N-CSR

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-05908

JOHN HANCOCK PREMIUM DIVIDEND FUND

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

200 BERKELEY STREET, BOSTON, MA 02116

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

SALVATORE SCHIAVONE

TREASURER

200 BERKELEY STREET

BOSTON, MA 02116

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (617) 543-9634

Date of fiscal year end: October 31

Date of reporting period: October 31, 2025

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS.

Annual report

John Hancock

Premium Dividend Fund

Closed-end U.S. equity

Ticker: PDT

October 31, 2025

Managed distribution plan

The fund has adopted a managed distribution plan (Plan). Under the Plan, the fund makes monthly distributions of an amount equal to $0.0825 per share, which will be paid monthly until further notice. The fund may make additional distributions (i) for purposes of not incurring federal income tax on investment company taxable income and net capital gain, if any, not included in such regular distributions and (ii) for purposes of not incurring federal excise tax on ordinary income and capital gain net income, if any, not included in such regular monthly distributions.

The Plan provides that the Board of Trustees of the fund may amend the terms of the Plan or terminate the Plan at any time without prior notice to the fund’s shareholders. The Plan is subject to periodic review by the fund’s Board of Trustees.

You shouldn’t draw any conclusions about the fund’s investment performance from the amount of the fund’s distributions or from the terms of the Plan. The fund’s total return at net asset value (NAV) is presented in the "Financial highlights" section of this report.

With each distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income, the fund will issue a notice to shareholders and an accompanying press release that will provide detailed information regarding the amount and composition of the distribution and other related information. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in the notice to shareholders are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend on the fund’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income-tax purposes. The fund may, at times, distribute more than its net investment income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may result in a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the fund is paid back to you. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect the fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income".

John Hancock

Premium Dividend Fund

Table of contents

2	Your fund at a glance
4	Management’s discussion of fund performance
6	A look at performance
8	Fund’s investments
17	Financial statements
21	Financial highlights
22	Notes to financial statements
31	Report of independent registered public accounting firm
32	Tax information
33	Investment objective, principal investment strategies, and principal risks
38	Additional information
44	Evaluation of advisory and subadvisory agreements by the Board of Trustees
50	Trustees and Officers
55	More information

ANNUAL REPORT

JOHN HANCOCK PREMIUM DIVIDEND FUND

TOP 10 ISSUERS AS OF 10/31/2025 (% of total investments)
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	3.5
Bank of America Corp.	3.4
Wells Fargo & Company	3.0
Edison International	2.9
Citigroup, Inc.	2.7
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.	2.5
Duke Energy Corp.	2.5
Verizon Communications, Inc.	2.4
Enbridge, Inc.	2.3
Morgan Stanley	2.2
TOTAL	27.4
Cash and short-term investments are not included.

COUNTRY COMPOSITION AS OF 10/31/2025 (% of total investments)
United States	89.3
Canada	6.1
United Kingdom	3.3
Other countries	1.3
TOTAL	100.0

Average annual total returns (%)				Cumulative total returns (%)
	1-Year	5-Year	10-Year	5-year	10-Year
At Net asset value	11.01	10.51	8.04	64.80	116.79
At Market price	9.60	9.46	8.38	57.16	123.63
S&P 500 Index	21.45	17.64	14.64	125.31	291.96
Primary Blended Benchmark	8.49	5.77	6.75	32.36	92.18
Secondary Blended Benchmark	7.67	5.55	6.54	31.00	88.34

	Shares	Value
Common stocks 65.6% (42.7% of Total investments)		$451,470,920
(Cost $364,618,117)
Communication services 6.2%		42,954,767
Diversified telecommunication services 6.2%
AT&T, Inc. (A)	724,919	17,941,745
Verizon Communications, Inc. (A)	629,417	25,013,022
Consumer staples 1.3%		8,731,965
Tobacco 1.3%
Philip Morris International, Inc. (A)	60,500	8,731,965
Energy 10.1%		69,916,104
Oil, gas and consumable fuels 10.1%
BP PLC, ADR	560,950	19,706,174
Enbridge, Inc.	281,200	13,109,544
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (A)	709,001	18,568,736
ONEOK, Inc. (A)	100,500	6,733,500
South Bow Corp.	455,000	11,798,150
Financials 1.0%		6,723,557
Banks 1.0%
Columbia Banking System, Inc. (A)	250,879	6,723,557
Materials 1.5%		10,213,100
Chemicals 0.6%
LyondellBasell Industries NV, Class A (A)	95,000	4,409,900
Metals and mining 0.9%
Vale SA, ADR (A)(B)	480,000	5,803,200
Real estate 1.4%		9,473,100
Specialized REITs 1.4%
Crown Castle, Inc. (A)	105,000	9,473,100
Utilities 44.1%		303,458,327
Electric utilities 25.4%
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (A)	140,000	16,836,400
Duke Energy Corp. (A)	167,000	20,758,100
Entergy Corp. (A)	175,000	16,815,750
Evergy, Inc. (A)	230,000	17,666,300
Eversource Energy (A)	217,033	16,019,206
Exelon Corp. (A)	230,000	10,607,600
FirstEnergy Corp. (A)	385,000	17,644,550
NextEra Energy, Inc. (A)	59,446	4,838,904
OGE Energy Corp. (A)	405,000	17,876,700

