A Dividend ETF Sits 0.79% From a Record — With Earnings Season Throwing Curveballs
Published on 08/01/2026 at 20:41 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF closed the week at €55.06, a whisker away from the €55.50 all-time high it touched on July 29. The fund's 1.06% weekly gain masks a choppier Friday session, when a heavy slate of earnings from its largest holdings delivered both upside surprises and a few unwelcome misses.
The €8.89 billion fund, which tracks the 100 highest-yielding sustainable dividend payers in developed markets, has climbed 14.61% since the start of the year. Its 14-day relative strength index now sits at 68.2 — a sign of pronounced upward momentum that stops just short of the 70-point threshold that would flag overbought conditions.
Energy's Mixed Bag
ExxonMobil, one of the index's heavyweight energy positions, reported quarterly earnings of $14.5 billion. Revenue came in at $114.53 billion, comfortably ahead of the roughly $109.94 billion analysts had penciled in. The adjusted earnings per share figure of $3.52, however, fell short of the $3.76 consensus. Management pointed to refinery maintenance work that prevented the company from fully capitalizing on strong fuel margins, though the chemicals division contributed a solid $1.2 billion in adjusted profit. The stock slipped about 2.42% on the news, weighing on the ETF's daily performance.
Chevron, by contrast, delivered a beat that helped offset some of that drag. The oil major earned $12.0 billion on an adjusted basis, or $6.06 per share — comfortably above the $5.56 analysts expected. Record US production and a 20% global output increase underpinned the results, and the company paid out $3.5 billion in dividends during the quarter.
Italian energy group Eni also lent support, reporting net income of €2.83 billion with earnings per share of €0.96 — both well ahead of year-ago levels and enough to cushion part of the Exxon impact.
AbbVie's Growth Story Comes With a Caveat
Healthcare, another dominant sector within the fund, brought its own narrative. AbbVie posted revenue of $16.99 billion, a 10.2% year-over-year increase driven by immunology and neuroscience products. Adjusted earnings per share of $3.65 beat market expectations.
The pharma giant, however, trimmed its full-year 2026 profit guidance to a range of $13.87 to $14.07 per share. Management attributed the modest downgrade to the planned acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics, expected to close in the third quarter, which will bring some dilution.
A Leadership Change at P&G
Procter & Gamble's Friday was defined less by its numbers — released back on July 29 — and more by a changing of the guard. Jon Moeller officially stepped down from the board on July 31, capping a 38-year career at the consumer goods giant, with Shailesh Jejurikar assuming the chairmanship on August 1.
The company's fiscal year results through June 2026 painted a mixed picture. P&G reported record revenue of $87 billion, up 3%, but organic growth stalled in the fourth quarter and diluted earnings per share fell 15% to $1.26. Management cited geopolitical tensions and persistent inflationary pressure for the weakness, while maintaining an optimistic outlook for fiscal 2027.
Financials Now Dominate the Portfolio
The fund's June rebalancing has shifted its center of gravity. Financials now account for roughly 44% of the portfolio — by far the largest sector allocation. That tilt means the coming week's earnings calendar carries particular weight: HSBC and Pfizer, two significant dividend payers in the index, are both scheduled to report on August 4.
With the fund trading just shy of its record and momentum indicators running hot, the question is whether the remaining earnings season can sustain the rally — or whether the occasional miss, like Exxon's, will keep the index pinned below that €55.50 mark.
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