Glossary
Record date
The date a company checks its shareholder list to decide who receives a dividend or can vote; with T+1 it usually equals the ex-date.
On this page
The record date is the day on which a company looks at its list of registered shareholders to decide who is entitled to a dividend, a stock distribution or a vote at a shareholder meeting. Anyone listed as an owner at the close of business on that date receives the payment or the right. Because trades take time to settle, buying the stock on the record date itself is usually too late, which is why the related Ex-dividend date is the one traders watch.
How it works
A dividend announcement lists four dates: the declaration date, the ex-dividend date, the record date and the payment date. To be on the books by the record date, a purchase must have settled by then. Since May 28, 2024, most US stock trades settle one business day after the trade (T+1). As a result, the ex-dividend date is now normally the same business day as the record date: buy before the ex-date and you get the dividend; buy on or after it and the seller does.
Other uses
Record dates also set who can vote at a shareholder meeting; the Proxy statement names it. They apply to rights offerings, spinoffs and other distributions too. For stock splits, exchanges often set the ex-date differently, frequently the first trading day after the shares are distributed, so check the specific announcement.