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Dividends in futures pricing

How an expected payment is embedded in the price of a futures contract on a share: the futures holder receives no dividend himself.

How to read the number

A contract expiring after the record date trades adjusted for the expected payment, which is why the fall in the underlying on the record date is not a loss for it.

When the metric lies

What is embedded is an expectation, not a fact. A change or cancellation of the payment reprices the contract even if the share itself does not move.

Also known as: futures dividend adjustment

Related terms