Official definition · 官方定义
“A dividend is a portion of a company's profits that is paid out to its shareholders.”[1]
— Corporate Finance Institute, CFI Resource Library · corporatefinanceinstitute.com ↗ · accessed 2026-10-25
A dividend is a cash payment a company makes to its shareholders, usually out of profit and usually quarterly. The board decides the amount; it is not a contractual obligation and can be cut.
股息是公司按持股比例付给股东的现金，通常来自利润、按季度发放。金额由董事会决定，不是合同义务，随时可以削减。
A dividend is a signal as much as a payment. Management cuts it only when it has to, so a cut usually says the cash flow is worse than reported. Yields also compete with bonds: when the 10-year pays 4.5%, a 3% dividend stock has to offer growth to justify holding. And the ex-dividend price drop is mechanical, not a loss — the cash has simply moved from the company to your account.
股息既是付款，也是信号。管理层只有在被迫时才会削减股息，所以一次削减通常说明现金流比报表更差。
股息率还要和债券竞争：10 年期给 4.5% 时，3% 的股息股必须提供增长才值得持有。除息日的股价下跌是机械调整，不是亏损——现金只是从公司账户挪到了你的账户。
A high yield is a bargain
It often signals a cut is coming. The yield is high because the price fell.
The ex-dividend drop is a loss
It is the cash leaving the share price, offset by cash received.
Dividends are paid from profit
They are paid from cash. A company can pay while losing money.
· pay a dividend
· the dividend was cut
· dividend yield
· ex-dividend date
· payout ratio
pay a dividend 派息；the dividend was cut 股息被削减；dividend yield 股息率；ex-dividend date 除息日；payout ratio 派息率。
· dividend vs coupon (equity vs debt)
· yield vs payout ratio
dividend 是股权回报，coupon 是债权回报；yield 是股息率，payout ratio 是利润里拿多少来派。
The board raised the quarterly dividend to $X a share, a yield of Y%.
派息句：董事会将季度股息提高至每股 X 美元，股息率 Y%——raise 是董事会动作，yield 是市场算出来的。