Do Meta RSUs pay dividends?

Dividends on unvested RSUs

Meta paid no dividend for nearly twelve years after its 2012 IPO; the first one was declared on February 1, 2024, at $0.50 a share, with a record date of February 22 and payment on March 26, 2024, alongside a $50 billion increase in the repurchase authorization.[9] The rate rose 5% to $0.525 beginning in the first quarter of 2025 and has stayed there.[1][8]

On shares you own

$0.525 per share of Class A and Class B common stock each quarter, paid in cash like any other holder. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, dividends and dividend equivalents together came to $1.17 billion on Class A and $180 million on Class B.[8]

On unvested RSUs

A dividend equivalent accrues for every dividend with a record date between your grant date and distribution, and it carries the same vesting conditions as the RSU it attaches to.[2]

When it is paid

In cash, no later than 60 days after the vesting date of the RSU it rides on — or in shares, but only if the committee approves that. It earns no interest while it waits.[2]

If you leave first

Nothing. The agreement is explicit: no dividend equivalent is paid on RSUs that are forfeited, and unvested RSUs are forfeited on termination for any reason.[2]

Before settlement

You have no stockholder rights at all on an unvested RSU — no vote, no dividend on the underlying shares. The dividend equivalent is a contractual accrual, not ownership.[2]

The dividend record

Dividend table from the 2025 Form 10-K; the 2026 rate from the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Dividend-equivalent payments on equity awards were not material in 2024 or 2025 and are excluded from that table. A dividend is declared by the board each quarter, not guaranteed.[1][8][9]

How it shows up at tax time

Not as a dividend, in most cases. The cash on an unvested RSU is paid under the award agreement, settled with the vest it attaches to, not as a dividend on stock you own.[2] Compensation is taxable when you receive it, so the practical step is to look at the paystub for the vest period and see how Meta reported the amount before you assume qualified-dividend treatment on your return.[11] Dividends on shares you already own are a different thing entirely: those arrive from the transfer agent and appear on a 1099-DIV.