Nelnet Inc dividend history

Nelnet Inc's dividend was $0.500 a share in fiscal 2016, up 19.0% on the year before. That was 8.3% of net income. It has raised its dividend per share every year since fiscal 2014.

Dividends, buybacks and capital spending

FY2026 Q2 TTM

Buybacks (TTM): $84.2M
Dividends (TTM): $46.3M
Returned to shareholders: 36%; of free cash flow
Buybacks, last 3 fiscal years: $181M
Diluted share count: −0.9%; year over year
Total shareholder yield: 2.9%; dividends 1.0% + buybacks 1.9% of market value
Dividend payout ratio: 15%; of net income paid out

Dividends by fiscal year

US$ millions unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Nelnet Inc: dividends by fiscal year, annual
Fiscal year	2009Dec 2009	2010Dec 2010	2011Dec 2011	2012Dec 2012	2013Dec 2013	2014Dec 2014	2015Dec 2015	2016Dec 2016	2017Dec 2017	2018Dec 2018	2019Dec 2019	2020Dec 2020	2021Dec 2021	2022Dec 2022	LTMMar 2023
Dividend per share	—	$0.700	$0.370	$1.40	$0.400	$0.400	$0.420	$0.500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Dividend per share growth	—	—	−47.1%	+278.4%	−71.4%	0.0%	+5.0%	+19.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Dividends paid	3	34	18	66	19	19	19	21	24	27	29	32	34	37	37
Share buybacks	0	40	27	23	13	16	96	69	69	45	40	73	58	98	68
Dividends ÷ net income	2.5%	18.1%	8.7%	37.2%	6.1%	6.0%	7.1%	8.3%	13.9%	11.8%	20.8%	9.0%	8.8%	9.0%	15.1%

Dividend per share is the amount declared for the fiscal year as stated in the company's filings (including any special dividend), restated for stock splits and checked against the cash dividends paid. Dividends paid and buybacks are cash amounts; the last-twelve-months column can include an extra payment when a quarter-end date moves.

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Figures from Nelnet Inc's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved November 1, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Nelnet Inc.