Miners drive dividend rebound as Australia growth soars

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist

22 May 2026

Mining companies – and Australian ones in particular – have found themselves at the centre of a global dividend surge, with Capital Group’s latest Dividend Watch report finding they accounted for one-fifth of the overall 8.2 per cent growth to US$419 billion paid out in the first quarter of the year.

Part of the investment firm’s Global Equity Study, the report showed miners were “staging a comeback” and reaping the rewards of a commodities turnaround, raising payouts by 17.2 per cent year-on-year after years of suffering through weaker profitability and dividend cuts.

A similar growth trajectory was also shared by general financials (+16.2 per cent), semiconductors (+10.2 per cent), software (+9.5 per cent) and machinery (+8.9 per cent). This comes as the three largest sectors by payouts – pharmaceuticals, energy companies and banks – all recorded slower than average year-on-year growth, rising by just 4.3 per cent, 3.1 per cent and five per cent, respectively.

The report attributed this to a confluence of factors including the pre-oil crisis “squeeze” on profits and cuts in China, Brazil and Sweden.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Australia recorded 15 per cent in core growth (compared to 5.2 per cent globally), with the UK, Europe and China signposted as the laggards. Despite dividends remaining at approximately $13.9 billion year-on-year, the rate of core growth indicates a “more positive underlying picture” driven by recoveries in the mining sector.

Capital Group confirmed its dividend forecast for the rest of the year remains unchanged at US$2.2 trillion, for topline growth of 5.1 per cent year-on-year.

“What these trends highlight is that active managers with deep research capabilities are increasingly well placed to identify companies with the capacity and commitment to pay and grow dividends over time,” Alexandra Haggard, Head of Asset Class Services, Europe and Asia-Pacific at Capital Group, said.

“Over the past decade, global dividends have more than doubled, supported by rising company earnings and a broadening culture of dividend-paying across markets.

“The start to 2026 has been encouraging, even amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing cost and energy pressures. While these challenges increase costs for some businesses, dividend-paying stocks can help bring stability to portfolios when markets become more unsettled.

“In this environment, deep research and selectivity are critical, and active managers are well placed to identify those companies best positioned to sustain and grow dividends over the long term.”