IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A slice of a company's profit paid out in cash to the people who own its shares — usually every three months.
WHERE YOU MEET IT
Every payment lands in Dividend Income on your dashboard.
WATCH OUT FOR
A dividend is a decision, not a guarantee. Boards can cut it in a bad year.
FULL DEFINITION
The sum of declared dividends issued by a company for every ordinary share outstanding.
EXAMPLE
If you own 100 shares and the DPS is £2.50, you receive £250 in total for the year.
HOW IT'S CALCULATED
DPS = total dividends declared ÷ shares outstanding, over the trailing twelve months. Supplied by the market data provider. Your own income is this figure × the shares you hold — see Holding Dividends for what you have actually been paid.
EXPLAINED IN
Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.