Dividend Decreases

When a company issues a dividend cut it does so primarily for one of two reasons:

• Declining earnings or increased debts – Although this should be concerning for investors, it may only reflect short-term economic conditions.
• Reinvesting in the business - Sometimes a company will cut its dividend payment as part of a longer term strategy such as to prepare its balance sheet to absorb an acquisition or to buy back shares of its stock. Repurchasing shares is another way that companies attempt to build shareholder value.

A dividend is almost always paid from a company’s earnings (i.e. profit). The amount of the company’s dividend relative to its total earnings is called the payout ratio. Many companies that have a long track record of issuing dividends have stable, mature businesses with strong balance sheets. This makes their dividend sustainable even if they have a quarter or two of declining earnings. This is because the company has the flexibility to access capital from other sources to maintain its dividend level.

However, for other businesses, weaker earnings mean they have to reallocate money to shore up their balance sheet. That’s because if these companies try to access capital from anywhere other than earnings they can find themselves in a precarious financial position. In this case, a dividend cut may be the least bad option. And that’s a reason why it’s normally at the top of the list when it comes to actions a company will take when they face financial difficulties.

If an investor needs the income from the dividend to meet current expenses, then a dividend cut is almost always a signal to sell. However, for investors who have a longer time horizon, it’s important to understand the exact reason for the dividend cut.

For example, sometimes the dividend cut is based on short-term macroeconomic conditions that are largely outside of the company’s control. For example, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic many companies particularly companies such as cruise lines and airlines issued dividend cuts in anticipation of historic demand destruction.

Another action a company may take is to suspend its dividend altogether. This is a more drastic measure than a dividend cut because it means that instead of reducing the amount of its payout it will not be paying any dividend at all.