Financial Jargon Buster Dictionary
This glossary is provided for information only and is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
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Dividend
The amount of a company's after-tax earnings which it pays to shareholders.
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained earnings), or it can be paid to the shareholders as a dividend. Many corporations retain a portion of their earnings and pay the remainder as a dividend.
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