The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 10, the China Association of Listed Companies released the 2026 cash dividend list for listed companies. Since the release of policies such as the new “National Nine Rules” and new cash dividend regulations, with active supervision and active corporate implementation, and healthy market interaction, cash dividends from listed companies have entered a new stage of “normalization”, and have been fixed from a phased boom in listed companies to an institutionalized normal. Judging from the overall dividend data of listed companies, listed companies strengthen the concept of return to investors, continue to optimize the dividend ecosystem, place equal emphasis on “promoting more points” and “preventing excess points,” and gradually form a virtuous cycle of “capital entry” and “market stability.”
First, overall dividends across the market have been rising steadily, and the resilience of returns to investors continues to show. The scale of cash dividends from A-share listed companies maintained a steady growth trend. The total amount of dividends reached a record high, and the investor return base was further consolidated. In the 2025 financial year, a total of 3,712 A-share listed companies issued cash dividend plans, and nearly 70% of listed companies shared their operating development results with investors through cash dividends. Total dividends for the 2025 fiscal year totaled 2.4 trillion yuan, up 3.3% year on year. The scale of dividends has continued to increase steadily, demonstrating the firm will of listed companies to continue to return to investors.
Second, the company has established a sense of long-term return, and the steady dividend camp continues to expand. A total of 3,067 A-share listed companies paid dividends for three consecutive years, accounting for an increase of 3 percentage points over the previous year; a total of 2,235 companies paid dividends for 5 consecutive years, accounting for an increase of 3 percentage points over the previous year. Listed companies balance sustainable development capabilities on the basis of improving the level of investor returns, continuously enhance the stability and sustainability of dividends, and gradually form a long-term, continuous and stable investor return pattern.
Third, dividend companies cover a wide range of industries, and dividend characteristics highlight the characteristics of the industry. In the 2025 financial year, listed companies with A-share cash dividends covered all 31 Shenwan Tier 1 industries. Of these, companies in 30 industries or more than 50% paid cash dividends, 20 industries paid cash dividends, and more than 70% of companies in 12 industries paid cash dividends. For example, the dividend payment rate for industries such as food and beverage, communications, coal, and home appliances is high, exceeding 60%; the dividend payment rate for pharmaceutical/biological, power equipment, defense, military, electronics and other industries is about 30%-50%.
Fourth, leading companies have a steady dividend scale and continue to exert the exemplar-driven effect. Leading listed companies have a solid operating base and strong profit stability. They have gradually become an important supporting force for cash dividends, and the scale of dividends has remained stable and high. In the 2025 financial year, the total dividend amount of 9 listed companies exceeded 50 billion yuan, with a total dividend amount of 730,955 billion yuan; 35 listed companies had a dividend amount of more than 10 billion yuan, with a total dividend of 1273.864 billion yuan; and 65 listed companies had dividends of more than 5 billion yuan, with a total dividend amount of 14800.77 billion yuan.
Continued and stable cash dividends are an important reflection of the high-quality development of listed companies, and they are also an important cornerstone of a virtuous cycle of capital market investment and financing. Listed companies need to establish a scientific and reasonable dividend concept, balance returns for investors and the company's sustainable development, and carefully plan the company's cash flow and project investment needs. Dividend decisions must be based on actual management and match their financial carrying capacity.
With the continuous improvement of the normalized dividend mechanism of listed companies, the positive cycle of “stable dividends - long-term capital accumulation - high-quality development” will accelerate, create more sustainable and stable investment returns for investors, and promote the capital market to achieve higher quality development through healthy interaction with investors.
In order to better implement the requirements of the new “Nine Rules of the State”, further promote the improvement of the normalized dividend mechanism, and consolidate the normalized dividend ecosystem, the China Association of Listed Companies will continue to prepare and publish a list of listed companies' cash dividends in 2026. The 2026 cash dividend list of listed companies has three sub-lists: total dividend amount, dividend payment rate, and dividend rate. The total cash dividend amount for the past three years, the dividend payment rate for the past three years, and the dividend rate for the past three years are adjusted based on factors such as capital market integrity and compliance and abnormal dividends. Each list has 100 companies.
