Quick Read
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Pfizer’s 6.14% yield is the group’s highest but riskiest, with trailing EPS of $0.76 unable to cover its $1.72 annual dividend.
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Southern Company’s regulated utility earnings and Walmart’s annual raises deliver growing income, though Walmart’s 0.9% yield trails the 1.73% national CD average.
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CD interest faces ordinary income tax and can push Social Security into the taxable zone, while qualified dividends are taxed at lower capital gains rates.
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The FDIC’s national average annual percentage yield (APY) on a 12-month certificate of deposit was 1.73% in its September 1, 2026 reading. That is the latest figure available as of October 9, 2026, and the highest reading of the past year. The six dividend payers in this edition have yields ranging from 0.9% to 6.14% as of October 9, 2026. A yield measures income. A higher yield is only worth having if the company continues paying it.
What a CD Locks In and What It Locks Out
A certificate of deposit is a time deposit at a bank. You commit a set amount for a fixed term, such as 12 months, at a fixed APY. If you need the money back early, the bank charges an early-withdrawal penalty, which usually means giving up some of the interest. When the CD matures, you get your principal back, and the bank offers whatever rate it is paying that day if you renew.
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The rate on a CD you already hold cannot fall, and it cannot rise. The national average shows why this cuts both ways. It was 1.68% on October 1, 2025, dropped to a 1.52% low on March 1, 2026, then rose back to 1.73%. A saver who rolled a one-year CD in early 2026 renewed at a lower rate. Anyone living on CD income faces reinvestment risk as the main exposure: the rate you have now is only guaranteed until maturity.
Policy rates are moving too. The Federal Reserve’s target-range upper bound was 3.75% from December 10, 2025 through September 16, 2026. It moved up to 4.00% on September 17, 2026 and was still there as of October 9, 2026. CD rates tend to follow that direction over time, so a rate offered at renewal may be higher or lower than the one you have now. The national average is also a floor for shopping.
