A breakdown of 2023 special dividend

Verified Figures & Timeline (November 2023)

• Total Dividend Paid: €184.4 million (~$198 million USD).
• Dividend Per Share: €0.529228 (~$0.563 USD per ordinary share).
• Total Shares Outstanding: ~348.5 million shares (comprising ~110.9M Class A shares and ~237.5M Class B shares, predominantly held by Expedia Group).

Stage A: Pre-Dividend (Cum-Dividend, prior to Nov 14, 2023)

• Ratio: 1 ADS = 1 share.
• Share Price: Trading between $1.10 and $1.20 (approx. €1.02 to €1.11).
• Pre-Dividend Market Cap: 348.5M shares×$1.15≈$400 million (approx. €370 million)
• Dividend Yield (Pre-dividend): $1.15$0.563​≈49% (approx. 50% of the company’s entire market cap)

Stage B: Ex-Dividend (Nov 14 – Nov 16, 2023)

• Under Nasdaq "due-bill" rules for large distributions (>25% of market price), TRVG went ex-dividend on November 14, 2023 (the trading day following the Nov 13 ADS payment date).
• The ADS dropped by the ~$0.56 distribution amount, adjusting down to roughly $0.55 to $0.60.
• Post-Dividend Market Cap: 348.5M shares×$0.55≈$191 million (approx. €177 million)

Stage C: The Ratio Change (November 17, 2023)

• Because the ex-dividend share price fell well below Nasdaq’s $1.00 minimum bid requirement, trivago executed the 1-for-5 ADS ratio consolidation.
• The number of ADS equivalents dropped from ~348.5M to ~69.7M.
• The quoted ADS price adjusted by 5x from ~$0.55 to $2.745.
• The market cap remained unchanged: 69.7M ADSs×$2.745≈$191 million

Fact-Check Comparison

Did the Dividend Exceed the Market Cap?

• Pre-dividend: The total dividend of €184.4M ($198M) was roughly 50% of trivago's pre-dividend market capitalization ($400M).
• Post-dividend: Payout of the €184.4M in cash reduced the company's remaining equity value down to ~$190 million (€177 million).
• At that point, the cash returned to shareholders was essentially equal to 100% of the remaining firm value.

The figure of ~$177M to $190M was indeed trivago's actual post-dividend market capitalization.