China's A-share listed companies posted record-high dividend payouts in 2025, reflecting improving corporate profitability and a growing emphasis on shareholder returns, the latest data released by the country's three major stock exchanges showed.
According to the data released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE), A-share listed companies distributed more than 2.6 trillion yuan (about 372 billion U.S. dollars) in cash dividends in 2025, marking a historic high.
Specifically, 1,640 companies listed on the SSE carried dividend payouts totaling 2.06 trillion yuan (about 294 billion U.S. dollars), up 11 percent year on year. On the SZSE, 1,910 listed companies distributed a combined over 547.56 billion yuan (about 78 billion U.S. dollars) in dividends. Companies listed on the BSE paid out 6.39 billion yuan (about 901 million U.S. dollars) in cash dividends to investors, representing a 2.62 percent increase from 2024.
"The year 2025 witnessed a record-high level of dividend payouts by listed companies. China's capital market is shifting from a previous conventional thinking of emphasizing on financing-driven expansion onto a greater focus on shareholder returns. Meanwhile, the increase in dividend payout frequency reflects enhanced operational stability and improved financial forecasting capabilities of listed firms, which is further strengthening the A-share market's attractiveness to global long-term capital," said Tian Lihui, a professor of finance at the Nankai University in Tianjin.
The data also showed that six industries with their companies listed on the SSE each recorded dividend payouts exceeding 100 billion yuan (about 14.3 billion U.S. dollars), including the banking sector, the petroleum and petrochemical industry, and the food and beverage industry.
Meanwhile, technology-related listed companies also posted robust dividend growth. On the SZSE's ChiNext board, 945 companies distributed cash dividends totaling more than 137.45 billion yuan (about 19.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 8.41 percent year on year, with their dividend payout growing at a relatively rapid pace.
On the SSE's STAR Market, 383 companies carried out cash dividend distributions, covering more than 60 percent of the board. Their dividend payouts on the STAR Market reached 38.2 billion yuan (5.47 billion U.S. dollars) in the year.
"The notable rise in dividend payouts by technology companies is an important signal of increased industry maturity. In their early stages, technology firms tended to reinvest profits into research and expansion, with limited dividend distribution. The current growth in dividend payout indicates that many technology companies have entered a phase of stable profitability and more sophisticated cash flow management. It shows that China's technology sector is transitioning toward profit-driven development, while also highlighting their improvements in corporate governance and greater attention to investor returns," said Zeng Gang, director of the Shanghai Institution for Finance and Development.
A-share listed firms post record-high dividend payouts in 2025
