Despite the gyrations of the stock market recently, American corporations are still flush with cash, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Cash holdings reached a record high last quarter at more than $1.33 trillion, edging past the mark set in the fourth quarter of 2014.
But one thing they're not doing with all that money is paying out dividends. Globally speaking, companies paid out $404.9 billion in dividends last quarter, which was down 7 percent from the previous quarter.
This two trends might seem to be at odds, but there's a logical explanation. With the dollar so strong, international companies paying out the same dividends in their local currency have seen the value of those dividends decline in dollar terms. According to Henderson Global Investors, if currency values had stayed flat last quarter, overall dividends would have risen to $451.7 billion.
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