Los dividendos globales marcan récord con 755.700 millones

Global dividend payments reached a record of 881,000 million dollars (over 755.7 billion euros) in the second quarter of 2026, marking an 8% increase year-over-year, according to Vanguard data. Europe, including the United Kingdom, accounted for the bulk of this growth with 323,000 million dollars (over 277 billion euros) in dividend distributions.

Strong fundamentals in the United States and emerging markets, supported by solid balance sheets and robust cash flows driven by commodity prices, further fueled dividend growth, the fund manager added, noting the figure was achieved despite a complex macroeconomic environment. European dividend payments, excluding the United Kingdom, grew by 6%.

Financial sector European companies led the way, with a 15.2 billion dollar increase. Payments in the basic consumer sector also rose. Conversely, auto industry and luxury goods companies reduced their ordinary dividends or maintained them at last year's levels. The shift reflects weak consumer demand in China, export pressures, and intensifying competition, according to Vanguard.

In the United Kingdom, dividend growth was supported by a diverse range of sectors. Financial, materials, basic consumer, and energy companies contributed to a strong 12% year-over-year increase. Energy companies' trading activities benefited from elevated and volatile commodity prices, boosting both cash flows and shareholder payouts, the fund manager said.

In the United States, technology became the main driver of growth, with dividends rising 9% to 204 billion dollars in the first half, a 7.8 billion dollar increase year-over-year, more than three times the increase in the financial sector, which grew by 2.5 billion dollars. Technological companies' remuneration to shareholders reached 35 billion dollars, nearly reaching the financial sector's 35.6 billion dollars in absolute terms.