E-Paper
Sign In
Middle East dividends hit $29.2b in Q1 as payouts remain resilient
Financial companies continued to dominate capital returns globally, distributing $90.8 billion in dividends and carrying out $110.7 billion in buybacks during the quarter
- PUBLISHED: Wed 22 Jul 2026, 8:00 AM
Middle East companies distributed $29.2 billion in dividends during the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the resilience of corporate earnings in the region despite a backdrop of higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainty.
Underlying dividend payments across the region rose 4 per cent year-on-year, according to the inaugural Janus Henderson Global Dividend and Buyback Index.
Recommended For You
Saudi Arabia remained the region’s largest dividend payer, accounting for nearly 84 per cent of total Middle East payouts with an estimated $24.5 billion in distributions. Qatar paid $2 billion, while UAE-listed companies distributed $1.7 billion during the quarter. Although headline dividends in the UAE were lower than a year earlier, this was largely due to the timing of a dividend payment by Dubai Islamic Bank rather than any deterioration in underlying corporate performance, the report said.
Globally, dividends reached $424.5 billion in the first quarter, a 10.1 per cent increase from the same period in 2025, reflecting continued earnings strength across major markets. The report also found that share buybacks totalled $425.7 billion, slightly exceeding dividends, although repurchases declined 3.1 per cent year-on-year as companies adopted a more cautious approach to returning capital to shareholders.
The United States remained the world’s largest source of shareholder returns, paying $183.5 billion in dividends and executing $266.7 billion in buybacks. Europe excluding the UK distributed $67.4 billion in dividends, supported by favourable currency movements and timing effects.
Financial companies continued to dominate capital returns globally, distributing $90.8 billion in dividends and carrying out $110.7 billion in buybacks during the quarter. Meanwhile, the basic materials sector posted the strongest dividend growth, with payouts surging 47.1 per cent amid growing demand for critical minerals used in artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centres and semiconductor manufacturing.
Technology companies also remained major contributors to shareholder returns, distributing $43.7 billion in dividends and undertaking $66.6 billion in share repurchases during the period.
Jane Shoemake, Client Portfolio Manager on the Global Equity Income Team at Janus Henderson, said: “Amidst what feels like an increasingly uncertain macro backdrop, the surprise has been the strength of earnings around the world. Those earnings almost always result in higher dividends, and that’s exactly what we’re now seeing across a range of industries and regions.”
Associate Editor Somshankar Bandyopadhyay brings more than three decades of experience to the KT newsroom. Currently, he manages the news production of the business section, ensuring that the top economic and business news of the day reaches its readers.