Dividends

Capital Calls: Amazon, Aramco

9 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: Rising costs and cautious consumers are driving the e-commerce giant to sell goods through mobile games and push incentives; the $2 trillion Saudi oil company’s new dividend policy is one way to interest investors in future share sales. 

Guest view: Why bank investors have it the hardest

21 Apr 2023

Lenders were supposed to be boring after 2008. Recent collapses exposed that vision as a fantasy. Shareholders grapple with high leverage, opacity, erratic regulators and intangibles like trust. Seemingly low valuations may not be low enough, argues former analyst Rupak Ghose.

UniCredit’s share-price surge has further to run

31 Jan 2023

Boss Andrea Orcel wants to hand more than 5 bln euros to investors through dividends and buybacks, after reporting stellar 2022 earnings. Further Russia writedowns are a risk, but the bank’s bottom line looks solid. A valuation of just over half tangible book value looks too low.

Capital Calls: U.S. labor market softens, slowly

8 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: Joblessness data suggests Americans are taking longer to find work. That’s good for inflation, but sluggish progress means the Fed will have to keep tightening monetary policy.

Capital Calls: DWS fixes what it can

7 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: The 6 bln euro German asset manager unveiled some punchy new targets, but its biggest challenge will be to unshackle itself from controlling shareholder Deutsche Bank.

ECB’s bank loan-loss worries look overdone

7 Dec 2022

Chief supervisor Andrea Enria fears that BNP, ING and others are flying blind into a 2023 default storm. But rate hikes will give the 10 largest lenders a 120 bln euro profit buffer before their capital gets hit. The big banks can afford to keep going with dividends and buybacks.

Total’s Russia foot-dragging is investor problem

18 Oct 2022

The French energy giant owns a stake in gas group Novatek, and is in theory entitled to a $430 mln dividend. CEO Patrick Pouyanné won’t say whether he’s selling. He may hope that long-held Kremlin ties can secure a clean exit, but the uncertainty is a shareholder concern.

HSBC’s cross-border ties are paying dividends

1 Aug 2022

CEO Noel Quinn promised a 12% return on tangible equity and higher payouts to shareholders as the global bank rebuffed Ping An’s breakup call. Higher U.S. interest rates help, but if the Chinese insurer has spurred the $125 bln bank to raise its game, all investors will benefit.

Capital Calls: Spotify hums along

27 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The music service led by Daniel Ek added more subscribers and revenue in the quarter outperforming Netflix and Twitter.

UAE’s $20 bln chemical IPO is pricey for a reason

26 May 2022

ADNOC and Borealis’ joint venture Borouge is to be Abu Dhabi’s largest listing. The company is priced at a premium to rivals like BASF and SABIC, at a time when higher shipping costs are starting to bite. Yet the group’s cash and dividend profile support a princely valuation.

Dubai’s $34 bln utility float tees up IPO drive

25 Mar 2022

State-owned DEWA will be the emirate’s largest listing since 2007. Its pricing muscle and generous dividend are drawcards, as is the cheap valuation. That reflects the political desire for the debut to set the stage for follow-up IPOs, and puts rival regional bourses on notice.

Generali CEO’s bold plan may just save his neck

15 Dec 2021

Philippe Donnet is pledging to grow earnings per share by up to 8% through 2024, ahead of Allianz, and to return capital. It won’t soothe rebel shareholders including Leonardo Del Vecchio, who want him out. But it ups the chance other investors will stick with the status quo.

Viewsroom: European bank M&A, De-Dutching Shell

18 Nov 2021

Big lenders in the euro zone are doing deals, but not the kind investment bankers dream about. BNP Paribas is in U.S. retreat, BBVA bulks up in Turkey and KBC goes Bulgarian. Liam Proud explains. George Hay explains why the Anglo-Dutch oil major is dropping the Dutch bit.

Aviva’s next challenge is to show it can grow

12 Aug 2021

CEO Amanda Blanc is returning 4 bln pounds to investors in the British insurer after flogging assets worth more than 7 bln pounds. The knottier problem is to extract more earnings – and dividends – from a smaller, simpler business. Reduced debt leaves some room for acquisitions.

BP’s oil price boon is a mixed blessing

3 Aug 2021

Rising crude values allowed the $84 bln UK group to raise its payout and give CEO Bernard Looney more funds to pivot away from fossil fuels. But the bonanza could focus investor minds on less speedy rivals with scope to pay higher dividends, like Shell. That may hurt BP’s appeal.

Big Oil’s generosity has limited shelf life

29 Jul 2021

Royal Dutch Shell and Total will return billions of dollars to investors. High crude prices mean they can cut debt, invest in green energy and crank up payouts. Such largesse may get harder given growing pressure to cut emissions. Prudent payouts will limit future disappointment.

Rio Tinto CEO picks cash shower over kitchen sink

28 Jul 2021

Jakob Stausholm is spraying the miner’s shareholders with a hardy $9.1 bln in dividends after his first six months in the job. There’s also plenty to splash out on projects like Serbian lithium. Despite the mopping up required in ESG and beyond, the financial plumbing is sound.

Bank investors sense a blockage in dividend gusher

13 Jul 2021

UK lenders like NatWest could in theory make payouts worth up to 25% of their market value, after the Bank of England lifted a ban. Despite a recent rally, they’re not getting full credit for this. Lingering coronavirus risks and IT investment needs may explain the scepticism.

Fed gives back Wall St power over investor payouts

29 Jun 2021

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are among banks that raised their dividends after passing central bank stress tests. Some increased their buybacks too. With new capital requirements in place, investors can see who has what to give – but not how much will come their way.

Big Smoke offers Big Oil tips to avoid dodo status

9 Jun 2021

Fat dividends supported tobacco shares even as regulators focused on health risks. The outperformance of Philip Morris suggests investors like speedy pivots. Better still, hydrocarbon producers’ switch to green energy looks an easier ESG sell than tobacco substitutes.