TTM dividends paid is the total cash a company paid out as dividends over the trailing twelve months, the four most recent fiscal quarters. It is taken from the financing section of the cash flow statement and shows how much cash the company actually distributed to shareholders over the latest full year.
It measures cash that left the company, not dividends declared. A dividend declared near the end of a quarter but paid in the next one shows up in the quarter it is paid.
Companies usually tag the line PaymentsOfDividends in XBRL, which covers dividends and capital distributions to common shareholders, preferred shareholders, and noncontrolling interests, or PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock when they report common dividends separately. Which one a company uses affects the total: a company with preferred stock or partly owned subsidiaries may show a combined figure that is larger than what common shareholders received. Under ASC 230, dividends paid are financing cash outflows and are shown as negative numbers.
Because 10-Q cash flow statements run from the start of the fiscal year, the TTM amount is the last annual figure plus the current year-to-date figure minus the prior year's matching year-to-date figure. The fourth quarter alone is the 10-K amount minus the nine-month amount in the third-quarter 10-Q. Special dividends are included in the period they are paid, so a one-time payout can inflate the trailing total for four quarters before it drops out.
Analysts compare TTM dividends paid with TTM free cash flow and TTM net income to judge whether the dividend is covered. A payout that consistently exceeds free cash flow must be funded by cash reserves or borrowing, which puts it at risk. Divided by market capitalization, TTM dividends paid give a cash-based dividend yield. Combined with TTM net share repurchases, it measures the total cash a company returned to shareholders.
A: Roughly, but not exactly. The share count changes during the year, dividend rates may have been raised, and the cash figure can include preferred dividends and distributions to noncontrolling interests.
A: Dividends are usually paid some weeks after they are declared. The cash flow statement records the payment date, so a dividend declared in one quarter can be paid in the next.
A: No. A stock dividend distributes shares, not cash, so it does not appear in cash dividends paid.
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