Understanding Dividends using real-time examples

Understanding the important term:Market cap

Common man way to understand

Market capitalization, or "market cap," is a simple way to figure out how much a company is worth in the stock market. Imagine you have a giant lemonade stand company and you're selling pieces of it in the form of shares. If you have 100 shares out there, and each share is worth $10, then your lemonade stand’s total value in the market would be $1,000 (since 100 shares times $10 per share equals $1,000). That $1,000 is what we call the market cap—it's the total price of all your shares added together. So, market cap helps investors understand how big a company is and roughly how valuable it is compared to others.

Now to professional way to understand the terms:

To understand market capitalization, think of it as the total value of a company in the eyes of the stock market. This value is calculated by multiplying the current price of a company's stock by the total number of shares that are currently owned by all investors. This figure tells you how much you'd theoretically have to pay if you wanted to buy every single share of the company.

The Big Mac:

As of June 2024, McDonald's has a market capitalization of approximately $189.33 billion. This number is found by taking the current stock price, which is around $262.72, and multiplying it by the total number of McDonald’s shares that investors own

On the same note: Interest | Dividend Paid per Share by

Macdonalds

As of 2024, McDonald's pays a quarterly dividend of $1.67 per share. This rate represents an increase from previous years, reflecting McDonald's consistent policy of raising dividends. Historically, McDonald's has increased its dividend annually for the past 48 years, highlighting its commitment to returning value to its shareholders​.

The Coke side:

Coca-Cola's market capitalization can be calculated in the same way, though the specific figures would vary based on its current stock price and the total number of shares.

As of June 2024, Coca-Cola's market capitalization is approximately $275.45 billion. This valuation places Coca-Cola among the world's top companies in terms of market value, ranking as the 36th most valuable globally. The company's stock price at this time is about $63.94 per share.

Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the total number of a company's outstanding shares by the current market price of one share. For Coca-Cola, this high market cap indicates a substantial total value of all shares and reflects the company's significant size and economic impact within the global market. Over the past few years, Coca-Cola's market cap has seen variations, reaching a high of around $286.94 billion in April 2022 and experiencing a lower boundary of about $161.26 billion in March 2020.

Coca-Cola's consistent position in the market and its ability to maintain a high market cap through various economic conditions highlight its stability and enduring appeal to investors. This resilience and growth are essential for assessing the company's economic health and investment potential..

On the same note: Interest | Dividend Paid per Share by

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola also follows a similar pattern of dividend payments. In 2024, Coca-Cola's most recent quarterly dividend payment was $0.44 per share. Coca-Cola has a long history of dividend payments and increases, having raised its dividend annually for the past 59 years, demonstrating a strong commitment to providing shareholder value through consistent dividend payouts​.