According to latest Janus Henderson report, US Q2 dividend scaled 8.3% to $144.4B, an all-time quarterly high.
Financial sector is the strongest – Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo being the largest contributors, contributing ~$1.1B to US dividends.
Dividends surged 19.1% globally to an all-time quarterly high of $544.8B in Q2, with 94% of companies either raised or maintained dividends.
Janus Henderson expects 2022 dividend payments to reach $1.56T, rising from $1.54T last quarter.
Globally, oil, car manufacturer and financial sector delivered strong dividend growth. Strong cash flows from high oil prices lead to two-fifths Q2 dividend growth coming from oil sector, especially Brazil and Colombia. The other two-fifths come from financials.
Matt Peron, Director of Research at Janus Henderson commented: “Dividends continue to capture investor attention as uncertainty surrounding the economy’s plight has increased demand for companies with strong free cash flow. As we move toward 2023, any slowdown in economic growth will likely have a larger impact on dividend payments outside the US. Within the US, dividend growth has shown remarkable resilience across market cycles, as companies have demonstrated they are more likely to cut back on share buybacks than trim dividend payments.”
Comparing this report to S&P Dow Jones Indices reports, US dividend increases exceeded dividend cuts by $17.6B in Q2 2022. Within the S&P 500, Q2 cash dividend rose 14% from Q2 2021, a quarterly record.
According to the same S&P report, stock buybacks are expected to set a new record in Q2 2022, exceeding the record reached in Q1 2022.
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