Learn the stock market › Why does a stock move? › Lesson 4 of 9
Why does a stock fall on the ex-dividend date?
Real ex-dates
These are the prices that actually traded the day before and on the ex-date, with the dividend per share, all in kronor. Total is the day's change with the dividend counted.
| Company | Before | Ex-date | Dividend | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo Apr 9, 2026 | 332.60 | 322.40 | 13.00 | +0.8% |
| Handelsbanken Mar 26, 2026 | 138.05 | 117.65 | 17.50 | −2.1% |
| Swedbank Mar 25, 2026 | 327.80 | 304.40 | 29.80 | +2.0% |
| SEB Mar 25, 2026 | 178.40 | 171.55 | 11.00 | +2.3% |
| Skanska Apr 1, 2026 | 252.60 | 243.30 | 14.00 | +1.9% |
Volvo shows it well. The day before its ex-date on Apr 9, 2026 the stock closed at SEK 332.60, and on the ex-date at SEK 322.40. The price changed −3.1%, but the dividend was SEK 13.00. Counting that, the day came to +0.8%.
Why the price falls
The money leaves the company. The day before, the share carried the right to it; the day after, it is on its way to the owners. Something worth less costs less.
Think of a wallet sold with a hundred dollars inside. Take the notes out before the sale and the wallet is a hundred dollars cheaper, and nobody has lost anything.
Does it always fall by the full amount?
No. Everything else moves the price that day too. Across 23 large Stockholm companies, the price fell on the latest ex-date in 19 cases, and the median fall was 78% of the dividend. Every ex-date at large US companies since 2015 is in our study, with how long the price took to get back.
That is why the price alone is a poor measure of how a stock has done over time, unless dividends are counted. A company paying a lot looks worse than it has been for its owners.
Test yourself
A stock closes at 100 and pays a dividend of 5. The next day it opens at 95. What has the owner lost?
More on the company: How Volvo has moved.