Alexandra Haggard
Companies worldwide paid a record US$827.3 billion in dividends in the second quarter of 2026, up 7.9% from a year earlier, according to the latest Dividend Watch, part of the Capital Group Global Equity Study[1]. Core growth, which adjusts for exchange rates, special dividends and other technical factors, was 7.5%, ahead of forecast.
The second quarter is the seasonal high point for global dividends and dividends paid in Q2 2026 alone were larger than the entire annual total as recently as 2011. Growth was also broad-based, with 88% of companies globally increasing dividends or holding them steady, with median growth of 6.0%.
Alexandra Haggard, Head of Product, Europe & Asia at Capital Group, said: “Global dividends accelerated in the second quarter of 2026, with strong growth across most regions and sectors and large increases from some of the world’s biggest companies. The AI boom is no longer just driving markets and boosting share prices. It is now also helping to drive record cash returns for shareholders globally. Active managers like Capital Group are well placed to identify companies across sectors and regions sharing in stronger earnings growth, resulting in record dividend payouts. In this uncertain environment, active management can help uncover resilient dividend-paying companies that offer investors a dependable source of income, while still participating in long-term corporate growth.”
Sector trends
The fastest growth came from the technology sector, where core payouts rose 26.3% year-on-year in Q2. The AI boom is driving strong profit growth across the global semiconductor supply chain which is feeding into shareholder payouts, with half the sector’s increase coming from the global leader in the US. Technology is on track to become the second-largest dividend-paying sector after financials in 2026 for the first time.
Financials remain the dominant dividend-paying sector for now, by a large margin. Firms raised payouts by US$26 billion (+10.1%) and made the most significant contribution to Q2’s record. Meanwhile, the mining recovery gathered pace with payouts up 15.1%.
Regional trends
Australian companies paid a total of US$5.6bn (A$8bn) in Q2 2026, representing topline growth of 20.1% and core growth of 8.2% on the prior comparative period. Q2 is dividend low season in Australia with just a handful of companies in our index paying a dividend. The largest contributors to our index in Australia included mining groups, financial sector groups and global biotech and biopharmaceutical groups. A stronger Australian dollar helped boost the aggregate topline growth rate.
Geographically, Japan and the wider Pacific region delivered the strongest dividend growth globally, supported by improving corporate profitability, governance reforms and continued shareholder-focus among listed companies.
Q2 marks the seasonal high point for dividends in Europe, accounting for 36% of total dividends paid in the quarter (compared to 21% over the full year). Modest core growth of 3.6% was held back by cuts in the automotive sector, but robust payouts from banks and financial institutions helped offset this weakness, as the sector’s strong recovery increasingly supports European shareholder income.
The U.S. delivered robust growth with core growth reaching 8.7%, while emerging market growth lagged at 4.7%, mainly owing to reductions in the Middle East.
Outlook
The outlook remains positive. Capital Group has upgraded its 2026 global dividend projection to US$2.23 trillion (from US$2.20 trillion), representing topline growth of 6.4% and core growth of 6.0% (up from 4.7%). The main drivers of the upgrade includes stronger-than-expected special dividends, a weaker US dollar and the changed dividend policy of a large U.S. semiconductor company.