FTSE 100 ex-dividend dates: July 2026

Ex-dividend opportunities will be limited in July as only a handful of FTSE 100 stocks including Next (LSE:NXT) and Games Workshop Group (LSE:GAW) are due to trade without the value of their latest payments.

Seven companies representing some 6.5% of the index by weight are scheduled to be marked ex-dividend, which is about a third of the level seen in the previous two months.

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The most significant of them is the income stock British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS), whose £100 billion market capitalisation means it accounts for about 3.8% of the blue-chip benchmark.

Investors not on BAT’s ownership register prior to the Thursday 9 July cut-off point will miss out on the second-quarter dividend of 61.26p due for payment on 14 August.

The shares opened on Tuesday at 4,717p, meaning a potential negative impact of about 1.3% when shares begin trading without the dividend entitlement.

Many investors use ex-dividend dates of companies to time their dealings, including those seeking income who might wish to buy shares before the cut-off point.

Someone who is looking to buy but is interested in a capital gain rather than income, might wait until the ex-div date to buy the shares, especially if a larger dividend is being paid.

There may also be reasons that an investor would rather not receive income, perhaps for tax purposes. In this case, they might sell ahead of the ex-dividend date.

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Remember, though, that markets can be volatile, and timing your entry into a stock based on certain dates in the diary carries a risk that the share price moves against you.

The busiest date for ex-dividends in July is Thursday of this week as Next, Games Workshop, JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) and F&C Investment Trust Ord (LSE:FCIT) are in the calendar.

Next’s annual award of 181p a share on 3 August will have the biggest dividend impact at about 1.2%, followed by the sportswear retailer’s full-year distribution of 0.87p a share at 1%.

Games Workshop is due to hand over 90p a share on 7 August, up from the 85p seen at the same stage of the last financial year.

As the company only makes payments out of “truly surplus capital”, the quarterly move provided investors with a positive insight into trading at the start of the 2026-27 financial year.

Shares were 20,340p on the eve of the announcement but have since rallied to 21,920p, with the impact of ex-dividend day set to be in the region of 0.4%.

The stock facing the biggest ex-dividend impact is SSE (LSE:SSE), with the cut-off date for the award of 47.3p a share paid on 17 September set to mean a 1.9% hit based on Tuesday’s price of 2,459p. The shares are marked ex-dividend on 23 July.

Source: ShareScope, London Stock Exchange as at 30 June 2026. Indicative index weights as at closing on 31 March 2026.