Ex-date
Market basicsThe first day a share trades without entitlement to a declared corporate action.
In plain terms
You must own the share before this date. Buying on it gets you nothing.
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Glossary
Every term is defined twice: once the way a filing would put it, and once the way somebody would explain it to you across a table. The second one is usually the one that sticks.
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Dividend
Market basicsCash a company distributes to shareholders out of its profits, received by whoever owns the share before the ex-date.
In plain terms
Sustainable only when covered by free cash flow — a company borrowing to maintain its dividend is buying goodwill with someone else's money. It is now taxed in your hands at your slab rate.