Happy Monday,
It's Zach here with a new monthly dividend portfolio update.
The account now sits at $362,387. When I started sharing updates 6 years ago it was $30,000. Over the past month it's only down 0.34%, even as dividend stocks have started selling off.
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ($SCHD) fell 6.5% from September 2 to October 2. It's 7.1% below its August 24 high, but still up 19.3% this year.
Today, I'll walk you through why dividend stocks are starting to sell off and what I'm doing in my own portfolio.
If you want to track your dividends the way I do, you can add your portfolio for free at DividendData.com/portfolio.
The Key Story
Why Dividend Stocks Are Selling Off
▶️ Watch the full update on YouTube: Dividend Stocks Are Selling Off. Here's What I'm Doing.
The Fed: In mid September the Fed raised rates by a quarter point, to a 3.75% to 4.00% range.
The 10-year Treasury: It was 5.24% when I filmed and closed Friday at 5.28%, near the highest level since 2002.
Opportunity cost: In the market, opportunity cost is one of the big things which drives prices. If you can get a higher yield just from treasuries, then more money is going to flow that direction.
Near the lows: 41 of 112 S&P 500 stocks yielding 3% or more (36.6%) are within 5% of their 52-week low. Here's that 52-week low screen (Pro).
You should be aware of it. You definitely shouldn't ignore it. But as we sit here in early October 2026, I'm not overly worried.
My Portfolio
My $362,387 Dividend Portfolio
📊 Track your own holdings: DividendData.com/portfolio
Over the past year this account's value is up $90,840.60. A good bit of that is from contributions, which I made mostly from January to April, plus a little in June. This is just the value.
Microsoft ($MSFT): $111.55K, 30.7% of the account when I filmed. One of my biggest purchases of 2026. It's up 55.63% for a $40.51K gain.
Hess Midstream ($HESM): $98.08K, up 20.23%, and down 5.41% over the past month. I was buying in the low 30s, but $37 is starting to get to a much more attractive range. The forward yield is 8.36% (the 88th percentile of the last 5 years on the Yield Analyzer, a Pro tool), they've raised every quarter, and it's my biggest payer at $8,197 a year.
Alphabet ($GOOGL): $54.56K, up 112.09% for a $28.96K gain. I bought in the April 2025 tariff sell-off and I've mainly just been holding it since then, reinvesting dividends. Operating cash flow is up 38.87% over the past year.
Nvidia ($NVDA): $35.36K, up 16.46%. I only bought it in this account 3 or 4 months ago, but it's my largest holding across all my accounts. It trades at a forward P/E of 25.2x, less than Coca-Cola ($KO) at 25.9x.
Altria ($MO): Up 105.50%, my second largest payer at $1,700 a year, and it now yields 6.59% versus the 9%+ yield on cost I bought at. I trimmed it this year and moved that money toward Microsoft and Nvidia. Probably around fair value right now, but it's definitely not looking dirt cheap.
MPLX ($MPLX): $18.95K, up 25.37%. A midstream MLP like Hess, but MPLX sends a K-1 and Hess doesn't. Both are core long-term high-yield positions for me.
Exxon Mobil ($XOM): Up 393.77%. I bought a bunch in 2020 at a 9% yield, trimmed it this year, and now it yields 2.51%. Yes, the price of oil is high, but that does not last forever.
My Dividends
What My Portfolio Pays Me
October: $463 expected: $37 from Nvidia and $425 from Altria on Friday, and I'm reinvesting.
November: My biggest month by far. Hess should pay about $2,049 (that's an estimate, it isn't declared yet) and MPLX $361.
December: $397 from Microsoft, Alphabet, Exxon and Nvidia.
This year so far: $9.55K in dividends, with 2026 about 76% done.
This is just a portion of the profits from the companies that I own. In reality, they generate far more in earnings and cash flow each year. Dividends are just what they choose to pay to you.
My Plan
Building Cash and Waiting
My Plan: From August through today, I actually haven't been adding much to this account. I've just been reinvesting dividends. I'm starting to build up my cash position again and just letting the portfolio ride, waiting for some opportunities to show up.
There can be periods, even months, where you're really not doing anything. And that's part of just being patient.
I'm staying focused on the long-term, trying to find companies that are going to compound and grow for years to come and buy in at a fair price.
If you want to track your dividends the way I do, you can add your portfolio for free at DividendData.com/portfolio.
Earnings and Dividend News Links:
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📅 Keep Investing. Stay informed.
Zach
Founder, Dividend Data
P.S. Questions or suggestions? Reply to this email. I'd love your feedback!
P.P.S. One thing I should explain better next week: yields, payout ratios, or valuation. Reply with one.
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Disclaimer: Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) is not a professional financial service. All materials released from Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) are for educational and entertainment purposes. Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) is not a replacement for a professional's opinion. Contributors to the Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) might have equities mentioned in the newsletter