Corporate Actions Matrix

Dividends — Cash a company pays shareholders out of its profits. To receive one, you must hold the shares before the ex-dividend date. In India, dividends are taxable at your income-tax slab rate.

Bonus Issues — Free additional shares given to existing shareholders in a fixed ratio (e.g. 1:1 = one free share for every share held). Your share count goes up, but your total investment value stays the same because the price adjusts proportionally.

Stock Splits — The company divides existing shares into smaller units (e.g. a 1:5 split turns one ₹100 face-value share into five ₹20 shares). This makes the stock more affordable and improves liquidity without changing the company's market capitalisation.

Rights Issues — Existing shareholders get the right to buy additional shares at a discount before they're offered publicly. You can subscribe, renounce (sell your rights), or let them lapse.

Buybacks — The company repurchases its own shares from shareholders, usually at a premium to the market price. Buybacks cut the total shares outstanding and can signal management's confidence in the company's value.