	Shares	Value
Utilities (continued)
Electric utilities (continued)
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (A)	70,000	$6,196,400
PPL Corp. (A)	465,000	16,981,800
The Southern Company (A)	130,000	12,225,200
Gas utilities 3.8%
Spire, Inc. (A)	185,000	15,984,000
UGI Corp. (A)	310,000	10,363,300
Independent power and renewable electricity producers 1.4%
The AES Corp. (A)	710,086	9,848,893
Multi-utilities 13.5%
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.	1,547,596	8,635,586
Dominion Energy, Inc. (A)	268,800	15,775,872
DTE Energy Company (A)	105,000	14,231,700
National Grid PLC, ADR (A)(B)	199,166	14,987,242
NiSource, Inc. (A)	230,000	9,685,300
Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (A)	200,000	16,112,000

Sempra (A)	145,394	13,367,524
Preferred securities (C) 45.0% (29.3% of Total investments)		$309,536,022
(Cost $316,142,671)
Communication services 0.3%		1,686,957
Wireless telecommunication services 0.3%
Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc., 5.500% (A)	28,800	527,040
Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc., 6.250% (A)	54,025	1,159,917
Financials 33.4%		229,881,783
Banks 14.0%
Bank of America Corp., 5.000% (A)	123,825	2,643,664
Bank of America Corp., 7.250%	6,000	7,566,000
Citizens Financial Group, Inc., 6.500% (6.500% 10-6-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.629%) (A)	202,650	5,141,231
Citizens Financial Group, Inc., 7.375% (A)	333,425	8,805,754
Comerica, Inc., 6.875% (6.875% to 10-1-30, then 5 Year CMT + 3.125%) (A)	269,250	6,908,955
Fulton Financial Corp., 5.125% (A)	197,400	3,872,988
Huntington Bancshares, Inc., 6.875% (6.875% to 4-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 2.704%) (A)	261,075	6,704,406
KeyCorp, 5.650% (A)	98,925	2,218,888
KeyCorp, 6.125% (6.125% to 12-15-26, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 4.154%) (A)	71,731	1,783,950
KeyCorp, 6.200% (6.200% to 12-15-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.132%) (A)	134,275	3,364,932

	Shares	Value
Financials (continued)
Banks (continued)
M&T Bank Corp., 6.350%	234,850	$5,857,159
M&T Bank Corp., 7.500% (A)	315,000	8,379,000
Regions Financial Corp., 4.450% (A)	74,078	1,340,812
Synovus Financial Corp., 7.467% (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.614%) (A)(D)	74,850	1,901,939
Synovus Financial Corp., 8.397% (5 Year CMT + 4.127%) (A)(D)	305,500	8,028,540
UMB Financial Corp., 7.750% (7.750% to 7-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 3.743%) (A)	170,975	4,616,325
Wells Fargo & Company, 7.500%	14,000	17,321,500
Capital markets 7.4%
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., 6.750% (A)	309,200	7,550,664
Brookfield Finance, Inc., 4.625% (A)	170,000	2,748,900
Carlyle Finance LLC, 4.625% (A)	53,575	948,278
KKR & Company, Inc., 6.250%	57,950	2,840,709
Morgan Stanley, 6.375% (A)	344,227	8,657,309
Morgan Stanley, 6.500% (A)	238,025	6,095,820
Morgan Stanley, 6.625% (A)	145,050	3,794,508
Morgan Stanley, 7.125% (A)	190,075	4,862,119
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., 6.150% (6.150% to 3-20-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.161%)	188,575	4,857,692
TPG Operating Group II LP, 6.950% (A)	339,525	8,732,583
Consumer finance 1.6%
Capital One Financial Corp., 5.000% (A)	124,350	2,469,591
Synchrony Financial, 8.250% (8.250% to 5-15-29, then 5 Year CMT + 4.044%) (A)	325,825	8,605,038
Financial services 2.7%
Apollo Global Management, Inc., 7.625% (7.625% to 12-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.226%) (A)	359,686	9,423,773
Corebridge Financial, Inc., 6.375% (A)	269,250	6,677,400
Jackson Financial, Inc., 8.000% (8.000% to 3-30-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.728%) (A)	82,075	2,158,573
Insurance 7.7%
American National Group, Inc., 7.375%	329,750	8,392,138
Aspen Insurance Holdings, Ltd., 7.000% (A)	230,150	5,792,876
Athene Holding, Ltd., 6.350% (6.350% to 6-30-29, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.253%) (A)	349,213	8,712,864
Brighthouse Financial, Inc., 6.600% (A)	105,485	1,616,030
Enstar Group, Ltd., 7.000% (7.000% to 9-1-28, then 3 month LIBOR + 4.015%)	55,875	1,341,000
F&G Annuities & Life, Inc., 7.300%	246,050	5,932,266
F&G Annuities & Life, Inc., 7.950%	300,100	7,838,612

