Companies paid out a record $1.43tn (£1.10tn) in dividends to shareholders around the world last year. From a low base in 2009 after the financial crisis, dividends have grown strongly over the past decade. In that time, pay-outs have almost doubled, with investors receiving $694bn more in dividends in 2019 than 10 years previously. Technology dividends, a notable bright spot, have quadrupled since 2009.
The record-breaking annual dividend pay-out from listed companies was driven by strong performances in stock markets in North America and emerging economies, including by some unusually high special dividends, although global economic uncertainty slowed the annual pace of growth. The total payment was 3.5% higher than in 2018.
Dividends from UK-listed companies reached $105.8bn (£81.2bn) in 2019, a rise of 6.2% on the previous year, boosted by large special payments from mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP, and Royal Bank of Scotland. However, the UK’s underlying 2.9% growth was below the global average.
Payments vary widely between European countries. For example, France registered record pay-outs, while Belgium’s were the weakest, due to a halving in the payment made by brewer Anheuser-Busch.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/17/companies-paid-record-143tn-in-dividends-in-2019
