What Are Stock Dividends & Stock Splits?

As fractional investing becomes more popular and widespread, some experts speculate that stock splits will become less important as fractional shares allow you to buy into a company at virtually any price point. Stock splits occur when companies increase their total number of shares outstanding, but the overall value of all their shares remains identical. As a result, splits give each shareholder more shares, but they also proportionally lower the value of each share. IPO, an acronym for initial public offering, and going public are used synonymously.

The main difference between a stock dividend and a cash dividend is right there in the name. A stock dividend gives an owner more shares of the company instead of cash. An owner can sell the shares they receive to get cash instead, but then their ownership stake in the company would be diluted. In the calculation of EPS, the Total Weighted Average Common Shares will be affected by stock dividends and stock splits. The main purpose of the stock split is to bring the price to a better level than it is currently trading at.

This will be done by multiplying the number of shares prior to declaring dividends by 1.2 (20% dividend). Abbott is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for 25 consecutive years. Miranda Marquit has been covering personal finance, investing and business topics for almost 15 years. She has contributed to numerous outlets, including NPR, Marketwatch, U.S. News & World Report and HuffPost. Miranda is completing her MBA and lives in Idaho, where she enjoys spending time with her son playing board games, travel and the outdoors.

4 The Issuance Of Cash And Stock Dividends

The existence of a cumulative preferred stock dividend in arrears is information that must be disclosed in financial statements. Only dividends that have been formally declared by the board of directors are recorded as liabilities. If cumulative, a note to the financial statements should explain Wington’s obligation for any preferred stock dividends in arrears. Stock splits and stock dividends do not have a direct correlation or a cause-and-effect relationship. If the company pays a dividend and has a stock split, the dividend per share will fall proportionately.

If you’re a registered shareholder you need to contact Apple’s transfer agent, Computershare Investor Services. To opt-in for investor email alerts, please enter your email address in the field below and select at least one alert option. After submitting your request, you will receive an activation email to the requested email address.

Stock Splits

He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been GE, solar stocks, and Snap. The news comes as Tesla’s stock has struggled this year, slipping 4.4% for 2022 through Friday’s close. Betty Joe’s Donuts have been voted the best donut shop in the state for the last ten years.

The following chart illustrates the effects of stock dividends and stock splits on stockholders’ equity. Stock dividends also provide owners with the possibility of other benefits. For example, cash dividend payments usually drop after a stock dividend but not always in proportion to the change in the number of outstanding shares. An owner might hold one hundred shares of common stock in a corporation that has paid $1 per share as an annual cash dividend over the past few years (a total of $100 per year).

Tesla Wants To Split Its Stock So It Can Pay A Stock Dividend; Shares Gain

Kirsten is also the founder and director of Your Best Edit; find her on LinkedIn and Facebook. On September 10, 1982, each CU common share was exchanged for one CU Class A stock and one CU Class B share. On June 14, 2013, Canadian Utilities effected a two-for-one stock split. On the date of payment, the corporation mails checks to the appropriate recipients, an event recorded as follows.

• You should have received your statement on or near May 26, 1999.
• In either case, the result is a larger number of stock shares outstanding.
• Also, the investors analyze the objective, benefits, and disadvantages of the split to know its effect on the company.
• Usually, the difference between a large and small stock dividend is the amount of the distribution in proportion to the existing share count.
• To see dividends paid to the shareholders of AbbVie after separation, please visit
• Registered stockholders hold their book entry shares with the transfer agent, Computershare, which serves as the recordkeeper.

After a 2-for-1 stock dividend, this person now owns two hundred shares. The board of directors might then choose to reduce the annual cash dividend to only $0.60 per share so that future payments go up to $120 stock dividends vs stock splits per year (two hundred shares × $0.60 each). The investors can merely hope that additional cash dividends will be received. An integral part of dividend policy is the use of stock dividends and stock splits.

Sign Up For Investor Updates

It follows that the shareholder’s equity (the firm’s total assets less debt) is also unchanged. Stock splits and stock dividends have similar economic significance, https://www.bookstime.com/ but they have different purposes and accounting entries. Also, a stock split drastically affects many ratios, like Earnings per Share , Book Value per Share, etc.

• Nevertheless some investors do not understand that they have more paper representing the same proportionate share of ownership, and they believe their wealth has increased.
• Consequently, the stock becomes much more attractive to retail investors who view it as more affordable because of its lower price.
• Many of the best companies routinely see their share price return to levels at which they previously split the stock, leading to another stock split.
• PepsiCo, AT&T and Proctor & Gamble are just a few examples of the types of companies that pay dividends.
• A large stock dividend is greater than 25% of the current share count, whereas small stock dividends are under that number.
• A reverse stock split consolidates the number of existing shares of corporate stock into fewer, proportionally more valuable, shares.

