Dividend looks secure despite tariffs

Article Excerpt

CIBC recently announced that Victor Dodig will step down as CEO in October 2025. His replacement, Harry Culham, currently heads the bank’s capital markets division. We expect the new CEO will continue to focus on cutting non-interest costs, which will help the bank offset any negative impact on loan demand and repayments due to U.S. tariffs. Moreover, corporate borrowers most affected by tariffs—manufacturers, agricultural producers and transportation firms—represent a small portion of its overall loan book. These factors should let CIBC keep raising your dividend, as it has each of the past 14 years. CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $83 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol CM; Income-Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 940.1 million; Market cap: $78.0 billion; Dividend yield: 4.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.cibc.com) last raised your quarterly dividend with the January 2025 payment. Investors now receive $0.97 a share, up 7.8% from $0.90. The new annual rate of $3.88 yields a high 4.7%. In the latest fiscal year, CIBC’s payout ratio was…