A dividend notice lists Friday as both the ex-date and record date, with payment the following Friday. You buy ten shares on Thursday; someone else buys ten on Friday. Only one purchase carries the $10 cash dividend.
For this regular US cash dividend, buying Thursday and holding into Friday qualifies. Buying Friday misses it. Even if you qualify, the cash is still a week away.
The calendar separates three events: buying the shares, becoming entitled to the dividend, and receiving the cash.
Find the payment and the cutoff
For a bill, the payment date matters first. For a purchase, the ex-date is the cutoff. The four names describe four jobs:
- Declaration date: the day the board announces the dividend.
- Ex-dividend date (ex-date): the first day shares trade without this dividend attached, set under exchange rules.
- Record date: the day the company checks its shareholder records to determine who gets paid.
- Payment date: also called the payable date, when the company sends the money.
Four jobs can fit on three dates. For regular US cash dividends, the ex-date usually falls on the record date when it is a business day. Use the announced ex-date as your cutoff.
Most US stock trades through brokers settle on T+1: the shares and purchase money change hands one business day after the trade. This replaced the two-business-day T+2 cycle on May 28, 2024. The trade date is when your order actually fills.
Which trade carries the payment?
With no holidays in our example, Thursday's purchase settles Friday; Friday's settles Monday. Buying on the record date is already too late to make the record.
These trades happen in week 2; Monday falls in week 3. The seller already qualifies for the dividend.
| Trade | Settles | Gets payment? |
|---|---|---|
| Buy Thursday | Friday | Yes |
| Buy Friday | Monday | No |
| Sell Friday | Monday | Yes |
You can sell the shares on Friday and still be owed the dividend. That right to receive the payment is your dividend entitlement. You do not have to hold until payday.
The payment is due next Friday. It becomes spendable when it reaches your account's available cash balance.
No extra wealth on the ex-date
Say your 10 shares trade at $50 and pay $1 each in cash; all amounts here are before taxes and fees. The $50 is the cum-dividend price: it includes the right to the payment.
All else equal, the share loses about $1 of value when it starts trading without the dividend:
$50 − $1 = $49 per share. For your 10 shares, the value moves like this:
- Before: 10 × $50 = $500 in shares.
- Ex-date: 10 × $49 = $490 in shares, plus 10 × $1 = $10 receivable — cash owed but not yet paid.
The total is still $500: $490 + $10. On payment day, the $10 receivable becomes $10 cash. The same money changes form; it does not arrive twice. The company is handing you part of what you already owned.
Actual trades can land above or below $49 as news and trading move the price.
Dividend capture means buying before the ex-date and selling on or after it to collect the payment. Getting the dividend is only half the trade; the sale price matters too.
Check one real announcement
Try Microsoft's March 11, 2025 announcement. Find its ex-date and payable date. If you had bought five shares on May 15, 2025, would you have received this dividend?
No. Microsoft set May 15, 2025 as both ex-date and record date. The dividend was $0.83 per share, payable June 12, 2025.
Five eligible shares would have paid 5 × $0.83 = $4.15 on June 12. The May 15 purchase would have received $0 from this distribution, even if held through June. Waiting for payday cannot make a late purchase eligible.
Once the cutoff and payment date are clear, put the amount in context. Dividend yield compares the annual payment with the share price; the payout ratio then tests what funds it.
In short
- The ex-date settles who gets the dividend; the payment date tells you when the money is due.
- Buying on the ex-date misses the payment. An eligible holder selling that day keeps it.
- For regular US cash dividends, a business-day record date is usually also the ex-date.
- A dividend moves value from the company to you. Collecting it creates no automatic profit.
- Large or unusual distributions can follow a different calendar. Use their announced dates.