Dividends: Important Dates

There are several important dates in the dividend process.

Dividend payments follow a chronological order of events, and the associated dates are important to determine the shareholders who qualify to receive the dividend payment.

Announcement date: Dividends are announced by company management on the announcement date, or declaration date, and must be approved by the shareholders before they can be paid.

Ex-dividend date:  This is the date on which the dividend eligibility expires, also known as the ex-date. For instance, if a stock has an ex-date of May 5, shareholders who buy the stock on or after this day will NOT qualify to receive the dividend. Shareholders who own the stock one business day prior to the ex-date will receive the dividend.

Record date: The record date is the cutoff date established by the company, to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive a dividend or distribution.

Payment date: Payment date: The company issues the dividend payment on the payment date, which is when the money gets credited to investors' accounts.

Note per FINRA and the SEC, all US equities trades settle one (1) business day after the trade date. This settlement period is commonly referred to as T+1.