Dividends By The Numbers For September 2019 And Q3 2019

September 2019 was the worst month for dividend increases since September 2011. For dividend cuts, it was borderline bad, which is consistent with recessionary conditions being present within the U.S. economy. The overall picture these two bits of data create is of an economy that is slowing considerably.
The following chart shows the monthly data for dividend increases and decreases as reported by Standard & Poor's from January 2004 through September 2019:

Here are the numbers for U.S. dividends during September 2019, with comparisons to August 2019 and to September 2018:
3,686 U.S. firms issued some sort of declaration regarding their dividends in September 2019, up by 146 from August 2019's total of 3,540, and also up year-over-year from September 2018's 3,623. There were 21 firms who announced they would pay an extra or special dividend to their shareholders, which was down from the 34 that did in August 2019, and down slightly from the 24 that paid out an extra dividend back in September 2018. September 2019 was the worst single month for dividend increases since September 2011, with just 50 recorded in both these months. That compares with the 125 dividend increases announced in August 2019 and the 71 dividend rises announced last year in September 2018. Dividend decreases were more plentiful in September 2019, with 29 cuts announced during the month. That figure compares with the 20 announced during the previous month and the 26 announced during the same... Read more