Global dividends grow by 10.1% in the first quarter of 2026, as stock buybacks begin to lose steam
23 JUL, 2026
By RankiaPro
Global dividends reached $424.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, according to the first edition of Janus Henderson's Global Dividend and Share Buyback Index. Growth was widespread, with significant advances in North America, Europe, Japan, and the United Kingdom, in a macroeconomic context marked by trade uncertainty and geopolitical risk.
This is the first time that the manager has expanded its renowned dividend research to also include share buybacks, allowing for a more complete picture of how the world's largest companies reward their shareholders. And that picture shows a clear divergence: while dividends are accelerating, buybacks are beginning to lose momentum.
Dividends on the rise, buybacks on the decline: a divergence that marks the quarter
Global share buybacks amounted to $425.7 billion in the first quarter, slightly above the amount allocated to dividends, but with a year-on-year decline of 3.1%. According to Janus Henderson, this decline suggests that companies are becoming more selective when allocating capital to the repurchase of their own shares.
The explanation for this contrast lies in the nature of each instrument: dividends, backed by resilient corporate profits, tend to be structural decisions of the boards of directors; buybacks, on the other hand, respond to a more discretionary and cyclical approach, more sensitive to an environment of high interest rates for a longer period.
United States: the undisputed engine of shareholder profitability
North America continued to be, by far, the dominant region. The United States contributed $183.5 billion in dividends —46.3% of the total index— and executed buybacks worth $266.7 billion, consolidating itself as the largest market in the world in both categories. The growth of American dividends was cross-sectional, with technology, the financial sector, and energy as the main drivers.
In Europe, excluding the United Kingdom, dividends amounted to 67.4 billion dollars, 35.5% more than a year earlier, driven by the effect of the exchange rate and the payment schedule. Switzerland led the continent with 27.3 billion dollars distributed, followed by Denmark, with 9.4 billion.
United Kingdom: driven by extraordinary dividends from Next and Reckitt
British companies distributed 17.7 billion dollars in dividends, 17.7% more than the previous year, ranking as the second European market after Switzerland. Much of this rebound is explained by extraordinary payments: a special dividend of 3.60 pounds per share from Next, after solid international sales, and another from Reckitt, linked to the divestment of its Essential Home business.
Beyond these one-off payments, companies such as AstraZeneca and Shell also supported British growth. The country also completed buybacks for 5.8 billion dollars, the highest figure in Europe after Germany.
The financial sector, at the forefront of distributions; basic materials, the fastest growing
The financial sector was the largest global contributor in both dividends (90.8 billion dollars) and buybacks (110.7 billion dollars, more than a third of the total index).
However, the most striking growth was recorded in basic materials, with an increase of 47.1% in payments compared to the same period in 2025. Janus Henderson attributes this jump to strong demand for critical minerals such as copper and lithium, essential for data centers, semiconductors and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Technology, on the other hand, maintained its weight in the equation: 43.7 billion dollars in dividends and 66.6 billion in buybacks, confirming the central role of large tech companies in global capital profitability.
Outlook: more dividends, fewer buybacks in 2026
Janus Henderson predicts a global dividend growth of 8.3% for the whole of 2026, compared to 6.8% recorded in 2025. Conversely, it expects global buybacks to fall by 1.1% this year, after having grown by 6.1% in the previous year.
Jane Shoemake, portfolio manager of the global equity team at Janus Henderson, explains that the surprise of the quarter has been the strength of corporate profits worldwide, which translates directly into higher dividends in a wide variety of sectors and regions. The manager emphasizes that, although the volume of buybacks remains substantial, its modest year-on-year decline highlights why both forms of remuneration should be analyzed separately: dividends reflect long-term decisions based on business sustainability, while buybacks function as a more flexible and discretionary mechanism, acting as a buffer when conditions become complicated.
Source: Janus Henderson Global Dividend and Share Buyback Index, first edition (Q1 2026).
