S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) communications share Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) just fell off a cliff.
Nine Entertainment shares fell 36% from yesterday's closing value of $1.70 to an intraday low of $1.09 shortly after the market open.
The ASX 200 communications share has since rebounded a little to be trading at $1.14, down 33% at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, the benchmark ASX 200 is down 0.25% to 8,808.3 points.
The media stock is the biggest faller of the ASX 200 today by far.
So, what on Earth is going on with Nine Entertainment shares?
Why did this ASX 200 communications share just fall off a cliff?
Nine Entertainment's monster dividend is to blame.
Today, the ASX 200 communications share went ex-dividend.
That means it's no longer trading with the next dividend entitlement attached.
So, it's worth less to buyers today than it was yesterday.
In fact, it's worth a lot less given the dividend is a cracker at 53 cents per share.
That equates to just under a third of the stock's closing value yesterday.
Hence, the dramatic fall today.
There is no price-sensitive news out of Nine Entertainment this morning.
Nine Entertainment is one of more than 35 ASX shares going ex-dividend this week.
Here are some more details on the Nine Entertainment dividend.
Why was the Nine Entertainment dividend so high?
During earnings season last month, Nine Entertainment reported a 2% boost to revenue at $2.68 billion for FY25.
However, operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 6% to $486.1 million.
Net profit after tax (NPAT) fell 10% to $194.4 million.
Fully diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 10.5 cents, down 10% on FY24.
Nine Entertainment declared a final dividend of 4 cents per share, fully franked.
But here's the kicker.
The company also declared a special dividend of 49 cents per share due to its divestment of the Domain property advertising business.
Nine will pocket $1.4 billion in cash proceeds from the sale of its 60% stake in Domain.
In FY25, Domain generated $413.3 million in revenue and contributed $146 million to Nine Entertainment's group EBITDA.
Investors loved the dividend news, with the ASX 200 communications share rising 7.6% on the day of the report.
The stock reached a new 52-week high of $1.90 that day.
Nine Entertainment shares will pay the dividend on 26 September.
ASX 200 communications share snapshot
The Nine Entertainment share price has fallen 8% over the past 12 months.
