27 brokerage firms plan to distribute over 40 billion yuan in dividends. Who leads in total dividends, dividend ratio, and dividend yield?

Ask AI · How will the New National Nine Articles promote a significant increase in brokerage firm dividends?

Cailian Press, April 3rd (Reporter Chen Junlan) As the annual report disclosures for 2025 enter their peak period, the dividend payout records of listed brokerages also come into focus.

As of April 1st, 27 listed brokerages have announced their 2025 annual dividend plans, totaling cash dividends of 58.27B yuan. Among them, Guotai Haitong ranks first with an estimated annual dividend of 6.13 billion yuan, while CITIC Securities leads with a total dividend of over 6.08B yuan.

Unlike before, the dividend pattern for brokerages in 2025 shows four notable features:

First, mid-term dividends have become the norm, with more brokerages joining the camp of multiple dividends per year, and firms like Founder Securities and Hu’an Securities setting new records for dividend amounts or frequency.

Second, the total cash dividends of 27 listed brokerages for 2025 amount to 3.91B yuan, a substantial increase of 32.96% compared to 3.9B yuan in the same period of 2024, marking the highest growth rate in nearly three years.

Third, although top-tier brokerages dominate in total cash dividends, smaller and mid-sized brokerages have a higher proportion of cash dividend payout ratios. Hongta Securities leads with a dividend ratio of 81.3%, followed by Southwest Securities and Orient Securities, with dividend ratios far exceeding the industry average.

Fourth, “Shareholder Return Plans” are being released intensively, with many brokerages stabilizing investor expectations through institutionalized measures.

27 brokerages’ dividends total over 40 billion, Guotai Haitong ranks first

From the disclosed 2025 dividend plans, leading brokerages continue to act as the main force in dividend distribution.

Data shows that among the 27 brokerages, 11 have dividend amounts exceeding 1 billion yuan. Guotai Haitong tops the list with a dividend scale of 6.13 billion yuan, followed by CITIC Securities with a proposed cash dividend of 3.61B yuan. These two brokerages alone account for 30.38% of the total dividends paid by the 27 firms.

Guangfa Securities, China Merchants Securities, and Huatai Securities also performed well, with total dividends surpassing 3 billion yuan—39.12 billion, 39.05 billion, and 1.88B yuan respectively. Notably, the top five brokerages by dividend amount all have net profits attributable to shareholders exceeding 10 billion yuan, with their combined dividends accounting for 64.94% of the total dividends of the 27 brokerages.

Beyond the second tier, China Galaxy (2.46 billion yuan), Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (1.69B yuan), Orient Securities (1.36B yuan), East Money (1.58 billion yuan), CITIC Construction Investment (1.69B yuan), and CICC (1.11 billion yuan) also paid dividends exceeding 1 billion yuan. The remaining 16 brokerages paid less than 1 billion yuan.

Regarding dividend yield, as of April 1st, the average dividend yield of 26 A-share listed brokerages was 1.89%, with China Merchants Securities (3.6%), Orient Securities (3.49%), and Guangfa Securities (3.26%) having the highest yields.

19 brokerages’ dividend payout ratios exceed 30%, with smaller brokerages more generous

Since the new “National Nine Articles” was issued in April 2024, explicitly requiring listed companies to increase dividends, brokerages have actively formulated and implemented action plans focused on “improving quality and efficiency to return more.” These include raising dividend levels, strengthening market value management, and optimizing investor relations to enhance investor satisfaction.

Looking at the annual cash dividend payout ratio—a more tangible indicator of sincerity—currently, 19 brokerages have payout ratios exceeding 30%, with 8 brokerages in the 10%-20% range. Smaller and mid-sized brokerages show even stronger dividend intentions, with Hongta, Southwest, Orient, Industrial, and First Capital Securities all exceeding a 40% payout ratio.

Hongta Securities leads with an 81.3% payout ratio, while Southwest Securities also makes a big move, with a 60.05% payout ratio and a total cash dividend of 505 million yuan. Orient Securities ranks third with a payout ratio of 47.91%, with a total annual cash dividend of 1.687 billion yuan. Additionally, Industrial Securities (45.13%) and First Capital Securities (43.47%) rank fourth and fifth. These five brokerages collectively demonstrate a high level of cash return across the industry.

In contrast, some brokerages have relatively low payout ratios. Data shows that Guolian Minsheng, CICC, Cinda Securities, and East Money have payout ratios below 20%, at 16.97%, 15.78%, 14.9%, and 13.08%, respectively.

Enhancing dividend transparency, many brokerages release shareholder return plans

Beyond immediate dividend plans, long-term commitments to shareholder returns have become another focus. Under regulatory encouragement and policy guidance promoting dividends, many brokerages have further incorporated investor returns into their long-term development strategies, clarifying their shareholder return plans for the next three years.

Statistics show that within this year, at least Hongta Securities, East Money Securities, Orient Securities, Southwest Securities, and others have announced related action plans.

On March 19th, East Money Securities announced the “Three-Year (2026–2028) Shareholder Dividend Return Plan,” specifying that, under conditions of profitability and sufficient cash flow, annual cash dividends will not be less than 10% of distributable profits, with differentiated dividend ratios ranging from 20% to 80% depending on development stages.

Hongta Securities clarified that its recent three-year cumulative cash distribution should be no less than 30% of the average annual distributable profits over the same period; Southwest Securities and Orient Securities also explicitly stated that their annual cash distributions will be no less than 30% of their profits for the year.

CITIC Securities stated in its annual report that the company attaches great importance to investor returns and will continue to maintain the continuity and stability of its profit distribution policy. China Merchants Securities also said it will consider factors such as industry characteristics, development stage, operational model, profitability, and major capital expenditure plans to formulate reasonable profit distribution schemes.

Analysts believe that increasing dividend payouts by listed brokerages not only helps improve investor returns and boost market confidence but also reflects the overall profitability and financial robustness of the industry. Against the backdrop of deepening reforms in the capital market, it is expected that more brokerages will join the ranks of multiple dividends per year, bringing richer returns to investors.

(Reporter Chen Junlan, Cailian Press)