U.S. corporations saw a robust increase in dividend payouts in the first quarter of 2021, reaching a record-breaking $164.3 billion, according to the latest report from Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index. This growth was powered by sizable distributions from companies such as Meta (META), Walt Disney & Co. (DIS), and T-Mobile (TMUS). It's important to note that these figures don't consider any exceptional or one-time dividend announcements.
If the extraordinary scenarios like Costco's (COST) profit-sharing from substantial quarterly sales and Ford Motor's (F) special 18 cents perk to shareholders in Q1 are considered, first quarter dividends saw nearly 7.9% growth.
According to Janus Henderson, 97% of U.S. companies either hiked their dividend payments or maintained them at the same level during the first quarter. But a handful of companies were the major drivers of this dividend growth.
Meta took the lead in playing a crucial role in the total figures with its first-ever dividend. The firm disbursed $1.1 billion each quarter, representing only a fifth of its stock buyback program. Nevertheless, it was enough to contribute two-thirds of a percentage point to the U.S. dividend growth of the quarter.
Communications powerhouse, T-Mobile, also instigated its first-ever dividend payment in December, and adhered to this in Q1, augmenting about half a percentage point to the quarterly expansion. Walt Disney & Co. bounced back from its COVID-19 downturn with a comeback to dividend payouts in the first quarter, aided by an unexpected profit in its streaming division.
The list of the largest dividend paying companies of the first quarter worldwide features names like Novartis (NVS), Microsoft (MSFT), Costco, Apple (AAPL), and Novo Nordisk (NVO).