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- 📉 SCHD Is Broken? The Truth Dividend Investors Need to Hear
📉 SCHD Is Broken? The Truth Dividend Investors Need to Hear
Happy Monday!
I have a packed newsletter for you today, including a full breakdown into the best Dividend ETFs. Is it time to move from SCHD?
Your Monday Topics:
Is SCHD Broken?
3 Winning Dividend ETFs Beating SCHD
VYM Dividend ETF vs SCHD
The Stock Market Just Flipped - Top 5 Stocks To Buy
Why Google & Nvidia Keep Winning
The Key Story
📉 SCHD Is Broken? The Truth…
SCHD is currently in its longest losing streak ever versus the S&P 500. Since 2022, it has dramatically underperformed, and the past year hasn’t helped — the price is down 6.22% and the dividend growth rate has noticeably slowed. With top holdings looking “boring,” many are asking: Is SCHD broken?
Here’s the full breakdown so you can understand what’s actually happening.
đź“Ś SCHD vs. S&P 500: The Real Source of Underperformance
Over the last 5 years, SCHD’s price has barely moved.
Year-to-date: –0.95%
1-year: –6.2%
3-year: +5.97%
Meanwhile, VOO/VFIAX/VU (S&P 500) are:
+13% YTD
+68.8% over 3 years
Reason: the S&P 500 is now 35% tech, driven by Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta…
SCHD owns none of them.
đź“Ś Dividend Growth: Slowing, Not Stopping
SCHD still delivers:
~3.86% forward yield
10-year CAGR: 11.25%
3-year CAGR: 7%
1-year growth: ~3.5%
Dividend growth has slowed, but:
Payments remain reliable
No signs of cuts
Expense ratio is still 0.06%
→ From a dividend standpoint, SCHD is not broken.
đź“Ś What SCHD Is Designed to Do
SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, selecting companies with:
10+ years of dividend payments
Positive earnings
Strong balance sheets
Low debt-to-equity
It owns 100+ high-quality dividend stocks like Amgen, PepsiCo, AbbVie, Texas Instruments, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Home Depot, Chevron, etc.
Sector exposure:
19.7% Energy
17% Consumer Defensive
15.6% Healthcare
<10% Technology
→ SCHD simply doesn’t screen in big tech — and that’s the whole reason for its recent underperformance.
đź“Ś Total Return Reality Check
Even with the recent slump:
$10,000 at inception → $50,000+ today (12.2% CAGR)
$10,000 invested 10 years ago → $28,500
$10,000 invested 5 years ago → $15,380
$10,000 invested at the “worst time” (2022) → $11,800
Still positive. Still compounding.
A long-term scenario (5% yield growth + 5% price growth + $1,000/mo contributions):
→ $2.6M portfolio + $91,000/yr dividends in 35 years
📌 So… Is SCHD Broken?
No. The only thing broken is investor expectations.
SCHD is not built to outperform in a tech-driven bull market. It’s built for:
High starting yield
Reliable dividend growth
A simple, low-cost, diversified income strategy
“Set it and forget it” long-term investing
If you want big tech exposure, SCHD alone won’t give it. But if you want long-term dividend compounding, stability, and autopilot investing, SCHD still works exactly as designed.
Dividend ETF Analysis
SCHD vs VYM: Which Dividend ETF Wins in 2026?
Dividend investors are asking a big question right now: Is VYM actually the better choice heading into 2026—or is SCHD’s “sleeping giant” moment coming?
In this breakdown, I compare both ETFs side-by-side: total return, dividend yield, dividend growth, holdings, and sector exposure. You’ll see exactly who’s winning, why SCHD is struggling, and which ETF is positioned best for the next year and beyond.
👉 Watch the full ETF comparison here (You don’t want to miss this one.)
Top 3 Dividend ETFs
SCHD Is Falling Behind – Top 3 Winning Dividend ETFs
SCHD isn’t broken—but it is being outperformed. Over the past three years, several overlooked dividend ETFs have quietly delivered far better total returns, stronger dividend growth, and better exposure to the sectors driving the market higher. In this breakdown, I compare three top-performing dividend ETFs, explain why they’re beating SCHD, and show the one scenario where SCHD could still come back and win.
VIG
FDVV
DGRO
👉 Watch the full comparison video here — this one is a must-see for dividend investors.
Stocks To Buy
The Stock Market Just Flipped – Top 5 Stocks To Buy
The market just swung from greed to extreme fear—the Fear & Greed Index is at its lowest level since the April 2025 tariff sell-off, even though the S&P 500 is still up double digits this year. Speculative names like Bitcoin, MicroStrategy, and high-flyer tech stocks are getting crushed, creating real opportunities in high-quality businesses at better prices.
In this video, I break down my top 5 stocks to buy now, including the two I’m personally buying.
Stocks To Buy
The Stock Market Just Flipped – Top 5 Stocks To Buy
Nvidia & Google Keep Winning – Which Stock to Buy for 2026?
AI stocks just delivered again. Nvidia crushed earnings and jumped after hours, while Alphabet (Google) broke above $300 on the back of its new Gemini 3 model. In this video, I break down the real business performance behind the hype, compare total returns, earnings growth, analyst expectations, and valuations, and share whether I see Nvidia and Google as buys, sells, or holds heading into 2026.
How did you like today’s newsletter? |
That’s it for this week’s update. If you want to follow along in real time, analyze these tickers, or track your own portfolio, jump into DividendData.com. You’ll also find our Discord community and my AI research assistant there. Hit reply and tell me what you’re buying—I may feature a few notes next week.
đź“… Keep Investing. Stay informed.
– Zach
Founder, Dividend Data
P.S. Questions or suggestions? Reply to this email—I'd love your feedback!
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Disclaimer: Dividend Dividend (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