Stocks vs bonds today
What stocks earn against what a safe bond pays.
Close of Friday 6 November 2026 · updated every trading day
Where is it now?
How much more do stocks earn than bonds pay?
Far less than usual
Low · lower than in 9 of 10 months since 2006
What is it?
This measure compares what companies earn with what a 10-year US government bond pays. The earnings yield is yearly profit per $100 of share price. When the earnings yield is lower than the bond yield, bonds pay more than stocks earn.
How we measure it
Earnings yield is the yearly profit of the 500 largest US companies divided by their market value. Dividend yield is their yearly dividends divided by the same value. We compare both with the yield on a 10-year US government bond.
Why it is low now
AI-writtenWritten for the close of Wednesday 4 November 2026AI writes this text each trading day from our own figures for this page. We check every number against those figures before we show the text. It gives facts only. It is not advice.
The gap is -1.1 percentage points, a Low level. The earnings yield, or earnings over price, is 3.88%. The 10-year Treasury yield is 4.95%. Bonds yield more than stock earnings right now.
What changed?
AI-writtenWritten for the close of Wednesday 4 November 2026AI writes this text each trading day from our own figures for this page. We check every number against those figures before we show the text. It gives facts only. It is not advice.
The gap held at -1.1 over the month and fell from -0.7 a year ago, as the Treasury yield rose more.
HistoryEach point is one month. The dot is today. Labels mark well-known moments in the market.
Earnings yield minus the 10-year Treasury since 2006
What each pays, per $100, per year
What does it mean for a long-term investor?
AI-writtenWritten for the close of Wednesday 4 November 2026AI writes this text each trading day from our own figures for this page. We check every number against those figures before we show the text. It gives facts only. It is not advice.
This compares what stocks earn with what safe bonds pay. It ignores earnings growth, which bonds do not have. Its median since 2006 is 2. One indicator alone does not time the market.
What does it not tell you?
The gap does not tell you which does better. Profits can grow, and a bond's payment stays the same. Bond yields also move with inflation and with the central bank.