The U.S. Market Can Learn From Europe’s ‘Thoughtful’ Payout Cuts

The U.S. Market Can Learn From Europe’s ‘Thoughtful’ Payout Cuts

Market Can Learn From Europe's 'Thoughtful' Payout Cuts. European companies have been quick to slash or cancel their dividends in response to the coronavirus crisis, fueling calls from market participants that U.S. firms should take heed and preserve cash.. "Europe has always been more thoughtful about dividend policy -- in the U.S. a lot of companies treat dividends as sacrosanct, something to never be cut," said Edward Perkin, who oversees $45 billion as chief equity investment officer at Eaton Vance Management in Boston. ". The U.S. may rethink that and try to have more flexibility in dividend policies going forward.". In the U.S., shareholder returns are usually dominated by buybacks , which have exceeded dividends in every quarter since 2010.. "In Europe we haven't had anything like the U.S. buyback activity, you haven't really seen companies issuing debt and buying back shares and levering up..