Dividends are a distribution of earnings paid to investors by a company or a fund. Dividends may be paid in the form of cash or stock although a company is under no obligation to pay a dividend of any kind to its common shareholders. Preferred stock, however, is usually issued with the promise of a regular dividend. Depending upon whether the preferred stock is cumulative or non-cumulative (discussed in M2T1), even preferred shareholders may not be sure of receiving dividend payments on a regular basis. When a board of directors does decide to pay a dividend, it usually pays it quarterly and according to the ownership interest of each shareholder.

股息是一家公司或基金给投资者的收入分配。公司可以用现金或股票的形式支付股息，虽然公司并没有义务给它的普通股股东分红。可是，公司通常会对优先股发放固定的股息。优先股股东并不确定会收到固定的优先股股息，可能是累积股息或非累积股息。当董事会决定支付股息时，通常按照季度和股东所持有的股份分红