Key Takeaways
- Summer earnings season will provide dividend updates for most of our monitor.
- Unilever and GSK are both set to announce half-year results on July 28.
- Among the earnings updates, analysts will be watching Diageo’s full-year release on Aug. 6 for signs of the path forward after new CEO Sir Dave Lewis halved the dividend in February.
Each month we check in on the latest dividend news from the UK’s income-paying stocks, screening for FTSE 100 companies with a wide or narrow economic moat.
The dividend calendar is set to ramp up in July as Q3 earnings season gets underway.
Quarterly-payers GSK GSK and Unilever ULVR kick off our dividend calendar, with both companies set to announce interim payments alongside earnings on July 28. Unilever announced a 40p dividend for Q1 back in May, which was paid out to shareholders on June 26.
GSK is the only stock on our monitor set to pay a dividend in July, with its Q1 payout of 17p per share set to be paid on July 9.
Specialty chemicals company Croda CRDA, which pays out every six months, also reports on July 28.
Consumer goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser RKT and banking stocks Lloyds LLOY and NatWest NWG will also announce payouts at the end of July, before HSBC HSBA, Diageo DGE, and Admiral ADM then make their declarations in the first week of August.
Imperial Brands IMB has already announced its Q3 payout of 41.68p, which will be paid to shareholders on Sep. 30.
Shell SHEL and BP BP, two stocks that don’t make our monitor but are important FTSE 100 dividend payers, declare dividends alongside Q2 results on July 30 and Aug. 4 respectively.
Diageo CEO to Set Out Strategy after Dividend Cut
Diageo shareholders may be focused on the company’s first full-year results since former Tesco CEO Sir Dave Lewis took over as head of the company at the start of 2026.
In one of his first moves since taking the job at the start of the year, Lewis halved Diageo’s interim dividend in February, falling to 14.94p from 31.48p the previous year. Shares dropped over 13% in the day following the announcement, which came in the company’s half-year results, though the stock has since recovered to trade broadly flat for the year so far.
Lewis is expected to further update investors on his turnaround plans for the Guinness maker at the Aug. 6 results and capital markets day, while Diageo will declare its final dividend for its 2026 financial year.
“We believe a turnaround is achievable and that concerns around reinvestment are overdone,” say Bank of America analysts Andrea Pistacchi and Bastien Agaud, who expect Lewis to provide “greater clarity” on the path forward in August.
“Progress will likely take time, however, and fiscal 2027 is likely to represent a transition year, but we believe early signs of improved execution in US, or simply a moderation in share losses, should be sufficient to support sentiment.”
Despite February’s dividend cut, Diageo shares still yield 4%. Morningstar analysts assign the company a 4-star rating, meaning shares trade below their fair value estimate.
Which Dividend Paying Stocks Report in Q3 Earnings Season?
- July 28—GSK, Croda, Unilever
- July 29—Reckitt Benckiser
- July 30—Lloyds, Schroders, British American Tobacco
- July 31—NatWest
- Aug. 4—HSBC
- Aug. 6—Diageo, Admiral
Methodology for UK Dividend Stock Screen
To make it on to the monthly list, FTSE 100 companies need now to have a narrow or wide economic moat, pay a dividend, and have a forward yield of 3% or more. This is below the Bank of England base rate, which stands at 3.75%. The methodology was changed in 2022, introducing a forward dividend yield hurdle of 3%.
