Banks and Safaricom accounted for 80.2 percent of the total dividends distributed by companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the last full financial year, making them out as the best bet for investors looking for regular income from equities.
The 12 listed banks and the telecoms operator collectively paid Sh197.2 billion to shareholders for the latest financial year, part of the NSE’s total dividends of Sh245.9 billion in the period.
The other 21 companies that paid out dividends for the year distributed a combined Sh48.7 billion, which is just over half of the Sh80 billion that was paid out by Safaricom alone.
East African Breweries Plc (EABL), BAT Kenya and KenGen had the largest payouts outside of banks and Safaricom at Sh10.04 billion, Sh7 billion and Sh4.94 billion respectively.
The latest full-year cash distribution was also boosted by a one-off interim dividend of Sh13 billion, or Sh8 per share, that was paid by cross-listed Ugandan electricity utility Umeme in July 2025.
Dividends represent a tangible or realised return booked by investors from their holdings, adding to the paper gains they have made over the last three years in the NSE’s bull run. These capital gains can only be earned when one sells their shares, which would then mean an end to the dividend income stream.
This year, the NSE has added 42 percent or Sh1.23 trillion in market capitalisation —the measure of investor wealth— to Sh4. 18 trillion.
Similar to the case of dividends, Safaricom and the banks have driven the market’s valuation, adding a combined Sh916 billion in market value, equivalent to 74 percent of the bourse's total gain this year. The banking sector’s gain, however, includes the Sh49 billion in new wealth brought into the market courtesy of the listing of Family Bank in June.
The rally in blue-chip share prices has partly been driven by their consistent dividend payment record over the years, which has kept demand for their stocks high even when other segments of the market have suffered a downturn.
Dividend payments by listed companies have also emerged as an important source of liquid cash for individuals and businesses in an economy that is still grappling with costly credit and flat payslips.
Due to their large profits, banks and Safaricom pay the largest total dividends, alongside other selected blue chips such as EABL and BAT Kenya.
Safaricom made the largest distribution at the NSE in the most recent financial year at Sh80 billion, having raised its dividend per share to Sh2 from Sh1.20 previously.
For the year ending March 2026, the company paid out an interim dividend of Sh0.85 per share, and a final dividend of Sh1.15 per share. The payments were made in April and September 2026, respectively.
It raised its payout after recording a 37 percent jump in net profit to Sh95.6 billion for the period —the highest at the NSE— having maintained its policy of distributing 80 percent of its net profit to shareholders.
For the banks, the largest payouts in absolute terms came from KCB Group and Equity Group at Sh22.5 billion and Sh21.7 billion respectively.
They were followed by Co-operative Bank of Kenya at Sh14.7 billion, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and NCBA Group at Sh11.7 billion each, and Absa Bank Kenya at Sh11.1 billion.
Others were Stanbic Holdings at Sh8.8 billion, I&M Group at Sh6.5 billion, BK Group at Sh3.6 billion and DTB at Sh2.5 billion.
Five of the banks have also announced interim dividends for the first half of 2026, the majority being higher than those paid last year. This signals that their full-year payouts will go even higher and entrench the dominance the sector and Safaricom enjoy in the race to reward shareholders.
KCB will pay Sh9.64 billion in interim dividend on November 10 at a rate of Sh3 per share, up from Sh2 per share in 2025. The increase came after it reported a 14.2 percent growth in net profit to Sh36 billion for the six months to June 2026.
In 2025, the bank also paid out a special dividend of Sh2 per unit from the proceeds of the sale of National Bank of Kenya to Nigerian lender Access Bank Plc.
NCBA paid Sh6.18 billion on September 8 after raising its interim dividend for the half year to June to Sh3.75 per share from Sh2.50 a year earlier. Stanbic and Absa will make their respective payouts on September 15 and October 15.
Stanbic will distribute Sh1.5 billion after cutting its interim dividend per share to Sh1.64 from Sh3.80, while Absa is paying Sh2.72 billion after enhancing its dividend per share to Sh0.50 from last year’s Sh0.20.
However, even as shareholders of these companies enjoy higher returns from their investments, the increased ownership of the top firms by foreign investors means that a larger proportion of dividends is being shipped out of the country and the local economy.
In June, South African company Vodacom Group tightened its grip on Safaricom by purchasing an additional 15 percent stake from the Kenya government for Sh204 billion, taking its controlling stake to 55 percent.
South Africa’s Nedbank is buying a 66 percent stake in NCBA for about Sh110 billion in a deal that is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of the year.
Absa Group has recently increased its stake in the Kenyan unit from 68.5 percent to 71.99 percent for Sh6.5 billion through a tender offer that was priced at Sh34.50 per share.
The South African bank had bid for an additional 16.5 percent stake in its Kenyan unit at a cost of Sh30.9 billion, but the offer was undersubscribed after the margin between the market and tender purchase price shrunk in the sale period.
