This is a positive change from Royal Dutch Shell’s previous dividend of $0.16. Market data powered by FactSet and Web Financial Group. Read the first quarter 2020 dividend announcement. Many such investors, including yours truly, did not sell on the news because given where the overall oil market is right now, it is not a good exit point. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, and Downstream segments. They will most likely take on a lot of debt for the remainder of this year and next, while Shell may manage to keep its absolute debt volume stable for the period. Among the five oil majors, Shell has consistently been a top dividend yielder for the last five years. @themotleyfool #stocks $RDS.A $RDS.B $BP $CVX $XOM $PEP $PG $TOT, 3 Top Energy Stocks to Buy Ahead of the Election, Shell Plans to Cut Thousands of Jobs Amid Shift to Carbon Neutrality: What Investors Need to Know, Leaked Documents Reveal ExxonMobil Plans to Increase Carbon Emissions 17% by 2025, Copyright, Trademark and Patent Information. Exxon, for instance, did not slow down its shale production all that much this year and continues to ponder further expanding production next year, which will probably weigh heavily on its financial results this year and next. A yield of 4.4% is still pretty sizable: It's higher than that of popular dividend stocks like Procter & Gamble (2.7%) and PepsiCo (2.9%). Shell said it would raise its dividend to shareholders by around 4% to 16.65 U.S. cents for the third quarter of 2020 and on an annual basis going forward. Shell expects to increase its dividend payouts to shareholders once it completes the $25 billion share buyback by the end of 2020 it promised following its BG acquisition. Given that the global oil industry may be headed for another four to six quarters of demand weakness, which will at times perhaps lead to a crash in prices, Shell's strategy of cutting its dividend may have been a prudent decision, even though investors such as myself are not happy with it by any means. But that doesn't necessarily mean Shell isn't a buy. A printed copy of our 2019 Annual Report can be ordered free of charge. Please refer to the announcement of December 18, 2019 for further information: Shell introduces option to receive dividend in US dollars and moves to full electronic settlement of its dividends. It spent $24.8 billion in 2018. And Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) was, in fact, a good dividend stock...for about 75 years. My guess is that in the absence of an oil market calamity, they will approve the yearly increase for a number of years to come. 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Similarly, Chevron and Exxon (XOM) went heavily into the shale patch, which has a demonstrated record of a decade now of rather problematic economics. Chair of the Board of Royal Dutch Shell Chad Holliday commented: “Shareholder returns are a fundamental part of Shell’s financial framework. RDSB opened at GBX 877.50 ($11.46) on Thursday. What Shell is saying is that it is taking into consideration an increase of 4% annually in its dividend, subject to approval by the board. ADSs are evidenced by an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) certificate. You'd think a massive company that hadn't cut its dividend since World War II would be a pretty safe bet for dividend investors. The official announcement can be accessed at this link. The duration of these impacts remains unclear with the expectation that the weaker conditions will likely extend beyond 2020. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, April 30, 2020. This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. "We believe that the era of investing in upstream is going to be with us for some time to come and therefore we have committed to really keep those core upstream themes very strong from a cash perspective for the next few decades," van Beurden said. But while offering sweeteners to investors, Shell also outlined plans to increase its spending in the next decade. ... We do not expect a recovery of oil prices or demand for our products in the medium term. Shell has reduced its 2020 capital expenses and dividend payments, of course, which should free up cash, but various analysts estimate Shell's breakeven -- the minimum oil price needed for the company to make money producing oil -- to be between $50 and $65 per barrel. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. I do think that they will and when we will look back at it all, we will see that Shell will have a first-mover advantage in terms of its financial health as well as prospects for a stronger future. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“RDS”) today announced the pounds sterling and euro equivalent dividend payments in respect of the first quarter 2020 interim dividend, which was announced on April 30, 2020 at US$0.16 per A ordinary share (“A Share”) and B ordinary share (“B Share”).