
 Originally Posted by 
LoriTurner
					
				 
				Which one is true?
Dividends generally:
1)   are more stable than earnings
2)   fluctuate more than earnings
3)   are guaranteed by the SEC
4)   are paid as a fixed percentage of earnings
Any and all help with this problem will be appreciated.
			
		 
	 
 You have all made some good points.
Word questions suck.
It is not number 3 though.  The SEC is the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  They do not guarantee that you will get a dividend from a company.  Each company makes their own decision as to whether to pay dividends.
It is not number 4.  Dividends are never paid in percentage of earnings, but rather, $1/share, or so forth.
I would say the answer is number 1 – dividends are more stable than earnings.
If a company makes profit of $4,000,000 in 2005 and let’s say they give a $2 dividend per share.
If in 2006 they have profits of only $1,000,000, they still might give the $2 dividend.  
If they were to lower their dividend, their stock price would take a big hit.  So typically, when a company pays dividends, they usually do not lower them if they don’t really have to.