The impact of Covid-19 on dividends paid by European top 50 firms

Abstract

Employing data on companies listed in the EUROSTOXX 50 Index, it is evaluated how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the European financial market, more specifically the dividends’ distribution, during the first half of 2020. It is found that not only firms paid out less to shareholders, but also decreased their willingness to pay. This scenario was applicable to every industry represented in the Index and had no precedents for the last decade, as dividends were actually following a growing tendency, before the virus outbreak.