SCHD hits annual high of $35.45 as technology stocks fall
Key Facts
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, known by its ticker SCHD, touched $35.45 during the session on Thursday, October 22, 2026, according to Schwab Asset Management data. The session high matched the upper end of the fund's trading range for the year, marking its annual high. The fund's page showed a session low of $34.79, against that level at the upper end of the range. It reached the high during a session marked by pressure on U.S. equities, particularly technology and artificial intelligence stocks. According to the Associated Press, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% on Thursday. The agency described it as the index's "worst day since July," while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.6%.
The flight to safety extended to the U.S. government debt market, where the Associated Press said investors bought U.S. government bonds as artificial intelligence stocks fell. Those purchases helped push Treasury yields lower during the session. The yield on 10-year Treasuries stood at 4.97% on Thursday, according to the agency. The yield had reached 5.13% in late trading on Wednesday before declining in the following session as demand for bonds increased. The move followed a divergence in equity sector performance covered by Reuters in a report published on October 16, 2026. The agency said healthcare and consumer staples were among the sectors posting "strong gains during the week," as technology and artificial intelligence stocks declined.
SCHD ended September with a year-to-date total return at market price of 21.51%, according to Schwab data dated September 30, 2026. That result came despite a monthly loss of 6.02% in September itself. The fund thus retained year-to-date gains through the end of that month after a decline in its monthly performance. In terms of portfolio allocation, consumer staples had a weight of 19.97% at the end of September, according to Schwab. Healthcare had a weight of 19.20% on the same date, while energy stocks accounted for 15.38% of the portfolio. Consumer staples had the largest weighting among these sectors, followed by healthcare and then energy. The portfolio thus includes exposure to the healthcare and consumer staples sectors whose weekly gains Reuters documented in its October report.
The index tracked by the fund focuses on high-dividend U.S. stocks, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices' description. Companies must have a consistent record of paying dividends to shareholders and are selected based on their fundamental strength relative to peers. The index provider says selection relies on "financial ratios," alongside dividend payment records. A disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission states that selection criteria include cash flow to total debt and return on equity. Selection thus combines measures of cash flow and indebtedness with a measure of a company's return on shareholders' equity. The criteria also include dividend yield and the dividend growth rate over 5 years. This approach incorporates dividend levels and their growth record into the same selection process that considers companies' financial metrics.
For income and cost measures, the fund's 30-day SEC yield stood at 3.18% on October 20, 2026, according to Schwab. The fund's annual total expense ratio is 0.060%, according to the company's product page. In terms of managing index constituents, the disclosure filed with the SEC provides for an annual review. Quarterly rebalancing also takes place, according to the schedule specified in the disclosure. In the monetary policy backdrop to equity and bond trading, Reuters' October 16 report discussed the prospect of a U.S. interest rate increase. The agency said the possibility of another rate increase at the Federal Reserve's meeting at the end of October remained on investors' minds. The upcoming meeting at the end of October follows Thursday's session, when equity indexes and Treasury yields declined as SCHD reached its annual high.