Investors raked in record dividend payments last year, and more of Big Tech is joining the party. After helping drag the market to record highs, mega caps like Meta and Alphabet have joined fellow tech giants Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia in returning cash to shareholders. While dividends may be more commonly associated with traditional value stocks, rather than market darlings helping drive the A.I. boom, analysts said the move opens these stocks to new categories of investors—and utilizes cash that has few places to go.
Facebook-parent Meta introduced a 50-cent dividend in February, which helped fuel a historic rally for the stock. Three months later, Alphabet followed suit with a dividend of 20 cents per share, sparking a 10% gain in the Google-parent’s shares.
