The shareholders of TotalEnergies, LVMH, Axa… CAC 40 have never been so spoiled as in 2022

In its annual report published on Monday 15 May, the NGO “Observatory of multinationals” notes that the CAC 40 companies have redistributed “two thirds” of the profits made in 2022 to shareholders in the form of share buybacks or dividends. The latter reached a record level of 67.5 billion euros.

“If the profits of the CAC 40 remain in 2022 at a level slightly below those of 2021, the same does not apply to dividends which continue their inexorable growth from year to year, reaching 67.5 billion on results of 2022 – against 57.5 billion the previous year”, summarizes the NGO. The buybacks of treasury shares, another form of free gift for shareholders aimed at supporting stock market prices, for their part “kept at a record level” at 25 billion euro, against 26 billion the previous year, indicates the association .

Super dividends for super profits

“Overall, the CAC 40 will then have redistributed two-thirds of its 2022 earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends or share buybacks (compared to 53% of 2021 and 2019 earnings and 137% of 2020 earnings).” , notes the NGO . He specifies that 34 of the groups of the main French stock index “have increased the payment of dividends on 2022 earnings” – and this “regardless of their economic situation”.

The NGO points out that among “the most generous with their shareholders, we find more or less the same list of superprofit companies”, namely TotalEnergies (10 billion in dividends and 7 billion in share buybacks), LVMH (6 billion of dividends and 1.6 of buybacks) or Axa (4 billion of dividends and 2.3 of buybacks).