Covered and growing, inside its payout target on guidance. A 2.56% yield that is covered on the company's own target: $0.90 a quarter, raised 2.3% in September 2026 from $0.88 and declared October 15, 2026, payable November 30, 2026, at the $140.68 close on October 23, 2026. The $3.60 indicated payout is about 56%–57% of 2026 guidance of $6.30–$6.45 per share — inside IDACORP's stated 50%–60% payout target — and about 61% of trailing EPS near $5.90. The board has approved an increase every year since 2011, a cumulative rise of about 200% since then.
Key risk: Elevated capital spending — nearly $7 billion planned for 2026–2030 — is the pressure point: the company itself says dividend growth and earnings growth will stay decoupled, so the payout target, not earnings growth alone, is what has to hold.
Changes if: The payout stays persistently above the 60% target, the annual increase streak since 2011 breaks, or capital spending forces equity dilution that outruns earnings. A cut would move this card to warn immediately.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: About 61% of trailing earnings — $3.60 indicated against trailing EPS near $5.90 — and 56%–57% of 2026 guidance ($6.30–$6.45), inside the company's stated 50%–60% target on the forward line.
- ✓Dividend growth check: An increase approved every year since 2011, most recently 2.3% in September 2026, from $0.88 to $0.90 — a cumulative increase of about 200% since 2011, at a 7.6% compound annual rate. Growth is deliberate and small, not a catch-up raise.
- ✓Guidance check: 2026 EPS guidance of $6.30–$6.45, with second-quarter 2026 EPS of $1.79 beating the $1.78 consensus. The payout target holds on guidance even though trailing coverage is a touch above 60%.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.