Fundamental Glossary / Management & Corporate Governance
Corporate Actions
Events that change the securities or the cash attached to them: dividends, splits, bonuses, rights, mergers, and buybacks.
Formula
Announced to the exchanges, with a record date. The depositories then credit shares or cash to the entitled holders.
What it means
A corporate action is any issuer decision that alters the holder's position. The fundamental effect ranges from none, in a split, to large, in a merger or a dilutive issue.
Each action has a record date and, where the price must adjust, an ex-date.
How to read it
Adjust your holding, your cost, and your per-share history when the action settles. Analyse the business effect separately: a bonus does nothing to earning power, a merger does.
What to watch
Missing a rights subscription is the action that quietly dilutes you. Splits and bonuses do not require a cheque. Rights do.
This note explains the term. It is not a research recommendation, a target price, or a comment on any security. Ratios and regulatory thresholds change; use the latest filing or circular for a live figure.