Dividend calendar: the date to check before buying a share

To receive a dividend, the decisive date is that of secondment, not that of payment. The dividend schedule allows you to check this right and then anticipate the arrival of the funds in your account. However, an announced distribution should be distinguished from a confirmed payment and should not be confused with an actual cashed return.

Identify the right information in a dividend calendar

Start by looking for the company, then check out its dates of detachment and payment. The calendars proposed by Boursorama or ABC Bourse allow to identify the transactions. To confirm an amount or maturity, check the press release under the company's investor heading.

No updated nominative date is presented here: The following table shows the information to be reported for each value, without turning an old maturity into a certain forecast.

Information	What it says	Useful verification
Company and ISIN code	Title concerned	Avoid confusion between several listed titles
Gross amount per share	Distribution before taxation	Control the currency and type of payment
Date of secondment	The start of quotation without right to coupon	Determine whether the purchase is eligible for the dividend
Date of payment	The planned payment	Anticipate cash flow
Announcement status	Proposal, approval or advance payment decided	Identify what remains likely to change

CAC 40, SBF 120 or SRD filters make searching easier, but are not a selection of recommended placements. To find a past operation, choose a history over a slippery year It avoids losing end-of-year payments when changing schedules.

Detachment and payment: two dates, two consequences

When should the action be held?

In a classic cash market, you have to buy stock before the date of secondment to benefit from the coupon concerned, subject to the rules applicable to the market. A purchase made on the day of the detachment comes too late. The date of registration of shareholders, sometimes displayed in advertisements, is linked with the deadlines for settlement; It must not be interpreted in isolation.

Fictitious example: a company announces a detachment on Tuesdays and a payment on Fridays. Buying on Mondays normally allows you to benefit from this distribution; Buying Tuesdays doesn't allow it anymore. Conversely, an eligible shareholder who sells from the detachment normally retains his right to the coupon.

Why the dividend is not a free gain

At the time of the secondment, the reference price shall be adjusted downwards to the gross amount distributed. Trade and market news then change the price: the observed decline is not necessarily exactly equal to the coupon. Buying right before to resell immediately after does not create any gain alone.

Payment is then made, often a few days later. An interval of 2 to 5 working days may meet, but this is not a universal rule. The date published by the issuer shall be authentic; the credit visible in the broker may also depend on the processing of the transaction.

Forecast receipts without freezing future dates

In France, many annual payments are concentrated between April and June, after the general meetings. However, this seasonality is not valid for all companies: a staggered fiscal year, advance payments or an exceptional distribution change the distribution of payments.

The annual dividend is generally subject to approval by the general meeting. Payments may be made during the financial year in accordance with the applicable rules. When a calendar displays a down payment and then a balance, check whether the announced annual amount already includes instalment payments: Adding them a second time overestimates income.

• Sort expected revenues per month of payment, not per month of secondment.
• Separate confirmed amounts from previous year's estimates.
• Distinguish ordinary dividend and exceptional distribution.
• Create a reminder 5 to 7 days before each ex-date to check the ad, without making it an automatic purchase signal.

To build your budget, use two time lines: that of acquired rights, determined by secondment, and that of liquidity, determined by cashing. A coupon already acquired but not yet credited does not finance an immediate expense. This distinction avoids, in particular, programming a reinvestment before money is actually available.

Regular history helps to anticipate a likely payment period. It does not guarantee the maintenance of the dividend or the renewal of the same date.

Read a list without falling into the trap of high yield

The companies that distribute the most in total amount are not necessarily those that offer the best return to the shareholder. A list can rank the coupon per share, the return or the total sum distributed: first check the criterion used.

Gross return is the annual dividend per share divided by the price chosen. In a fictitious example, an annual coupon of 1,50 € for a contributing action 30 € Representative 5 %. This ratio changes with the price and does not prejudge the next payment.

A yield of 5 to 6% is not a sign of safety alone. This may be due to a decline in the title due to difficulties. Before comparing companies like TotalEnergies, Sanofi, Orange or BNP Paribas, look at:

• the ability of profits and cash to cover distribution;
• Indebtedness and investment necessary for activity;
• regularity of payments and any past reductions;
• the exceptional share of the coupon and the company's prospects.

Always compare yields built on the same basis : last year paid or next estimated distribution. A performance strategy targets flows; A growth strategy can favour companies that reinvest their profits. In both cases, total performance also includes the evolution of capital.

Moving from gross dividend to real disposable income

The calendar usually shows a gross amount. On an ordinary securities account, taxation depends in particular on the tax residence, the origin of the dividend and the scheme chosen. For a French tax resident, the single flat-rate levy combines income tax and social contributions; check the rate applicable to the year of cashing before any net projection.

The option for the progressive scale may allow, for eligible dividends, a 40 per cent discount on the income tax base, not on the social tax base. As this option is comprehensive for the income concerned, its interest is valued at the scale of the tax home, not coupon coupon.

In an AEP, eligible dividends benefit from the tax system of the envelope as long as they remain there. The consequences of a withdrawal depend in particular on the seniority of the plan. Foreign deductions may also affect certain payments: the amount credited is therefore not always equal to the gross amount announced.

For useful follow-up, keep three separate columns: net cash and reinvested amount. This will allow you to reconcile the broker's schedule with the broker's statements, identify a missing payment, and build your forecasts on actually available revenues rather than on a theoretical return.