Shell, Unilever and GSK are due to hit the ex-dividend date on 12 November, giving income investors a hard deadline on when to own the shares if they want the latest payout. Graeme Evans set out the November 2026 cut-off points in a dated market calendar, alongside earlier dates for Ashmore Group and ME Group International.
5 November is the first key cut-off in the calendar, with Ashmore Group and ME Group International due to be marked ex-dividend then. Ashmore Group carries a stated yield of 7.6% and is due to distribute an unchanged full-year dividend of 12.1p a share on 7 December, while ME Group International has a stated yield of 6.8% and is due to pay 3.6p a share on 27 November.
12 November brings the heavier concentration of names: Shell, Unilever and GSK all go ex-dividend on the same day, while Sainsbury (J) also has a 12 November cut-off point. Shell’s third-quarter distribution is 39.06 US cents, or 29.3p a share, with payment on 21 December; Unilever declared 39.07p a share in quarterly results on Wednesday; and GSK declared 17p a share in quarterly results on Wednesday. Sainsbury (J) recently said it intends to pay a half-year dividend of 4.1p a share on 18 December.
National Grid on 19 November
19 November is already set for National Grid’s ex-dividend date, and the utility is due to announce half-year results on 5 November. National Grid and Severn Trent stand out in the calendar because their dividends are described as protected in real terms, benchmarked against the increase in average annual CPI inflation plus housing costs through CPIH, the consumer price measure that includes housing costs.
That structure matters for timing. Buying before the cut-off can secure the dividend, but the share price can also adjust when the stock starts trading without that right, so the trade is not just about collecting income. For investors comparing several FTSE names at once, the question is not only whether the dividend lands on 7 December, 18 December or 21 December, but whether the expected ex-dividend move leaves enough value after the price adjustment.
Which of the listed stocks offers the best value after the ex-dividend drop is the unresolved part of the calendar, and that is where the numbers matter most. The dates are fixed; the best entry point is not.