	Rate (%)	Maturity date	Par value^	Value
Corporate bonds 41.4% (26.9% of Total investments)				$284,990,971
(Cost $275,963,666)
Communication services 0.9%				5,946,825
Diversified telecommunication services 0.9%
TELUS Corp. (7.000% to 10-15-35, then 5 Year CMT + 2.709%)	7.000	10-15-55	5,575,000	5,946,825
Consumer discretionary 0.7%				4,799,750
Automobiles 0.7%
General Motors Financial Company, Inc. (6.500% to 9-30-28, then 3 month LIBOR + 3.436%) (E)	6.500	09-30-28	4,796,000	4,799,750

	Yield (%)	Shares	Value
Short-term investments 0.0% (0.0% of Total investments)			$114,923
(Cost $114,923)
Short-term funds 0.0%			114,923
John Hancock Collateral Trust (H)	3.9239(I)	11,488	114,923


Total investments (Cost $969,514,082) 153.7%					$1,057,635,074
Other assets and liabilities, net (53.7%)					(369,378,332)
Total net assets 100.0%					$688,256,742

The percentage shown for each investment category is the total value of the category as a percentage of the net assets of the fund unless otherwise indicated.
^All par values are denominated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

	Rate (%)	Maturity date	Par value^	Value
Energy 3.0%				$20,722,930
Oil, gas and consumable fuels 3.0%
Enbridge, Inc. (7.200% to 6-27-34, then 5 Year CMT + 2.970%)	7.200	06-27-54	3,525,000	3,764,792
Enbridge, Inc. (7.375% to 1-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.708% to 1-15-33, then 5 Year CMT + 3.958% to 1-15-48, then 5 Year CMT + 4.708%)	7.375	01-15-83	3,304,000	3,404,765
Enbridge, Inc. (8.500% to 1-15-34, then 5 Year CMT + 4.431% to 1-15-54, then 5 Year CMT + 5.181%)	8.500	01-15-84	3,130,000	3,598,674
Energy Transfer LP (6.750% to 2-15-36, then 5 Year CMT + 2.475%)	6.750	02-15-56	5,645,000	5,662,488
Phillips 66 Company (6.200% to 3-15-36, then 5 Year CMT + 2.166%)	6.200	03-15-56	4,250,000	4,292,211
Financials 30.1%				207,221,210
Banks 21.4%
Bank of America Corp. (5.875% to 3-15-28, then 3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.193%) (A)(B)(E)	5.875	03-15-28	3,350,000	3,385,986
Bank of America Corp. (6.125% to 4-27-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.231%) (A)(E)	6.125	04-27-27	11,000,000	11,130,119
Bank of America Corp. (6.250% to 7-26-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.351%) (E)	6.250	07-26-30	3,550,000	3,611,131
Bank of America Corp. (6.625% to 5-1-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.684%) (A)(E)	6.625	05-01-30	7,513,000	7,821,033
Bank of Montreal (6.875% to 11-26-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.976%) (A)	6.875	11-26-85	6,525,000	6,728,847
Citigroup, Inc. (6.875% to 8-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.890%) (E)	6.875	08-15-30	5,400,000	5,564,020
Citigroup, Inc. (6.950% to 2-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.726%) (E)	6.950	02-15-30	4,175,000	4,294,889
Citigroup, Inc. (7.375% to 5-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.209%) (E)	7.375	05-15-28	8,095,000	8,387,068
Citigroup, Inc. (7.625% to 11-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.211%) (E)	7.625	11-15-28	10,225,000	10,698,418
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.265%) (D)(E)	7.199	01-06-26	18,000,000	17,932,491
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (3 month CME Term SOFR + 3.419%) (D)(E)	7.353	01-06-26	5,285,000	5,251,150
CoBank ACB (6.450% to 10-1-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.487%) (E)	6.450	10-01-27	5,000,000	5,010,785
CoBank ACB (7.250% to 7-1-29, then 5 Year CMT + 2.880%) (E)	7.250	07-01-29	4,300,000	4,395,095
Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (6.250% to 10-15-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.653%) (E)	6.250	10-15-30	3,925,000	3,888,152
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (6.875% to 6-1-29, then 5 Year CMT + 2.737%) (A)(B)(E)	6.875	06-01-29	6,445,000	6,790,098

