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Which European Stocks Pay Dividends in April 2026?

LVMH, Nestlé, and HSBC are among 19 large-cap European companies set to pay dividends this April.

Collage met een aktetas, een krantenknipsel over dividend aandelen en grafische elementen.

Key Takeaways

  • 19 European large-cap companies are set to pay dividends.
  • The highest yielding dividend payer is Zurich Insurance Group, while the lowest-yielding is Airbus.
  • Six of the dividend-paying stocks are rated 4 star by Morningstar, suggesting they are under-valued.

Each month, Morningstar screens the 100 largest European companies by market capitalization in the Morningstar Europe Index to see which ones are due to pay a dividend. In April, 19 European stocks will pay out income to investors.

Airbus Group AIR

Nicolas Owens, equity analyst for Morningstar says: “We give the firm an appropriate shareholder distributions rating. In March 2020, Airbus suspended its dividend to conserve liquidity as the coronavirus crisis shook the aviation industry. We think it could have maintained its dividend, given its conservative capital structure and strong positioning, but we cannot fault the firm for conservatively maintaining capital during an extraordinary depression. Airbus has resumed paying a dividend, and we expect that it will grow its dividend with increased earnings and cash flow. We think the resumption of capital returns is appropriate, considering the firm’s strong strategic positioning and solid capital structure. Airbus has a small share-buyback program, though the shares are currently redistributed to employees as a part of their long-term incentive plan.”

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria BBVA

Johann Scholtz, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We are satisfied with BBVA’s dividend policy and capital returns.”

CaixaBank CABK

Deutsche Telekom DTE

Javier Correonero, equity analyst for Morningstar says: “Deutsche Telekom’s dividend for fiscal 2025 is EUR 1.00, an 11% increase versus 2024. We expect a dividend above EUR 1.10 in 2026, with low-teens growth thereafter. DT’s dividend yield is lower than that of other peers, but there’s no risk of dividend cuts while the firm has room to grow dividends at a low-teens rate supported by EBITDAaL and free cash flow generation.”

GSK GSK

Jay Lee, equity analyst for Morningstar says: “We currently view GSK’s dividends as fair. In the past, it paid out close to 70%, which is a bit too high in our view. However, since 2022, the ratio has been closer to 40%, which is a better ratio for this industry as it leaves more cash on hand to fund necessary research and development.”

HSBC Holdings HSBA

Kathy Chan, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “HSBC has been making larger shareholder distributions through buybacks and dividends in the past few years as its earnings improved, which we view as appropriate.”

ING Group INGA

Johann Scholtz, equity analyst for Morningstar says: “ING’s shareholder distribution policy is appropriate. It has been executing regular share buybacks to return excess capital to shareholders, which augments ING’s stated dividend policy of paying 50% of earnings in cash dividends.”

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton MC

Jelena Sokolova, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We assess the Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating of LVMH as Standard, based on the company’s sound balance sheet, fair investment strategy and appropriate shareholder distributions.”

Merck MRK

Analyst: Max Jousma

Julie Utterback, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “Merck maintains a disciplined financial approach, distributing profits exclusively through dividends. Share buybacks have been avoided to help the company to rapidly reduce debt. Following the Versum acquisition, management successfully lowered the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 2.9x in 2019 to 1.2x in 2024. The company pays out significant dividends to both majority and minority shareholders, at an average dividend payout ratio of 23%, which we view as appropriate.”

Nestlé NESN

Diana Radu, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We believe shareholder distributions are appropriate. Nestlé has a policy of increasing dividends in Swiss francs, with consecutive annual increases approaching 30 years. During the last 15 years, the dividend has grown at a compounded annual rate of around 4.5%. The company has returned more than CHF 50 billion to shareholders through share buybacks between July 2017 and December 2024, spread across three different programs. Share buybacks will likely remain an important tool for shareholder distribution, although no further program is expected in 2026.”

Rio Tinto RIO

Jon Mills, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We like the focus on returning excess cash to shareholders and think the company’s approach to shareholder distributions is appropriate.”

Swiss Re SREN

Henry Heathfield, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “Swiss Re pays a dividend annually and aims to grow it at 7% over the next few years.”

TotalEnergies TTE

Allen Good, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We rate Total’s shareholder distribution policy as appropriate. Total was one of the few oil majors to maintain the dividend in 2020 and took additional steps to reduce costs and capital spending to keep it affordable. The bulk of share repurchases occurred when share prices were below our fair value estimate and therefore looked reasonable. Its introduction of a variable distribution plan makes sense given the likely continued volatility of commodity prices during the remainder of the decade.”

UBS Group UBSG

Johann Scholtz, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “Historically, UBS maintained a strong balance sheet, invested effectively to enhance profitability and competitive positioning, and returned capital to shareholders in a disciplined manner. However, with limited visibility on how UBS plans to allocate capital, a more cautious assessment is warranted.”

UniCredit UCG

Johann Scholtz, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “Shareholder returns are sensibly structured. An 80% ordinary payout, split between dividends and buybacks, suits a bank with limited reinvestment opportunities at prices that clearly exceed the cost of equity.”

Unilever ULVR

Diana Radu, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “We think shareholder distributions are appropriate. Dividends have been the preferred vehicle for returning capital to shareholders, and Unilever has delivered slightly above-industry-average payout ratios of around 60% over the last decade. Share repurchases have also been an important use of surplus cash, especially following more sizable asset sales, and we think they have generally been carried out at a level that has created value for shareholders. We expect the firm to maintain its high dividend payout ratio and to be opportunistic when it comes to repurchasing shares.”

Vinci DG

Matthew Donen, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “A more recurring earnings stream has also allowed Vinci to target an appropriate 50% dividend payout policy and maintain a sound balance sheet. Vinci’s balance sheet is one of the most conservative among its infrastructure peers.”

Volvo Group VOLV A

Zurich Insurance Group ZURN

Henry Heathfield, equity analyst for Morningstar, says: “Zurich targets a dividend payout ratio of 75% of net income, subject to last year’s dividend, and pays one dividend per year. The business does not commit to a specific share repurchase program, given that the dividend distribution policy is already quite high and there is no share buyback program currently in place.”

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.

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