Complete Guide to Dividend Payments: 2023 Calendar and Key Concepts

The 2023 Dividend Payment Calendar: Major Global Corporations

Starting July 1, 2023, we present an analysis of the dividend payment landscape among the world’s leading stock market players. This information includes prominent technology corporations such as Apple, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms, financial institutions like Santander, JP Morgan, and PayPal, as well as entertainment sector companies such as Carnival Corp, Walt Disney, and Netflix.

Table of Critical Dividend Payment Dates

*Estimated date

Fundamentals: What Dividend Payments Represent in Investment

Dividends constitute the compensation received by shareholders from a corporation for having allocated capital to it. Through this mechanism, companies distribute a portion of their profits among owners of shares, with the volume allocated proportional to the number of shares each investor holds.

This remuneration system acts as a crucial incentive for potential investors. Companies offering attractive yields through dividend payments manage to attract additional capital, regardless of their future appreciation prospects. In fact, there is a special classification called “Dividend Aristocrats” that groups corporations committed to 25 consecutive years of increasing dividend payments.

Modalities and Classification of Dividend Payments

Delivery Methods

Dividend payments are generally channeled through two methods: cash or shares. Although both are valid, cash payments predominate in practice, as investors seek direct monetary liquidity and not additional fragmentation of their holdings.

Fixed Dividend: The shareholders’ meeting establishes a predetermined monetary amount to be distributed evenly.

Flexible Dividend: Shareholders can choose to receive cash, additional shares, or a hybrid combination of both options.

Most large corporations implement the fixed system, while banking institutions often offer flexibility. When payment is made in shares, negotiable purchase rights are first granted before the actual delivery of new shares.

Nature of Payment Typology

Ordinary Dividend: Derived from normal operational results according to usual business projections.

Complementary Dividend: Distributed once results are confirmed, only if they exceed initial expectations.

Extraordinary Dividend: Comes from equally exceptional income, such as the sale of real estate assets or business stakes.

The Four Essential Dates in the Dividend Payment Cycle

To ensure correct perception of dividends, it is essential to understand four critical dates in the dividend payment calendar:

1. Declaration Date

The day when the shareholders’ meeting formally approves the dividend distribution, specifying the exact amount, the scheduled payment date, and the record date with rights.

2. Record Date

Establishes the definitive cutoff: only those who are shareholders at the close of this date will be entitled to receive the dividend payment on the designated date. Ownership must be verified at this specific moment.

3. Ex-Dividend Date

Represents the key date for dividend entitlement, regardless of the shareholder status on the actual payment date. Those who held the shares until this date retain their full rights to receive the dividend and can sell the shares the next day without any loss. Conversely, those who acquire shares after this date will not be entitled to the upcoming dividend, despite being shareholders on the payment date.

4. Payment Date

The day when payments are made to all qualified shareholders as determined on the record date.

Factors Impacting the Continuity of Dividend Payments

Deterioration of Operational Results

When the board approves a dividend, it is based on income projections that may not materialize. If during the period the targets are not met, the payment amount can be reduced or suspended. Since canceling dividends severely penalizes the stock price, some companies opt to maintain the payment by charging it to reserves instead of current results, offering a temporary but not definitive solution.

Unexpected Risks

Although infrequent, financial stress circumstances such as significant litigation or liquidity crises can force a temporary suspension of dividend payments until stabilization.

Regulatory Restrictions

Precedents such as post-COVID EU decrees prohibiting dividends in rescued companies demonstrate that regulatory restrictions can intervene in dividend payments during systemic crises.

Surpluses and Extraordinary Assets

The existence of unexpected profits or sales of significant assets often determines the distribution of additional extraordinary dividends.

Corporate Acquisition Operations

When a company is subject to a takeover bid, the operation documents may annul or modify the usual dividend payment scheme for reasons of financial stability.

Taxation of Dividend Payments: Fiscal Framework

Dividends constitute taxable events subject to automatic (investment funds) or manual (direct shares or CFDs) withholding taxes. In the Spanish tax regime, the tax treatment varies depending on the payment method:

Cash Payment

Progressive scale on obtained yields:

• Up to €6,000: 19%
• From €6,000 to €50,000: 21%
• From €50,000 to €200,000: 23%
• Over €200,000: 26%

Share Payment

Taxation is deferred until the sale of the new shares, using as a basis the original purchase price of the pre-existing shares distributed proportionally among the total (old shares plus those derived from the dividend).

Practical Calculation of Dividend Payments

Dividend payment calculation is accessible through standard formulas available on specialized platforms such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Infobolsa.

Dividend per Share (DPS)

DPS = Total Distributable Dividend / Number of Shares Outstanding

Dividend Yield (DY)

DY = (DPS / Current Share Price) × 100

Illustrative Example

Suppose Banco Dinero generates profits of €10 million and sets an 80% payout, allocating €8 million to dividend payments. With 340 million shares outstanding:

DPS = 8,000,000 / 340,000,000 = 0.0235 €

If the share is currently trading at €1.50:

DY = (0.0235 / 1.50) × 100 = 1.56%

This 1.56% yield represents the return an investor would obtain solely from the dividend payment, without considering price variations of the asset.

Resources for Tracking Dividends

To consult detailed information on historical and projected dividend payments:

• Apple (AAPL) - Dividends
• Santander - Dividends
• Sabadell - Dividends
• Coca-Cola - Dividends
• Caixabank - Dividends
• Iberdrola - Dividends
• BBVA - Dividends
• Repsol - Dividends