What Happens to Companies Eliminating Dividends?

Nine companies eliminating dividends in 2020 declined an average of 52% this year.

It’s important to note that these companies may have run out of cash if they didn’t.

Looks like it is 11 Cancellations

Bank Dividends?

The European Central Bank has instructed lenders to cancel all measures to return funds to shareholders. Regulators in the US and the UK should follow their example.

https://twitter.com/GinSecurities/status/1245086319505747969

UK’s Biggest Banks Scrap Dividends and Bonuses

Glencore Defers Dividend Payment

EasyJet Pays Dividend, Takes Bailout

https://twitter.com/AndyGbootneck/status/1244985057556783104

Hong Kong Still Pays Dividends

All Shook Up

Goldman Sachs Sees Dividend Slash of 25%

https://twitter.com/CyndxNet/status/1244965012671692801

A Different Kind of Dividend

Important to note that what’s happened *so far* is largely baked in based on (bad) choices the U.S. made a week to a month ago, or longer. The data lags our actions to an extent that folks don’t seem to fully appreciate. But making better choices *now* *will* pay dividends later.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock

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Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
4 years ago

But but someone here was pimping doing just that a few weeks ago (XOM).

Good luck.

Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
4 years ago
Reply to  Tony Bennett

I wasn’t clear.

Buying a stock based on dividend.

Casual_Observer
Casual_Observer
4 years ago

This is two consecutive days of tracking above what this model predicted. Today was supposed to end at 3755 at the high end and we already have hit 4053 by midnight on the east coast. Welcome to April.

Ted R
Ted R
4 years ago

Their stocks go down.

Carl_R
Carl_R
4 years ago

Stock dividends are mathematically identical to stock buybacks, so if you are going to ban one, you should ban the other. That way the employees and managers can keep any profits.

CautiousObserver
CautiousObserver
4 years ago
Reply to  Carl_R

Not all stock buybacks and dividends should be banned, only those that are paid for by taking on more debt. It is not a good use of debt.

Carl_R
Carl_R
4 years ago

Rather than focusing on the source of funds, which can be obscure, how about limited buybacks and dividends in any year to no more than the book profits for the year?

CautiousObserver
CautiousObserver
4 years ago
Reply to  Carl_R

In principle I would be okay with limiting buybacks or dividends to the book profits. When one thinks about these things carefully it is probably possible to distort any metric that is used, so I am not really certain that would work either.

As @Snow_Dog mentioned, the real problem is the cost of borrowing is being suppressed below fair market value, and there is an incentive to take on excessive debt to the point where companies either have to wreck their balance sheets or have it wrecked for them.

Bam_Man
Bam_Man
4 years ago

Benjamin Graham (the “Father of Value Investing”) once famously said that “The only reason to own equities is for the dividends.”

So, with no dividends, little-or-no-earnings and debt-impaired balance sheets, I would say that if you are not a “completely devoted member of the cult-of-equities”, these things are actually quite worthless.

Greggg
Greggg
4 years ago

Stock values will certainly go down. Mix that up with how much they went up and subtract the Trump Bump… What a price discovery mess. Meanwhile, We like many others are way long on utility stocks because they always have paid dividends. That stream will be pinched off as utility bills go unpaid. This will have a lasting effect as people don’t end up going back to work as expected. About the time people realize they don’t have as good a job as they thought they did, we will be moving into the second covid 19 wave.

Dubronik
Dubronik
4 years ago

Wait what? I wan my dividend… It allows me to be an arrogant spendthrift.

Zardoz
Zardoz
4 years ago

In the end, why bother paying dividends when the fed owns all stock?

Runner Dan
Runner Dan
4 years ago
Reply to  Zardoz

Too bad the sheeple can’t/won’t do the same to the lending elite class. In other words, since the Fed-Bank-Gov cartel owns most real estate, then just don’t pay rent/mortgage after you lose your job. Instead the government is doing another backdoor bailout of the banks by cutting all sorts of slack to FHA debtors – which is pretty much everybody. Theft by other means.

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