As I understand it, the dividend is set typically in a dollar amount and the % is a metric derived from that. I agree that the figure is (usually) a bit nonsense. However, I don't think your phrasing is as clear as it could be. If Apple announces a 10% dividend with a 1T market cap that's $100b in distribution. If the market cap doubles to 2T later that year, that dividend payment isn't suddenly updated to $200b; it just shows up as a 5% dividend in your typical metrics.