Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 5, 2024 in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
LONDON – Dividends to global shareholders will reach a record $1.66 trillion in 2023, according to a new report from British asset manager Janus Henderson.
According to the World Dividend Index report released on Wednesday, dividends increased by 5% year-on-year on an underlying basis and by 7.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three months.
The underlying figures adjust for changes in the index, as well as the effects of exchange rates, one-off special dividends and technical factors related to the dividend calendar.
The banking sector contributed almost half of the global dividend increase, delivering record payouts amid high interest rates and increased margins for lenders, the report said.
Last year, major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley paid quarterly dividends after passing the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, which determines how much capital a bank can return to shareholders. announced plans to raise the
“Furthermore, payments have fully recovered due to the lingering post-pandemic catch-up effect. Most notably, HSBC” added Janus Henderson’s report.
“Emerging market banks contributed particularly strongly to the increase, while Chinese banks did not participate in the banking sector’s dividend boom.”
However, Janus Henderson said the positive impact from bank dividends was “almost completely offset by cuts in the mining sector.”
The report noted significant dividend cuts by some major companies, including: BHP, petrobras, rio tinto, intel and AT&T This has reduced global underlying growth by 2 percentage points this year, masking widespread strong growth in many regions of the world.
“The key engine for growth”
About 86% of publicly listed companies around the world plan to increase their dividends in 2023 or keep them at current levels, according to Janus Henderson.
Last year, 22 countries saw record payments, including the US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Mexico and Indonesia.
Europe was described as a “key engine of growth”, with dividends increasing 10.4% year-on-year on an underlying basis.
Janus Henderson expects total dividends to reach $1.72 trillion in 2024, representing a real growth rate of 5%.
—CNBC’s Hugh Son contributed to this report.
