The part of a company’s profit distributed to shareholders. Unlike interest on debt, the payment of a dividend is not automatic. It is decided by the company’s managers, subject to the approval of the company’s owners (shareholders). However, when a company cuts its dividend, this usually triggers a sharp fall in its share price by more than would be appear to be justified by the reduced dividend. Economists theorize that this is because a dividend cut signals to shareholders that the company is in a bad way, with more bad news to follow.