Barron’s headline: Global Dividends Hit a Record High That Was Delayed by the Pandemic
By Lawrence C. Strauss
Updated Aug. 26, 2022 5:49 am ET / Original Aug. 25, 2022 12:00 pm ET
Global dividends hit a record in the second quarter, as pandemic-pressured and -paused payouts rebounded.
Second-quarter dividend payouts rose 11.3% globally to $545 billion, an all-time high, according to the latest version of the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index. The asset manager’s quarterly index tracks dividends paid by 1,200 companies around the world.
Dividends paid by U.S. companies in the second quarter also set a quarterly record of $144.4 billion, surpassing a record set in the prior quarter.
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Second-quarter European dividends, excluding the U.K., rose 28.7% from a year earlier in local currency. In the U.K., there was a 29.3% boost; it was 22.5% in emerging markets, with China up 15.4% in local currency; 14.7% in Japan; and 16.8% in Asia excluding Japan. U.S. companies increased their dividends by 8.3%, excluding adjustments for things like special dividend payouts.