<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div> According to Vanguard, payouts in the first three months of the year increased more strongly than the long-term trend. Total distributions reached a new record high of 421 billion US dollar, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. In the first quarter of 2025, the figure stood at 394 billion US dollar. Compared with the previous year, payouts in Europe (excluding the UK) rose by 34 percent to 68 billion US dollar. However, due to seasonal factors, North America was the main driver of the record distributions, with an increase of 9 percent to 205 billion US dollar. This meant that almost half of global payouts came from North America. Distributions also increased in the UK, Japan and the Pacific region. Banks and Pharmaceuticals In North America, financial stocks were by far the largest growth driver, contributing 8,3 billion US dollar, or 31 percent of global dividend growth. This was supported by additional capital and resilient earnings, wrote Viktor Nossek, Head of Investment and Product Analytics at Vanguard Europe. Dividend increases and accelerated share buybacks followed after US banks passed the Federal Reserve’s stress tests. Of the total payouts in North America amounting to 205 billion US dollar, no less than 45 billion US dollar came from financial stocks — clear evidence of the sector’s disproportionate influence. Unsurprisingly, this is also reflected in the global picture. Financials accounted for 23 percent of all global dividend payouts, significantly more than the energy or healthcare sectors. In Europe excluding the UK, growth was heavily concentrated in the healthcare sector, according to Vanguard. Individual pharmaceutical companies accounted for the majority of the increase, driven by higher annual March dividends against the backdrop of solid fundamentals. Of the overall dividend growth of 17 billion US dollar in Europe, 7 billion US dollar came from the healthcare sector. <img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.finews.com/images/div1.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="646" height="272" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.finews.com/images/div1.jpg"/> U.S. companies account for nearly half of all dividend payments, while financial firms account for 23 percent of all dividend payments worldwide in the first quarter. (Source: Vanguard) Decline in China and Emerging Markets Due to Base Effects These «strong results» offset declines in China and the emerging markets caused by base effects, particularly in the financial sector. Overall, North America and Europe contributed 27 billion US dollar to global growth, while China and the emerging markets had a negative impact on overall development. The decline in dividend payouts in the Chinese financial sector by 10 billion US dollar did not reflect weaker fundamentals, however, but rather a timing shift. The country’s four largest banks switched to semi-annual dividends and paid interim dividends for the first half of 2025 already in December 2025. As a result, payouts were brought forward into the 2025 calendar year, leaving only limited amounts available in the first quarter of 2026. This timing effect weighed on Q1 distributions even though annual payout capacity remained unchanged. Emerging markets excluding China also recorded a year-on-year decline, due to an exceptionally strong first quarter in 2025, which had been driven primarily by Brazilian financial stocks. A Strong Quarter Ahead Looking ahead to the second quarter, Europe excluding the UK is expected to dominate global dividend payouts, reflecting the structurally strong dividend season in April and May. According to Viktor Nossek, energy and commodity stocks could once again become major growth drivers later in 2026, provided that high commodity prices persist amid ongoing geopolitical risks. </div></div>

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Global dividend payouts rose by nearly 7% in Q1 2026, reaching a record $421 billion, driven largely by U.S. financial stocks, which contributed $45 billion. North America accounted for almost half of global payouts, with financials making up 23% of total distributions. In contrast, declines were noted in China and emerging markets due to timing shifts in dividend payments. Looking ahead, Europe is expected to lead in Q2 payouts, with potential growth from energy and commodity stocks later in 2026.

US Banks Drive Dividend Record