Record global dividends in Q1 2026: 421 billion dollars, +6.7% compared to 2025
11 MAY, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
In the first quarter of 2026, global dividends exceeded their long-term trend, reaching a new record of 421 billion dollars. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2025, 394 billion dollars were distributed, with a growth of 6.7%. The growth was supported by solid fundamentals, although the year-on-year comparison was influenced by marked seasonal factors.
In the first quarter, net growth was almost entirely driven by developed markets. Compared to the previous year, distributions in Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) increased by 34% to 68 billion dollars. However, the main driver of record distributions - mainly for seasonal reasons - was North America, where dividends increased by 9% to 205 billion dollars. As a result, almost half of global dividend distributions can be attributed to that area. Dividends also increased in the United Kingdom, Japan, and the Pacific region.
Two sectors in the spotlight
Two sectors stood out in the first quarter. In North America, the financial sector was by far the main growth driver, contributing 8.3 billion dollars, or 31% of global dividend growth, thanks to capital increases and earnings strength. Dividend increases and the acceleration of share buybacks followed the successful passing of the Federal Reserve's stress tests by US banks. Of the total 205 billion dollars in dividends distributed in North America, 45 billion came from financial securities: clear evidence of the sector's disproportionate influence.
In Europe (excluding the United Kingdom), growth was largely concentrated in the healthcare sector. Most of the increase was generated by a limited number of pharmaceutical companies, thanks to the increase in annual dividends distributed in March in a context characterized by solid fundamentals. Of the 17 billion dollars in total increase in European dividends, 7 billion dollars came from the healthcare sector.
Declines in China and emerging markets driven by base effects
These excellent results more than compensated for the declines caused by the base effects recorded in China and emerging markets, particularly in the financial sector. Overall, North America and Europe contributed to growth with 27 billion dollars, while China and emerging markets had a net negative impact on global dividend growth.
The decrease of 10 billion dollars in dividend payments by the Chinese financial sector does not reflect a weakening of fundamentals, but is the result of a temporal effect. The four major banks have switched to semi-annual dividends and paid the interim dividends for the first half of 2025 already last December. This anticipated the payments to the calendar year 2025, leaving only limited distributions in the first quarter of 2026. This change weighed on first quarter payments despite the annual distribution capacity remaining unchanged.
Emerging markets, excluding China, also recorded a year-on-year decline, reflecting an exceptionally strong first quarter of 2025, driven mainly by Brazilian financial stocks. Despite the continued importance of Brazil as a source of high absolute dividends - and a more stable exchange rate between the BRL and the USD - payments remained below the level of the previous year.
A positive quarter is expected for Europe
Looking at the second quarter, Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) should dominate global dividend distributions, thanks to the structurally strong dividend season in the months of April and May. Energy and materials sector stocks could return to being the main drivers of growth during 2026, provided that high commodity prices persist in the presence of geopolitical risks.
In a context where investors increasingly prioritize stable distributions and more contained valuation risks, companies with solid balance sheets and sustainable distribution ratios could continue to expand their dividend policies. High-dividend diversified strategies should therefore remain an important component in 2026, both as a tool to stabilize overall portfolios and as a reliable source of recurring income.
