Definition of Dividend

Definition: The dividend a corporation pays is the amount of money, normally a portion of the profits, a board of directors distributes to the ordinary shareholders of the corporation. Suppose a company has one million shares outstanding, and it decides to distribute 2 million dollars to its shareholders. Then the dividend per share is $2 (2 million dollars divided by one million shares).

Terms related to Dividends:

• Dividend tax
• Ex Dividend Date
• Ex Post

About.Com Resources on Dividends:

• Economics - The Dividend Tax Cut
• Stocks - Dividends
• Investing for Beginners - Dividends and DRIPs
• Investing for Beginners - Dividend Reinvestment Programs
• Investing for Beginners - Calculating Dividend Yield

Writing a Term Paper? Here are a few starting points for research on Dividends:

Journal Articles on Dividends:

• Dividend Policy, Growth, and the Valuation of Shares
• Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information
• The Dividend Puzzle