Learn the stock market › Dividends › Lesson 3 of 5

When do you get the dividend?

Short answerYou get the dividend if you bought the stock before the ex-dividend date. In the US the ex-dividend date is normally the record date itself, and the cash arrives on the payment date, often a few weeks later. JPMorgan Chase is an example: ex-dividend and record date Oct 6, 2026, payment Oct 31, 2026.

Four dates, one real example

JPMorgan Chase pays a dividend every quarter. These are the dates for its payment of $1.65 per share, from the company's own release.

Date	What happens
Sep 15, 2026	The board declares the dividend
Oct 6, 2026	Ex-dividend date: a buyer from today does not get it
Oct 6, 2026	Record date: owners on the books get the dividend
Oct 31, 2026	Payment to shareholders

Why the ex-dividend date is the record date

The dividend goes to whoever is on the company's books on the record date. A US stock trade settles one business day after it is made, so a buyer on the record date is not on the books in time. That is why the ex-dividend date is set on the record date, or one business day before it when the record date is not a business day.

So you must buy before the ex-dividend date. You can sell on the ex-dividend date and still get the dividend. Before May 28, 2024, trades took two business days to settle, and the ex-dividend date came one business day before the record date.

The price usually falls by about the dividend on the ex-dividend date. Why is in Why does a stock fall on the ex-dividend date?

How often companies pay

All 14 US companies in the table paid four times in the last 12 months. Paying every quarter is the norm in the US.

Month by month

The ex-dividend dates of the 14 companies over the last 12 months. The most fell in May.

Month	Ex-dividend dates
January	4
February	5
March	5
April	3
May	7
June	4
July	4
August	6
September	4
October	4
November	5
December	5

The cash arrives in your brokerage account on the payment date. The dividend calculator works out how much.

Test yourself

The record date is a Thursday that is a business day. What is the last day you can buy and still get the dividend?

Sources

JPMorganChase, JPMorganChase Declares Increased Common Stock Dividend, September 15, 2026, read on November 5, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the one we store.
Investor.gov (SEC), Ex-Dividend Dates: When Are You Entitled to Stock and Cash Dividends, read on November 5, 2026.
Investor.gov (SEC), New "T+1" Settlement Cycle – What Investors Need To Know, March 27, 2024, read on November 5, 2026.

How the stock moved: Why did JPMorgan Chase move?