The ex-dividend date (or "ex-date") is the cut-off that decides who receives a dividend. The rule is simple: you must already own the shares before the ex-date to be entitled to that dividend. Buy on the ex-date or later, and the dividend goes to the seller instead.
The four dates to know
- Declaration date — when the company announces the dividend, the amount, and the dates below.
- Ex-dividend date — the cut-off. Own the shares before this date to qualify.
- Record date — usually the business day after the ex-date; the company checks its register to confirm who the shareholders are.
- Payment date — when the cash actually lands in your account, typically a few weeks after the ex-date.
Why the share price usually drops on the ex-date
On the ex-date, the share price typically falls by roughly the dividend amount. That is not a loss — it simply reflects that new buyers no longer get the upcoming payout, so they pay a little less. If a S$2.00 stock pays a S$0.10 dividend, it might open around S$1.90 on the ex-date. The S$0.10 has not vanished; it is on its way to existing shareholders as cash.
The "dividend capture" myth
A common idea is to buy just before the ex-date, collect the dividend, and sell straight after for free income. In practice it rarely works: the price drop on the ex-date roughly cancels the dividend, and you would owe brokerage costs on both trades. Dividends reward holding good businesses, not timing the calendar.
How to use it in practice
If you want a stock's next dividend, make sure you own it before its ex-date — buying at least one trading day earlier is the safe approach. You do not need to keep holding until the payment date; once you are past the ex-date as an owner, the dividend is yours even if you sell.
You can see the next ex-dates and pay dates for every SGX counter, in order, on the Singapore dividend calendar — and each stock page lists that counter's full history of past ex-dates and amounts.