The dividend calendar with payout ratio
Even more important than a predictable and constantly rising dividend is the question: how sustainably is the dividend financed? The dividend calendar dynamically shows the payout ratio year by year. The payout ratio defines what percentage of free earnings the company pays out as a dividend. Healthy dividend stocks pay out between 25% and 75% of earnings as dividends. If it's less than 25%, you often have too low a dividend yield. With more than 75% paid out in profits, it is questionable what would happen if profits collapsed more than 25% during a crisis. Then the company would have to pay out more in dividends than it generates in profits - a strategy that is not sustainable in the long term.