Calista approves record $4.95 million Akilista payout, about $114 per 100 shares

Calista Corporation's board and the trustees of its Settlement Trust have approved a record $4.95 million Akilista distribution, to be paid on or by Nov. 13 to more than 40,100 shareholders of any age, the Alaska Native corporation announced Oct. 19.

The payout works out to about $1.14 per issued share, or an estimated $114 for a shareholder holding 100 shares.

Shareholders who need to update direct deposit or mailing information must do so by 5 pm Alaska Standard Time on Nov. 2, through MyCalista.com or the fillable forms in Calista's shareholder forms center.

Direct deposits arrive the same day as the distribution. Mailed checks can take three weeks or longer, especially in rural Alaska, according to Calista's distribution page. The corporation's Address Unknown List names about 200 shareholders who cannot receive checks by mail until they update their information.

Calista says this year's total is 10 percent higher than last year's $4.49 million, which went to 39,100 shareholders at about $1.06 a share. The corporation says its shareholder count grew by about 1,000 over the past year.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Region's share moved the other direction. About $2.5 million will go to households in the region this year, down from about $2.7 million in 2025.

The Akilista payment follows a formula based on the Akilista investment portfolio, which Calista describes as a perpetual source of distributions that does not depend on business operations. Calista says this year's payment is more than three times the first one, paid in 2014. Spring and Akilista payments are not taxable because of the Settlement Trust shareholders approved in 2018. Revenue-sharing payments to Class B (At-Large) shares, known as 7(i) payments, remain taxable.

Calista paid a record $14.4 million Spring distribution, about $337 per 100 shares, on or by April 6. Combined, the corporation says it has declared a record $19.3 million in Spring and Akilista distributions this year, nearly $1.7 million more than last year.

Last year's Akilista announcement also included the Elders' Benefit Program payment, $400 to each original shareholder 65 or older. The board and trustees moved that payment up in 2025 because of storms in Western Alaska. Calista's distribution page says the Elders' payment is generally sent in December. This year's Akilista announcement does not mention it.