Investing 101

In Graphics: What Are Dividends?

Written by Mint.com
Published Oct 22, 2010
0 min read
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To make studying the fundamentals of investing fun, we recently kicked of a series of infographics explaining basic concepts (See: What Is a Stock?). Now let’s move on to something that many investors — beginner and advanced alike — actually consider not only important, but even sexy: dividends.

Dividends aren’t that difficult to understand: they’re a part of the earnings of a company that is paid out to shareholders. Shareholders love them because, unlike a stock’s price, dividends provide a more stable income stream. But as with anything in the investing word, they’re neither 100% guaranteed, nor that simple.