Yield on cost
The dividend stream divided by what you actually paid, not by today's price.
Yield on cost (YoC) is the annual dividend per share divided by the price you paid per share, expressed as a percentage. It differs from the standard "dividend yield" (which uses the current market price) in that it locks the denominator to your historical cost basis.
A position bought ten years ago at $40, paying $4 in dividends today, has a yield on cost of 10% — even if the stock now trades at $200 and the "current yield" is only 2%.
Why it matters: YoC tells you how productive a long-held position is *relative to your original investment*, which is the number a buy-and-hold investor actually cares about. It also grows over time when the company hikes its dividend, while current yield can decline as the stock appreciates.
Evibe computes YoC continuously on every dividend-paying position, using the historical cost basis preserved across rolls, splits and partial sales.