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Dividend
The part of its profit a company pays out to its shareholders.
A dividend is a distribution of profit to shareholders. Its size is usually decided at the annual general meeting. German companies typically pay once a year, many US companies quarterly.
On the ex-dividend date the dividend is taken off the share price, so the share trades lower without anything bad having happened. Not every company pays a dividend; fast-growing firms often reinvest their profit instead.
