The $1.8 Trillion Global Payout Ride Is Coming Back to Earth
- Cash rewards moderate post-tax bonanza as credit cycle turns
- Almost 100 more companies to cut payouts in 2019: IHS Markit
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For Lode Devlaminck, it was the turning point -- the moment corporate titans and their shareholders had to pay for the excesses of the credit cycle.
In October, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV halved its dividend after the world’s largest brewer confronted mounting fears over a $109 billion debt burden. Just days later, General Electric Co. slashed quarterly payments to a penny a share in a dramatic bid by the leverage-laden behemoth to bolster its balance sheet.