Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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In this session, I focus on how and how much cash was returned to shareholders in 2025. While, in theory, companies should wait until after making investments and funding them with the right mix of debt and equity to determine how much cash to return, dividend policy is dysfunctional, with me-too-ism and inertia driving cash return. I look at potential dividends (free cashflows to equity) and actual cash return at US and global companies in 2025, and examine implications for investors who focus entirely or most on dividends and/or cash return.
Slides: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pdfiles/blog/DataUpdate8for2026.pdf
Blog Post: aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com/2026/02/data-update-8-for-2026-time-for.html
Data links:
Dividends across Industries
1. Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/blog/DividendsIndustryGlobal.xlsx
2. US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/blog/DividendsIndustryUS.xlsx
Buybacks across Industries
1. Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/blog/BuybacksIndustryGlobal.xlsx
2. US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/blog/BuybacksIndustryUS.xlsx