2022’s second quarter saw a record high for global dividends, after payouts that were delayed by the pandemic rebounded, reports an article in Barron’s. According to the most recent version of the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, which tracks payouts from 1200 companies around the globe, dividends shot up to $545 billion or 11.3%. That’s an all-time record.
Meanwhile, dividends also hit a record of $144.4 billion in the U.S., though overall growth in the U.S. lagged behind Europe and the U.K. Despite the record highs, analysts generally believe that the post-pandemic catch-up as run its course, and that “dividends are a bit of a laggard,” according to Matthew Peron of Janus Henderson. Indeed, payout growth could slow next year amidst a possible recession and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the article contends.
In the 2nd quarter, European dividends climbed 28.7%, while dividends went up 29.3% in the U.K. There was a 22.5% boost in emerging markets and 15.4% in China, while elsewhere in Asia dividends rose 16.8% and 14.7% in Japan. However, those figures are in local currencies; converted into U.S. dollars, the numbers are slightly decreased given the dollar’s particular strength this year. In the U.S., dividends rose by 8.3%, but the difference here is that many U.S. banks continued to pay dividends throughout the pandemic, unlike most companies overseas. Much of the increase in U.S. dividends this year was fueled by financial firms and energy companies, Peron told Barron’s.
The largest dividend payouts in the U.S. came from Microsoft ($4.6 billion), Apple ($3.8 billion) and Exxon Mobil ($3.7 billion). Given the strong showing, Janus Henderson raised its forecast for the rest of year, up to $1.56 trillion.
