- The financial media are howling about all the companies cutting, suspending, or omitting dividends; but among S&P 500 companies, they are barking up the wrong tree.
- Since March 1, only 28 of the S&P 500 have officially cut or omitted their dividends.
- That number of cuts pales compared to the 212 companies that have paid dividends and is blown away by the 103 companies that have raised their dividends.
- The financial media might be guilty of looking so hard for the bad news that they are ignoring the good news.
- Since March 1, nearly 50% of the 212 companies announcing or paying dividends have hiked them compared with just 13% that have cut them. We expect more good news in the weeks ahead.
The media are missing the powerful message that most major U.S. corporations are broadcasting: "The coronavirus is devastating and creates much uncertainty, but we believe it will pass sooner than most headlines are stating"
As I mentioned in a previous Dividend Watch, in 2008-2009 we noticed that apart from the banks, few U.S. companies were cutting their dividends in the face of the recession. Indeed, much as today, many companies were hiking dividends. That was one reason we became more optimistic that the credit crisis would be shorter and more shallow than was the consensus of the day. The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we have ever seen, but the greatest corporations in the world are telling us, at least for the present, that tomorrow is coming and it will be much brighter than most of us now believe.
You may argue with the point I'm making, but I believe the stock market has zeroed in on the net positive dividend actions of major corporations, and that is one of the reasons stocks are nearly 20% above their recent lows.
The following are the 28 S&P 500 companies that have cut or omitted their dividends. We will have a list early next week of companies whose dividend may be in jeopardy.
As I mentioned in a previous Dividend Watch, in 2008-2009 we noticed that apart from the banks, few U.S. companies were cutting their dividends in the face of the recession. Indeed, much as today, many companies were hiking dividends. That was one reason we became more optimistic that the credit crisis would be shorter and more shallow than was the consensus of the day. The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we have ever seen, but the greatest corporations in the world are telling us, at least for the present, that tomorrow is coming and it will be much brighter than most of us now believe.
You may argue with the point I'm making, but I believe the stock market has zeroed in on the net positive dividend actions of major corporations, and that is one of the reasons stocks are nearly 20% above their recent lows.
The following are the 28 S&P 500 companies that have cut or omitted their dividends. We will have a list early next week of companies whose dividend may be in jeopardy.
S&P 500 Companies Cutting Their Dividends
From March 1-April 24
