Ex-Dividend Date vs. Record Date: When Do You Actually Get a Dividend?

Описание: When do you actually get a dividend? This beginner explainer covers the four dividend dates (declaration date, ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date), why the record date decides who is on the company's books, why the ex-dividend date is the real cut-off when you buy or sell, how T+1 settlement explains why the ex-dividend date is usually the same day as the record date, what happens if you buy before, on, or after the ex-dividend date, and how a stock's price generally adjusts on the ex-dividend date. A short section shows how these dates appear at Fidelity. General rules come from Investor.gov (SEC), the SEC, and FINRA; Fidelity details come only from Fidelity.com and the Fidelity Account Customer Agreement.

Educational explanation only. This video does not recommend buying or selling any stock around a dividend, and it does not recommend any stock, ETF, or fund or show any returns. Dividends are not guaranteed; a company can cut or cancel them. Rules and Fidelity's terms can change; check the current official pages.

0:00 Intro
0:50 The declaration date
1:01 The record date
1:20 T+1 settlement
1:44 The ex-dividend date
2:02 Buying on or after the ex-date
2:18 Price, exceptions, payment date
2:43 Ex-dividend dates at Fidelity
3:00 Recap

Key facts (official sources, as of Oct 26, 2026):
Record date: the date you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. (Investor.gov)
Ex-dividend date: set by stock exchange rules; usually the record date, or one business day before it if the record date is not a business day. Buy before the ex-dividend date and you receive the dividend; buy on or after it and the seller receives it. (Investor.gov, FINRA Rule 11140)
Why: trades do not settle the day you buy. Since May 28, 2024, most U.S. securities trades settle one business day after the trade date (T+1), down from two (T+2). (SEC, Investor.gov)
Price: on the ex-dividend date a stock's price generally adjusts downward to reflect the dividend, though daily price moves can hide it. (Fidelity Learning Center, Investor.gov)
Exceptions: very large distributions (25% or more of the stock's value) and stock dividends can follow different ex-date rules. (Investor.gov, FINRA)
At Fidelity: you need to own settled shares by the record date to be entitled to a regular dividend; for a dividend to be reinvested, the shares must be designated for reinvestment as of 9 p.m. Eastern time on the record date. (Fidelity Corporate Actions FAQ, Fidelity Account Customer Agreement)

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Official sources:
Investor.gov (SEC) - Ex-Dividend Dates: https://www.investor.gov/introduction...
Investor.gov (SEC) - New T+1 Settlement Cycle: https://www.investor.gov/introduction...
SEC - Press release 2023-29 (T+1): https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-re...
FINRA - Rule 11140: https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/...
Fidelity - Why Dividends Matter: https://www.fidelity.com/learning-cen...
Fidelity - FAQs: Corporate actions: https://www.fidelity.com/customer-ser...

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