Funny numbers?
 

I've owned Disney stock for something like 20 years. I get a dividend check every year. For at least the last 10 years or so, that dividend check has been exactly the same, 21 cents per share. Through stock price gains and losses, through accquisitions and sell-offs, no matter what was happening with the company, I got exactly 21 cents per share.

Well, my check for last year showed up. All of a sudden, it's 24 cents per share. Huh? What was so spectacular about this year that warranted a sudden 14% increase, the first change in a decade? I've seen the numbers, they weren't that good.

Me thinks it's a bit of posturing. In a year where a buy-out was threatened, major stockholders withheld votes, and the company's namesake cut ties, this smells of a pathetic effort to placate stock holders, try to fool us into thinking the company came through the turmoil better off than ever.

I'm rather clueless as to the technical details of how stocks work. Can they do that? How are dividends calculated? They clearly can't be just an automatic formula based on company earnings, there's no way it would have remained constant for 10+ years. Can the board just change dividends to suit their needs?

How many cents did we take from the 50th celebration?

Most companies review their dividen payments on a regular basis. I work for a company that evaluates it every quarter, sounds like Disney does it annually. The amount is usually dependent on the industry. Some businesses pay out lots in dividens, others use the money to reinvest and grow their business. So there's no real formula other than the more profits paid out in dividens means less cash to invest in the company - consider it your reward for the savings of Pressler years.

See, but it never changed one cent in the Pressler years. 21 cents per share per year, every single year. No connection to change in profits, no reevalution, just a steady constant. I find the sudden increase (and the accompanying statement singing the praises of the company's health) to be highly suspicious.

NOTE: By "suspcious" I don't mean in a legal way, just in a "who do you think you're fooling?" way.

Oh I don't think they are trying to "fool" anyone. They are just tossing a perk to major share holders. For example the extra $0.03/share made:

Barclays Bank Plc: $2,740,028.10
Citigroup Inc: $2,130,362.79

But then again, it also made Roy E. Disney: $495,308.40 (Estimated)

Spread the joy :rolleyes:

I don't know how it works either, GD. My grandfather bought me and my brother each a share when we were kids. I think it's up to like 40 now. But I used to get a check for $.25 every year. However, this year I got a check for $20!! So, there's always hope that in 30 years you will get a bigger check!

i am with you on this GD, i dont understand all the ins and outs of the stock market and how dividends work and such, but i think the increase can just be attributed to disney throwing a perk the way of the shareholders, as a way to ensure confidence in the disney name...

hey, its extra money, who is complaining ;)

Yeah, it just doesn't make cents

Boo(hiss)........ ;)