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A Few Related Terms

Dividend Yield
Capital Gain
Earnings/Share
DRIP

Dividend
Term category: Stocks
In 10 words or less:  A share in a company's profits that is distributed to investors.

Definition: A dividend is a share of a company's profits that it pays to investors. Not all companies pay dividends; a number of companies decide to retain their earnings and reinvest them into the company.

StockJargon Advice: Many people believe that the majority of investment profits are made from dividends. That's not true. The majority are made through capital gains.

However, steady dividends can provide investors with a good source of income. Also, companies that pay dividends provide a little extra "cushion" during market downturns.

Related Articles


Dividends and Capital Gains
Learn what they are and how they make people money.

Stock Dividends
This article explains dividends a little more.

What are DRIP's?
This article explains how you can make even more money by reinvesting your dividends...

Related Books

Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investments by Kenneth M. Morris
Investing for Dummies by Eric Tyson
Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch

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