The four dates in order
Every cash dividend has a fixed schedule. From earliest to latest the four dates are:
- Declaration date — board announces the dividend.
- Ex-dividend date — the first trading day the share trades without the right to the upcoming dividend.
- Record date — the day the company finalises the list of shareholders entitled to the dividend.
- Payment date — the day cash is wired to brokers and credited to shareholder accounts.
Of the four, the ex-dividend date is the only one that determines whether you receive the dividend.
Declaration date
On the declaration date the board of directors approves and announces the dividend in a press release. The release names the dollar amount per share, the record date, and the payment date. The ex-dividend date is then derived by the exchange (typically one business day before the record date in U.S. markets after the September 2017 T+2 to T+1 transition).
Ex-dividend date — the rule that matters
To receive the upcoming dividend you must own the share before the ex-dividend date, which in U.S. markets means buying it no later than the trading session on the business day before the ex-date. If you buy on the ex-date itself, the seller (not you) keeps the right to that dividend.
On the ex-date the share price typically opens lower by approximately the dividend amount. This is mechanical — the company has committed to pay out cash that no longer belongs to incoming buyers. A $0.50 dividend, all else equal, lowers the open by roughly $0.50 against the prior close.
Record date
The record date is the company's administrative cut-off: the registrar takes a snapshot of every shareholder of record at end of day, and that list is the list of people who will receive the dividend. Because U.S. equities settle on T+1, the ex-date is one business day before the record date — owning the share on the trading day before the ex-date guarantees you are on the record-date list.
Payment date
The payment date is when the company wires the cash to the Depository Trust Company, which distributes it to brokers. Most brokers credit client accounts on the payment date itself or the next business day. For a $0.50 quarterly dividend on 100 shares, that is $50.00 cash deposited.
Related concepts
- Stock dividends vs cash dividends — what changes when a company pays in shares instead of cash.
- Stock profit calculator — include cash dividends in your trade ROI calculation.
- Earnings calendar — upcoming reports that often coincide with dividend declarations.
Look up the dividend history and upcoming ex-date for any payer on its company hub dividends tab.