	Rate (%)	Maturity date	Par value^	Value
Financials (continued)
Banks (continued)
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (6.000% to 5-15-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.000%) (A)(B)(E)	6.000	05-15-27	7,285,000	$7,325,439
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (6.200% to 9-15-27, then 5 Year CMT + 3.238%) (A)(E)	6.200	09-15-27	12,680,000	12,884,706
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (6.250% to 3-15-30, then 7 Year CMT + 2.808%) (A)(B)(E)	6.250	03-15-30	6,100,000	6,258,984
Wells Fargo & Company (6.850% to 9-15-29, then 5 Year CMT + 2.767%) (E)	6.850	09-15-29	5,350,000	5,618,854
Wells Fargo & Company (7.625% to 9-15-28, then 5 Year CMT + 3.606%) (E)	7.625	09-15-28	9,301,000	9,928,250
Capital markets 4.5%
State Street Corp. (6.700% to 3-15-29, then 5 Year CMT + 2.613%) (E)	6.700	03-15-29	4,332,000	4,503,053
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (6.300% to 3-20-30, then 5 Year CMT + 2.297%) (A)(B)(E)	6.300	03-20-30	5,142,000	5,296,045
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (7.500% to 2-10-29, then 5 Year CMT + 3.156%) (E)	7.500	02-10-29	12,857,000	13,640,866
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (7.500% to 5-10-29, then 5 Year CMT + 2.809%) (E)	7.500	05-10-29	7,308,000	7,744,814
Insurance 4.2%
Athene Holding, Ltd. (6.625% to 10-15-34, then 5 Year CMT + 2.607%)	6.625	10-15-54	3,400,000	3,386,065
Global Atlantic Financial Company (7.950% to 10-15-29, then 5 Year CMT + 3.608%) (F)	7.950	10-15-54	6,000,000	6,272,964
SBL Holdings, Inc. (6.500% to 11-13-26, then 5 Year CMT + 5.620%) (E)(F)	6.500	11-13-26	10,000,000	9,603,541
SBL Holdings, Inc. (9.508% to 5-13-30, then 5 Year CMT + 5.580%) (E)(F)	9.508	05-13-30	9,549,000	9,868,347
Health care 0.7%				4,606,995
Health care equipment and supplies 0.7%
Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (8.375% to 9-12-30, then 5 Year CMT + 4.379%)	8.375	09-12-55	4,474,000	4,606,995
Real estate 0.7%				5,131,105
Residential REITs 0.7%
BW Real Estate, Inc. (9.500% to 3-30-30, then 5 Year CMT + 5.402%) (E)(F)	9.500	03-30-30	5,000,000	5,131,105
Utilities 5.3%				36,562,156
Electric utilities 2.6%
Alliant Energy Corp. (5.750% to 4-1-31, then 5 Year CMT + 2.077%)	5.750	04-01-56	5,707,000	5,726,347

Security Abbreviations and Legend
ADR	American Depositary Receipt
CME	CME Group Published Rates
CMT	Constant Maturity Treasury
LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate
SOFR	Secured Overnight Financing Rate
(A)	All or a portion of this security is pledged as collateral pursuant to the Liquidity Agreement. Total collateral value at 10-31-25 was $693,303,920.
(B)	All or a portion of this security is on loan as of 10-31-25, and is a component of the fund’s leverage under the Liquidity Agreement. The value of securities on loan amounted to $19,628,909.
(C)	Includes preferred stocks and hybrid securities with characteristics of both equity and debt that pay dividends on a periodic basis.
(D)	Variable rate obligation. The coupon rate shown represents the rate at period end.
(E)	Perpetual bonds have no stated maturity date. Date shown as maturity date is next call date.
(F)	This security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such securities may be resold, normally to qualified institutional buyers, in transactions exempt from registration.
(G)	Includes hybrid securities with characteristics of both equity and debt that trade with, and pay, interest income.
(H)	Investment is an affiliate of the fund, the advisor and/or subadvisor.
(I)	The rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of 10-31-25.

SEC Form N-CSR filed by John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund