On March 20, we published a note detailing actions that TJX was taking to strengthen the firm's financial position in the wake of nationwide store closures. One somewhat surprising component of TJX's plan was to reevaluate its dividend, which the retailer has increased every year since going public in 1987. About a week later, the company filed its annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and made the following remark: ...the Company does not intend to declare a dividend for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 (calendar year 2020), and we continue to evaluate our dividend program in the near term. Nothing is official yet, and a lot could still change between now and the end of April, when [...]

On April 8, Starbucks (SBUX) provided a business update in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  The company's board of directors recently approved Starbucks' next dividend, which will be paid in May, and management confirmed that they do not anticipate reducing the dividend going forward despite temporary store closures: To further enhance our financial flexibility, we have also temporarily suspended our share repurchase program and are taking steps to defer capital expenditures and reduce discretionary spending. We do not expect to reduce our quarterly dividend. Management's confidence in the dividend stems from the belief that business will likely return to normal within several quarters.

On April 8, MSC Industrial (MSM) reported earnings that were better than feared and voiced support for the dividend. Here's what Treasurer John Chironna said on the conference call:  Turning to our ordinary dividend. We have ample liquidity to continue running the business and paying the current level of our dividend in all but the most severe scenarios. We have conducted numerous best and worst-case sensitivity analyses and revenues would have to decline somewhere in the range of 40% to 50% before our operating cash flow turn negative. At these levels, we would take additional cost down actions and could sustain multiple quarters given our liquidity position. As a distributor, MSC can generate a lot of cash in a downturn because it can reduce [...]

On April 7, AT&T (T) provided a brief financial update on its business in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Management reiterated their confidence in AT&T's dividend, issuing the following statement: As it has for the past 36 years, the company looks forward to continuing to pay a quarterly dividend to shareholders. On March 27, the Board of Directors declared a dividend payable on May 1, 2020, to stockholders of record of its common and preferred shares at the close of business on April 9, 2020. AT&T also noted that it had about $12 billion in cash on hand at the end of 2019 and has a $15 billion revolver in place, though it doesn't need or plan to use it in 2020.