Does Danaos Corporation (DAC) Pay a Dividend? (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Yes. Danaos Corporation (DAC) pays a dividend yielding about 2.57% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The latest payment on record was $0.90 per share, ex-dividend July 21, 2026. The forward annual rate is roughly $3.60 per share, about $257 a year on a $10,000 position before tax. The payout takes about 12% of earnings. Figures are approximate and dated; verify the current number with your broker.
Does Danaos Corporation (DAC) pay a dividend?
Yes. Danaos Corporation distributes a dividend yielding roughly 2.57% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.90 per share, with an ex-dividend date of July 21, 2026. Annualized, that is about $3.60 per share.
Figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and should be verified against the latest filings and quote before acting. Shipping stocks like Danaos often trade at low headline earnings multiples because the market discounts the cyclical, contracted nature of the cash flows and the eventual roll-off of charters. Book value, fleet value, and charter coverage frequently matter as much as a simple P/E for this kind of name, and reported earnings can be lumpy from vessel sales and non-cash items.
DAC dividend at a glance
| 2026-07-21 | $0.9 |
| 2026-05-26 | $0.9 |
| 2026-02-23 | $0.9 |
| 2025-05-27 | $0.85 |
| 2025-02-24 | $0.85 |
| 2024-11-25 | $0.85 |
DAC dividend data as of July 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. Yield moves with price and payout; confirm the current dividend and ex-date with DAC's investor relations page before relying on it.
Is the DAC dividend covered?
Danaos Corporation paid out about 12% of its earnings as dividends, so the payout is very well covered. A low ratio means the dividend has plenty of room and the company is keeping most of its profit to reinvest or buy back stock, which is also why the yield is modest.
Coverage is the question worth asking before yield. A dividend is only as good as the earnings behind it, and the highest yields on any screen are often the ones closest to being cut. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser.
How the DAC dividend has changed
The latest payment of $0.90 per share compares with $0.85 in the equivalent payment a year earlier (February 24, 2025). That is a change of 5.9% over the year.
A single year says little on its own. What dividend-growth investors track is the multi-year record: whether the payout has risen through a downturn, and whether the raises have kept pace with inflation. That record is on DAC's investor relations page.
What DAC's dividend means for you
- Income: about $257 a year per $10,000 invested, before tax.
- Yield is a ratio, not a payment: it rises when the share price falls. A jump in yield without a raise in the dividend means the stock got cheaper, which may or may not be good news.
- Total return: for DAC the dividend is one part of return and price change is usually the larger part. Compare total return, not yield, when weighing it against another holding.
- Reinvest or take the cash: a DRIP compounds the position automatically; taking the cash gives you income now. Either way it is taxable in a taxable account.
- If you want more yield: dedicated dividend names and funds target higher, steadier payouts. See the best dividend stocks and best dividend ETFs.
How DAC dividends are taxed
Dividends from US common stock are usually qualified, which means they are taxed at long-term capital-gains rates rather than as ordinary income, as long as you held the shares for more than 60 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Distributions from REITs and BDCs generally do not qualify and are taxed as ordinary income. Inside an IRA, Roth, or 401(k) none of this applies while the money stays in the account. Full detail is in how dividends are taxed. This is not tax advice.
The bottom line on the DAC dividend
Danaos Corporation (DAC) pays about 2.57%, or roughly $3.60 per share a year. At that level the dividend is a modest supplement rather than the reason to own it: the case rests on total return. For the full picture see the DAC guide. Walnut can show how DAC fits your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Investing in Danaos Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how DAC fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
Does Danaos Corporation (DAC) pay a dividend?
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Yes. Danaos Corporation pays a dividend yielding roughly 2.57% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.90 per share with an ex-dividend date of July 21, 2026. That works out to a forward annual rate of about $3.60 per share. Yields move with the share price, so verify the current figure with your broker or DAC's investor relations page before relying on it.
What is DAC's dividend yield?
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About 2.57% as of July 2026. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $257 of dividend income a year before tax. For context, the S&P 500 yields around 1.2%, so DAC yields meaningfully more than the broad market. A higher yield is not automatically better: it can reflect a falling share price as easily as a generous payout, so it is worth checking why the number is what it is.
How often does DAC pay its dividend?
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Danaos Corporation pays quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record had an ex-dividend date of July 21, 2026. To receive a given payment you have to own the shares before the ex-dividend date, not on the pay date. Confirm upcoming dates on DAC's investor relations page, because boards can change both the amount and the timing.
When is DAC's ex-dividend date?
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The ex-dividend date recorded in our July 2026 data pull is July 21, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the cutoff: buy on or after it and the seller keeps that payment, not you. Buying just before the ex-date to capture the dividend does not create free money, because the share price typically drops by roughly the dividend amount when the stock goes ex. Check DAC's investor relations page for the next confirmed date.
Has Danaos Corporation raised its dividend recently?
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Yes. The latest payment of $0.90 per share is above the $0.85 paid in the same slot a year earlier, an increase of about 5.9%. One raise is not a policy, though: check the multi-year record on DAC's investor relations page, since a long streak of increases is what dividend-growth investors actually look for.
Is DAC's dividend safe?
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Danaos Corporation paid out about 12% of its earnings as dividends, so the payout is very well covered. A low ratio means the dividend has plenty of room and the company is keeping most of its profit to reinvest or buy back stock, which is also why the yield is modest. Nobody can guarantee a dividend: boards cut them, and a high yield is sometimes the market pricing in exactly that. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.
How much would I earn in dividends from a $10,000 position in DAC?
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At a yield of about 2.57%, roughly $257 a year before tax, spread across 4 payments. That is a snapshot, not a promise: the amount changes when the company changes its payout, and your yield on cost is fixed at the price you paid, not at today's price.
Are DAC dividends qualified for tax purposes?
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Dividends from US common stock are usually qualified, meaning they are taxed at the lower long-term capital-gains rates, provided you held the shares for more than 60 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Distributions from REITs, BDCs, and some pass-through structures are generally taxed as ordinary income instead. In an IRA or Roth the question does not arise. See our guide to how dividends are taxed. This is not tax advice.
Should I reinvest DAC dividends?
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Most brokers offer automatic reinvestment (a DRIP) that puts each DAC payment straight back into more shares, often fractional ones. Reinvesting compounds the position and is the standard choice when you do not need the cash yet. Taking the cash makes sense when you are spending the income or want to direct it elsewhere. Either way the dividend is taxable in a taxable account in the year it is paid, even if you never see the money.
Does Danaos pay a dividend?
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Yes. Danaos pays a quarterly cash dividend, declared at $0.90 per share for the second quarter of 2026, and has supplemented shareholder returns with buybacks. The dividend is supported by contracted charter cash flow, but as a cyclical shipping company the payout can change with earnings, newbuilding commitments, and management's capital-allocation choices, so always check the latest declared dividend and yield.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Dividend figures on this page come from a July 2026 data pull and are approximate; verify the current yield, amount, schedule, and policy with DAC's investor relations page or your broker before acting on them.