A-shares listed companies' dividend payouts and buybacks are being rolled out intensively, highlighting the fundamental investment value.

Ask AI · How will the new dividend rules promote A-share companies to improve shareholder returns?

Interface News reporter | Chen Huidong

In recent days, the A-share market has entered a dense implementation period for dividends and share repurchases. From Zijin Mining (601899.SH) achieving a year-on-year doubling-level growth in dividend amounts compared with the same period, to Tigermed (603259.SH) seeing performance surge driving dividends to double, and to Midea Group (000333.SZ) simultaneously delivering a century-level dividend and nearly 2 billion yuan in buybacks, listed companies are using “real money” to demonstrate value to the market and convey confidence.

Policy is an important driver for sustained growth in dividend scale. The core policy points of the new dividend rules, which formally began implementation in 2025, include: strengthening dividend constraints to prevent the “iron rooster” phenomenon; encouraging an increase in dividend frequency and pushing for mid-term dividends to become a norm; clarifying requirements for differentiated dividend payout ratios; and enhancing information disclosure and regulatory accountability.

During this year’s two sessions, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing once again emphasized that, on the basis of aggressively ensuring the “authenticity” of listed companies, it is necessary to further enhance their “investability,” improve incentive and constraint mechanisms, promote listed companies to strengthen dividends and buybacks, and continuously enhance investment value and investor returns.

After the new rules take effect, the scale and quality of A-share dividends continue to improve. Data from Wind shows that, as of March 27, 406 listed companies have announced dividend proposals, accounting for nearly 94% among profit-making listed companies; the total dividend amount at the end of the period has already exceeded 3,750 billion yuan. In addition, based on an Interface News review, in 2025, 1,437 A-share listed companies conducted cash dividends, and 107 of them had cash dividend amounts of not less than 30% of net profit.

Even on a single day, March 27, 107 companies disclosed dividend plans in a concentrated manner. Among them, China Ping An (601318.SH) saw non-recurring profit excluding non-recurring items grow significantly by 22.5% in 2025, with cash dividends reaching 48.9 billion yuan and consecutive 14 years of year-on-year growth; Gigabyte (603444.SH) expects cash dividends of 1.406 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 80% of net profit.

A dual rise in both dividend scale and quality fundamentally rests on the hard-core support of listed companies’ underlying profitability. According to an incomplete count by Interface News, among the companies that announced dividend proposals this time, more than 55% achieved both revenue and net profit growth in 2025; nearly 58% saw year-on-year growth in net cash flow from operating activities—meaning that the A-share dividend wave is built on the underlying fundamentals of real, sustainable profitability and operations, not on short-term hype or passive compliance, showcasing the resilience and stability of listed companies’ earnings systems.

Taking Haier Smart Home (600690.SH) as an example: based on the company’s revenue first breaking through the 300 billion yuan threshold in 2025 and attributable net profit reaching 19.553 billion yuan, it plans to distribute over 8.2 billion yuan in cash dividends to shareholders, increase the dividend payout ratio to 55%, and commit that the dividend payout ratio in the next three years will be no less than 60%. This dividend plan grounded in strong performance not only demonstrates the confidence of abundant cash flow, but also reflects the importance the company’s corporate governance places on shareholder returns.

A “buyback army” is also continuing to expand. According to Wind data, in 2025, 1,495 A-share companies initiated share repurchases, with a cumulative buyback amount of 142.736 billion yuan. Judging by industry distribution, industries such as electric power equipment, electronics, household appliances, and machinery and equipment all saw buyback amounts exceeding 10 billion yuan.

It is worth noting that, against the backdrop of increased recent market volatility, buyback actions have indeed become one of the important means to maintain corporate value and boost market confidence. This is not only a highly positive recognition of the companies’ own value, but also a spontaneous strategy to stabilize the market. Since March, with greater A-share market fluctuations, companies’ intention to convey confidence through buybacks has become evident, and multiple sector-leading companies have joined the ranks of stabilizing the market. Between March 16 and March 30, 300 listed companies repurchased shares, with a total repurchase amount of 13.772 billion yuan.

Companies with the highest buyback amounts in the recent period include Hengyi Petrochemical (000703.SZ) (repurchase amount during the period: 960 million yuan), Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) (repurchase amount during the period: 681 million yuan), Zijin Mining (601899.SH) (repurchase amount during the period: 642 million yuan), and others. Some companies have also disclosed large-scale repurchase plans recently. While Haier Smart Home plans to distribute cash in a big way, it also intends to repurchase 3 billion to 6 billion yuan for an employee stock ownership plan. The newly disclosed total buyback plan amount also exceeds 1.5 billion yuan.

The top 10 A-share companies ranked by repurchase amount since late March. Image source: Wind

However, hidden within the buyback boom are speculative risks. On January 14, Nanshan Aluminum (600219.SH, 02610.HK) released a repurchase plan, claiming that “the controlling shareholder and persons acting in concert will have no plans to reduce holdings within the next 3 months and within the next 6 months.” But only two months later, an acting-in-concert party, Shandong Yili, reduced holdings by 110 million shares through block trades and cashed out 7.28 billion yuan. Although after the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s review the conclusion was that “no violations or illegal conduct were found,” market doubts have not subsided—if repurchases end up serving as a “cover” for major shareholders to extract cash, it would seriously damage investors’ confidence.

In March 2025, the CSRC amended the 《Guidelines for Share Repurchases by Listed Companies》, clarifying provisions such as “specific parties including directors, supervisors, senior executives, the controlling shareholder, and the actual controller may not reduce holdings during the repurchase period” and “increasing the transparency of repurchase information disclosure,” and also stepping up penalties against “misleading-style repurchases.”

Facing the dividend and buyback boom, it is necessary to affirm its positive significance while also being alert to speculative disorder. Dividends are not a performance, and buybacks are not a gimmick. Ultimately, whether the dividend and buyback trend in the A-share market can move steadily and go far, and whether long-term investment value can continue to be clearly demonstrated, hinges on fundamentals. Whether it is continuously stable dividends or genuinely effective buybacks, it requires the company to have fundamental elements such as solid operating capability, high-quality core businesses, sufficient cash flow, and sustainable profit models.

The author also recommends that policymakers continuously optimize dividend policies, set differentiated dividend standards based on a company’s life cycle, and balance returns to shareholders with the company’s development. Meanwhile, to avoid buybacks becoming a tool for speculation, it may be worthwhile to establish a linked and cumulative review system for the two major investor return indicators—dividends and buybacks. For companies whose dividend stability, continuity, and predictability fail to meet standards, and for those that use buybacks to extract cash, they should be重点关注 (key monitored), quantify their cash-out repurchase amounts, and impose different levels of punishment so that the cost of violations keeps rising.