TRUE OR FAKE. Do the shareholders recover 60 to 80% of the profits, as Thomas Porcher asserts?

True or Fake is going to talk about profits, part of which is returned to shareholders through dividends. What Thomas Porcher is saying is that this share of dividends has exploded since the 80s. On Twitter, he displays a graphic to support his information. It is based on a study carried out in the United States, over the period 1950/2007. What about France?

A peak in dividends paid in 2008 in France

According to data from the national accounts made by INSEE, the same trend is observed in France, even if it is less important than what the economist asserts. Prior to the 1980s, the share of dividends paid was below the 20%before rising sharply to a peak during the 2008 crisis, before falling today to 50%.

This is the observation at the national level. But there are strong disparities between companies. Large CAC 40 companies pay more. According to a study by theOXFAM of 2020, the companies studied donated on average 71% of their profit between 2009 and 2018, a figure which corresponds to the range given by Thomas Porcher.