with dividend income. One day, my dividend income will be large enough to cover my monthly expenses and allow us to retire early. That is why we are always relentlessly searching for undervalued dividend stocks to buy. To put our hard earned cash to work.

We save a high percentage of our income each month, to help fuel our dividend stock portfolio. Having a high savings rate is a key pillar of our strategy and helps fuel the fire and push the snowball further down hill. While we are waiting to invest our money in the market, it is earning a high interest rate in accounts. There is NOTHING more critical than maximizing EVERY DOLLAR in your savings account.

The  primary savings account I use is SoFi – 3.8% APY on all savings accounts (lower for your checking account). 

READ: How To Maximize Your Cash – 4 Simple Methods! 

Read: Interest Rates on High Yield Savings Accounts Are SOARING!

Bert’s May Dividend Income Summary

In May, we earned $1,033.47 in dividend income.  That is a 15% dividend increase compared to last year.  It is frustrating that our dividend dropped nearly $200 for a month….agh! We will breakdown the cause of the decrease later in the article.

The following table represents the individual dividend stocks that paid us a dividend in the month.  We received 25 individual dividend payments between my wife’s account and mine.

In each article, we provide a few observations regarding our dividend income. We note the following.

Observation #1: The Sources of the Dividend Decrease

It’s hard to get excited about a massive dividend decrease in a dividend month.  Usually, I’m hit with one or two dividend stocks delivering a decrease in any given month.  However, this month, we had 5 different companies cause our dividend income to fall.  That’s right…5!  The 5 stocks had a net negative impact of $206 this year.

The following table breaks down the stocks and the amount of the dividend in May 2024 that disappeared in May 2025.

First, the largest source of the decrease belongs to Canadian Imperial.  CM paid us a $86 dividend in May 2024. CM paid us a dividend at the end of April 2025 vs. the beginning of May (like last year).  The dividend income shifted between months. That’s the best outcome I could hope for, especially since the dividend increases in April 2025. Still though, that sure sucks for our May dividend income total.

Second, we had a devastating dividend cut from Healthpeak Properties (DOC). The dividend income received from DOC dropped 66% compared to last year.  That was a $32 reduction.  Man this stock has had a major fall from grace.  The once Dividend Aristocrat named HCP now has a dividend increase streak of 0.  I’ll be looking to exit this portfolio soon.

Third, we no longer received 3 dividend payments from companies we no longer own.  2 of the stocks were sold from our portfolio outright (Westrock and Haleon) while one of the stocks sold and the new entity will pay a dividend in a different month (Premier Financial).  This resulted in a $70 decrease in May 2025 compared to May 2024.

Observation #2: Large Dividend Payments This Month

I’m typically frustrated with too many small dividend payments in a month. This month though, I’m actually excited that we had less dividend payments that were larger.   We have 3 stocks that paid at least $80 in May (Procter & Gamble, Citizens & Northern and Abbvie).  After that, we have 5 stocks that paid at least $60.   I love seeing substantial dividend payments from companies.

To add to that, the only stock that paid us less than $10 was Healthpeak Properties (PEAK) due to the earlier mentioned dividend cuts.

This month is a great example of what I’d like other months to become.  Less dividend payments that are larger.  Now I need to execute on the portfolio cleanup in other months.

Summary

There were some positives to partially offset the negatives. Still though, a 15% dividend increase just sucks and is frustrating.  Dividend investing can be frustrating.  Sometimes, a step back is necessary to take 5 steps forward.  This is one of those months.  June will be a very exciting month and I cannot wait to see the dividend distributions for our ETFs, especially SCHD.  Let’s keep investing and pushing forward!

How much dividend income did you receive in May?  Did you dividend income increase or decrease?  What were you largest dividend payments?

Bert

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