The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) endured a particularly rough Thursday session today, erasing much of the gains that we saw earlier in the week. Investors began the day depressed and only got more pessimistic as trading wore on.

By the time the markets closed, the ASX 200 had dropped a nasty 0.98%. That leaves the index at 9,038.2 points.

This tough Thursday for Australian investors came after a milder night on the US markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) couldn’t hold water, falling 0.21%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared better, only losing 0.081% of its value.

But let us return to the local markets now for a closer look at how the different ASX sectors traversed this Thursday’s tough trading conditions.

Winners and losers

It was a bleak landscape out on the boards today, with only two sectors managing to escape intact.

Firstly, though, it was consumer discretionary stocks that copped the worst of it today. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) was slammed, crashing 3.18% lower.

Tech shares suffered too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) plunging 2.38%.

Gold stocks didn’t hold their value either. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) tanked 1.54% this session.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were in a similar boat, as you can tell by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)’s 1.45% dive.

Consumer staples shares were no safe haven. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) cratered 1.43% today.

Nor were mining stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) copping a 1.18% beating.

Communications shares had a day to forget, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) saw its value erode 1.06%.

Utilities stocks also suffered, evident by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)’s 0.99% tumble.

Financial shares weren’t popular either. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) slid 0.68% lower this Thursday.

Our last losers were energy shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) slipping down 0.19%.

Turning to the two green sectors now, the best place to hide out today was in healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) was spared, lifting a comfortable 0.23%.

Finally, our other winners were industrial shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)’s 0.03% bounce.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Our chart-topper this Thursday was healthcare stock Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC). Ramsay shares surged 13.72% higher this session to hit $50.06 by close. This came after the company reported its latest earnings this morning.

Here’s how the other top stocks landed their planes:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC)	$50.06	13.72%
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)	$20.30	7.98%
Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH)	$0.96	5.49%
Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN)	$9.66	4.77%
Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)	$6.06	4.48%
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)	$21.02	4.32%
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)	$1.80	3.46%
Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT)	$20.23	3.32%
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)	$16.40	2.89%
Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)	$10.12	2.22%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises and DroneShield. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) dividend has just been announced with the FY26 report. It was another pleasing payout for investors.

Wesfarmers’ profit is generated by a number of businesses, including Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks, WesCEF (chemicals, energy and fertilisers), healthcare, and more.

Wesfarmers is one of the largest businesses in Australia, and its dividends have been steadily rising this decade. Let’s take a look at what upcoming payout shareholders can look forward to.

Wesfarmers dividend

The board of directors of Wesfarmers decided to declare an FY26 final dividend of $1.20 per share. This represented an 8.1% year-over-year increase over the FY25 final dividend.

The Wesfarmers annual dividend for the 2026 financial year is $2.22, representing a 7.8% year-over-year increase.

In December 2025, the business also paid $1.50 per share, comprising a capital return of $1.10 per share and a fully-franked special dividend of 40 cents per share.

The company said that the announced payout is consistent with the group’s focus on providing a satisfactory return to shareholders and commitment to efficient capital management.

Wesfarmers noted that the dividends are decided based on the franking credit availability, current earnings, cash flows, future cash flow requirements, and targeted credit metrics.

Based on the earnings per share (EPS) generated by the business, its FY26 annual dividend payout ratio is 87.6% of net profit.

At the time of writing, the final dividend of $1.20 per share translates into a dividend yield of 1.5% excluding franking credits and 2.1% including franking credits.

With the annual dividend per share, that translates into a dividend yield of 2.8% excluding franking credits and 4% including franking credits.

Payment date

Before we get to the Wesfarmers dividend payment date, we need to look at the ex-dividend date.

The ex-dividend date is the cut-off date for entitlement to the upcoming payout. Investors need to own Wesfarmers shares before the ex-dividend date to be entitled to the payment.

For the FY26 final dividend, the ex-dividend date is next Tuesday, 1 September 2026. That means investors have until the end of trading on 31 August 2026 to secure shares and be eligible for the upcoming payout.

Following that, the payment date for this dividend is 7 October 2026. That’s less than a month and a half away, at the time of writing.

Investors can also elect to take part in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). That’s where shareholders choose to receive new Wesfarmers shares rather than receiving the dividend as cash.

If investors want to take part in the DRP, they must make that election by 7pm on 3 September 2026. That’s a week away, at the time of writing.

The post Everything you need to know about the Wesfarmers dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just upped their payouts
• Why Wesfarmers, Mineral Resources and Qantas shares are turning heads on Thursday
• Here’s what brokers tip for Wesfarmers shares over the next 12 months
• Wesfarmers posts higher earnings, lifts dividend in FY26 results
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Earnings season has continued this Thursday, with a cavalcade of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares reporting their latest numbers to investors. Many of them have also revealed the next dividend their investors can look forward to. So today, let’s go over three prominent blue-chip ASX 200 dividend shares and check out what kind of income is coming investors’ way.

Three ASX 200 dividend shares that just boosted their payouts

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Mining stock and ASX 200 dividend share, South32, is first up. The miner had some impressive numbers to show off this morning. Although revenues were only up 1% to US$5.82 billion, underlying earnings grew 38% to US$2.46 billion. Profits after tax attributable to members roared higher, jumping 410% to US$1.09 billion.

That all helped South32 to declare a final dividend of 5.4 US cents per share. Like most payouts from this ASX 200 dividend share, this one will come with full franking credits attached.

This new final dividend is more than double what investors bagged this time last year, up 107.7% over 2025’s final dividend of 2.6 US cents per share. Right now, South32 shares are trading on a trailing dividend yield of 1.81%.

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN)

Since the resumption of Qantas’ shareholder payouts last year, the airline has become a favourite ASX 200 dividend share amongst income investors. That trend continues into the back half of 2026. This morning, Qantas revealed a final dividend of 19.8 cents per share, fully franked.

That matches 2026’s interim dividend, and represents a 20% hike over 2025’s final ordinary payout of 16.5 cents per share.

This came despite Qantas also reporting an underlying profit before tax of $2.06 billion, down 11.82% from 2025. The national carrier’s earnings per share (EPS) also fell 12.73% to 96 cents.

Qantas stock is currently trading with a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Finally, let’s talk about ASX 200 dividend share and popular blue chip, Wesfarmers. The Bunnings, Kmart, OfficeWorks, and Target owner also dropped its report today. There were lots of green numbers on display.

For FY2026, Wesfarmers reported revenue of $47.27 billion, up 3.4% year on year. Earnings before interest and tax excluding significant items rose 7.3%, while statutory net profits after tax (excluding significant items) jumped 8.3% to $2.87 billion.

That enabled Wesfarmers to declare a fully-franked final dividend of $1.20 per share. That represents an 8.11% rise over last year’s equivalent payout of $1.11 per share.

Wesfarmers is presently sitting on a dividend yield of 2.68%.

The post 3 ASX 200 dividend shares that just upped their payouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Everything you need to know about the Wesfarmers dividend
• Qantas shares jump 4% today: Is this the start of a rebound?
• Own Qantas shares? Here’s how much the latest dividend will pay
• Why Wesfarmers, Mineral Resources and Qantas shares are turning heads on Thursday
• Here’s what brokers tip for Wesfarmers shares over the next 12 months

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.