I was able to find the largest dividend payers in the world for the year 2020, courtesy of Janus Henderson. These are the companies that are paying the most in annual dividends, in billions of dollars.
I crunched the numbers for each company, and included the annual amount of dividends paid in billions of US dollars. You can verify the data by looking at the statement of cashflows.
It is fascinating to learn that Microsoft has distributed more in dividends, than any other publicly traded company in the world.
I have sorted the largest dividend payers, by amount of dividends distributed for 2020 below. I included the name, brief description, dividend track record and amount of dividends paid. The companies include:
|
Company Name |
Ticker |
Dividends Paid (Billions) |
|
Microsoft |
MSFT |
$
16.52 |
|
AT&T |
T |
$
14.96 |
|
Exxon Mobil |
XOM |
$
14.87 |
|
Apple |
AAPL |
$
14.08 |
|
China Construction Bank |
CICHY |
$
13.20 |
|
JPMorgan Chase |
JPM |
$
12.69 |
|
Johnson & Johnson |
JNJ |
$ 10.48
|
|
Verizon |
VZ |
$
10.23 |
|
Chevron |
CVX |
$
9.65 |
|
Taiwan Semiconductor |
TSM |
$
9.22 |
Microsoft (MSFT) develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide.
Microsoft paid $16.521 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Microsoft is a dividend achiever, which has managed to increase dividends annually for 19 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 14.28% over the past decade.
AT&T (T) provides telecommunication, media, and technology services worldwide. The company operates through Communications, WarnerMedia, and Latin America segments.
AT&T paid $14.956 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020. This amount would likely decrease in 2022, as the company is planning on cutting dividends as it tries to spin-off some media assets and become a pure-play telecom company.
AT&T is a dividend aristocrat (until the end of 2021), which has managed to increase dividends annually for 36 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 2.16% over the past decade.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical segments.
Exxon Mobil paid $14.865 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Exxon Mobil is a dividend aristocrat, which has managed to increase dividends annually for 38 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 7.18% over the past decade.
Apple (AAPL) designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services
Apple paid $14.081 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Apple has managed to increase dividends annually for 9 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 9.70% over the past five years.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM).
JPMorgan Chase paid $12.69 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
JPMorgan Chase is a dividend achiever, which has managed to increase dividends annually for 11 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 33.51% over the past decade.
China Construction Bank (CICHY) provides various banking and related financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Business, and Others segments.
China Construction Bank paid $13.196 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) researches and develops, manufactures, and sells a range of products in the health care field worldwide. It operates through three segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices.
Johnson & Johnson paid $10.481 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Johnson & Johnson is a dividend king which has managed to increase dividends annually for 59 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 6.55% over the past decade.
Verizon (VZ) offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide.
Verizon paid $10.232 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Verizon is a dividend achiever, which has managed to increase dividends annually for 16 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 2.60% over the past decade.
Chevron (CVX) engages in integrated energy, chemicals, and petroleum operations worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream.
Chevron paid $9.651 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
Chevron is a dividend aristocrat, which has managed to increase dividends annually for 34 years in a row. It has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 6.21% over the past decade.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) manufactures and sells integrated circuits and semiconductors.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing paid $9.222 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2020.
It is fascinating that eight of the largest dividend payers worldwide were US companies. Only two seems to be non-US based.
It is even more fascinating that all eight of the US companies are also dividend growth stocks, having increased dividends annually for at least 9 years in a row.
I was also able to obtain the historical evolution of this top 10 dividend payers list.
Source