ITC Dividend Alert: Last Date to Buy FMCG Major’s Shares for ₹8 Dividend—Do You Own Them?

ITC has fixed May 27 as the record date for its final dividend of Rs 8 per equity share for FY26, making May 26 the last trading day for investors to buy shares and qualify for the payout under the T+1 settlement cycle. The final dividend, which is subject to approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting on July 23, is scheduled to be paid between July 24 and July 29. Investors purchasing ITC shares on or after May 27 will not be eligible for the dividend, as the shares will not be credited to their demat accounts by the record date.

The dividend announcement reinforces ITC’s long-standing record of shareholder returns and marks its largest final dividend in nearly six years. The last comparable final payout was Rs 10.15 per share in 2020. Including the interim dividend of Rs 6.5 per share declared in January, ITC’s total dividend payout for FY26 stands at Rs 14.50 per share, with a face value of Re 1 each. The company has declared 33 dividends since July 2001 and currently shows a dividend yield of 4.74%, according to Trendlyne data. For FY25, ITC paid dividends totaling Rs 14.35 per share, while FY24 saw a payout of Rs 13.75 per share.

Alongside regular dividends, ITC has also rewarded shareholders through bonus issues in the past, including a 1:2 bonus in 2016 and a 1:1 bonus in 2010. The company also completed a major restructuring of its hotels business, with its stock adjusting to the demerger in January last year and ITC Hotels subsequently listing on the stock exchanges.

The dividend announcement came with ITC’s fourth-quarter results for the January-March period of FY26. The company reported a standalone net profit of Rs 5,113 crore, up 5% year on year from Rs 4,875 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 17% to Rs 21,695 crore from Rs 18,495 crore a year earlier. The cigarettes business remained the biggest contributor to profitability, with revenue from the FMCG-cigarettes segment increasing 32% year on year to Rs 11,066 crore from Rs 8,400 crore.

ITC shares have been under pressure despite the strong dividend track record. The stock declined about 2% over the past week, though it gained nearly 1% in the last month. It is down 17% in 2026 so far and has fallen 30% over the past year. Over three years, the stock is down more than 31%, but it remains up 44% over five years. The company now has a market capitalisation of over Rs 3.8 lakh crore, with a price-to-earnings ratio of more than 18.