Special Dividend
A one-time, non-recurring dividend paid outside a company's regular schedule.
What it is
A special dividend is a one-off cash payment to shareholders that is separate from, and usually much larger than, the regular dividend. Companies declare them after an unusually strong year, an asset sale, or to return excess cash. By definition it is not expected to repeat.
Why it matters
A special dividend hands you a lump of cash but should not be treated as ongoing income, and dividend-yield figures that include it can look misleadingly high. Because it is non-recurring, it usually says little about the durability of the regular dividend.
How it's calculated
Not a formula. The board declares a fixed amount per share for a specific record date; it is paid once and not built into the regular dividend rate or the forward yield.
How Quintarthai uses it
Distinguish one-time payments from the recurring dividend by reviewing the full dividend history on a company's deep-analysis page (Statistics and Financials 10-yr tabs).