For example, a stock that is subject to a 3-1 split should see its shares initially cut in third. The benefit to the shareholders comes about, in theory, because the split creates more attractive opportunities for other future investors to ultimately buy into the larger pool of lower priced shares.

What Does A Stock Split In The Form Of A Dividend Mean?

After this stock dividend, she still owns 10 percent (1,040/10,400) of the outstanding stock of Red Company and it still reports net assets of $5 million. The investor’s financial position has not improved; she has gained nothing as a result of this stock dividend. When the dividend is declared by the board, the date of record is also set. All shareholders who own the stock on that day qualify for receipt of the dividend.

It should be noted that this dilution is the immediate effect of a stock dividend. The payment is intended as a reward to shareholders and is made with the assumption that the stock price will continue to rise and the stockholders will reap the rewards. GAAP, if a stock dividend is especially large (in excess of 20–25 percent of the outstanding shares), the change in retained earnings and contributed capital is recorded at par value rather than fair value.

• It’s important to note, voting does not require the shareholder’s presence.
• Thus, the investor with 10,000 shares would own a total of 12,000 shares (10,000 x 1.2) after collecting the dividend.
• Abbott has declared 393 consecutive quarterly dividends since 1924 and has increased the dividend payout for 50 consecutive years.
• Similarly, when a company pays a stock dividend, it is changing the amount of shares outstanding, but not affecting the amount of underlying assets at the corporation.
• Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology.

So the value of his investment remains at 20,000 even after the split. For stock splits prior to 1997, shares were delivered in certificate form and the stock certificates were mailed directly to the address of record for each stockholder. Stock split shares are credited to stockholder accounts on the payable date for the stock split. For example, the stock split record date for our last stock split was May 10, 1999 and split shares were credited to stockholders via book entry on the payable date of May 26, 1999. If a stockholder preferred a stock certificate instead of a book entry stock split credit, the stockholder could request one anytime after a split payable date. The purpose of reverse stock splits is to increase the share price when the company feels it is selling at a low price.

Stock Splits Vs Reverse Stock Splits

On the other hand, a reverse stock split is often aimed at helping a company meet the minimum requirements to remain listed on an exchange. With its stock split, GameStop intends to raise its total number of shares to 1 billion from 300 million. We don’t yet know at what ratio it intends to split its stock, but each shareholder will end up left with more shares.

Moreover, the price of a stock that has just split may see an uptick if the lower nominal share price attracts new investors. Although the number of shares outstanding increases by a specific multiple, the share price drops in proportion to that multiple, because the split does not make the company more valuable. A stock split is when a company increases the number of its outstanding shares of stock to boost the stock’s liquidity. Every corporation has the same goal in mind—to maximize shareholder wealth. This goal is fulfilled in either of two ways, by reinvesting cash into the business to stimulate its growth or by paying dividends to shareholders.

However, since you now have more shares, you’ll still receive the same amount of money from dividends as you did prior to the split. A stock dividend or split does not change the assets of the firm, since nothing is received by the firm for new share issued. The firm’s debt is also unchanged by the stock dividend or split, since the debt is in no way involved.

In other words, Betty Joe’s Donuts will go public and offer stock, a percentage share of the corporation, to the public. Companies go public hoping a demand exists for their stock to bring cash into the organization. When investors purchase stock they become shareholders, and the company receives cash for expansion and growth initiatives, operating expenses, and advertising budget or research and development projects.

How Will Stock Splits Affect The Trading Of Ibm Stock?

In other words, if there is a 6-for-1 split, investors will get a stock dividend of five shares for every one share of Tesla they own. Tesla wants to split its stock so it can pay a stock dividend to shareholders, according to a filing Monday. Many companies pay their shareholders dividends on a regular basis. After the every fiscal quarter, the company declares the amount of the dividend and the dividend payment date. A reverse/forward stock split is a strategy used by companies to eliminate shareholders who hold fewer than a certain number of shares.

Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. Andy Smith is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), licensed realtor and educator with over 35 years of diverse financial management experience.

Apple Values

The transfer agent is also responsible for escheatment, which is the legally-required process of transferring unclaimed property to the state. If you are a registered shareholder of Apple stock, it is critical that you maintain current contact information with the transfer agent; otherwise, you are at risk of having your shares escheated. If you hold your shares through a brokerage account, you should ensure that your address is current with your brokerage firm. Computershare, formerly known as EquiServe, phone numbers and an Internet email address for the above services were provided on the stock split statement you received on or near May 26, 1999.