For every 25 shares of CMCSA held at the close of business on 2025-12-15, shareholders received 1 share of VSNT plus cash in lieu of any fractional shares after market close on 2026-01-02. The Royal Dividends portfolio received 4 shares and no cash1. Using a market order set up before market open, my shares sold for $45.17 per share. The $180.68 in proceeds will be treated as dividend income received from CMCSA for performance purposes.
Royal Dividends sold its four shares because VSNT does not meet the criteria for remaining in the Portfolio for the Ages. Even if it inherited CMCSA’s dividend streak and promised to continue with its own dividend2, the small position size would have created a position imbalance whereby it would have been the only position eligible for additional investment for several months – yet never actually ranking in the weekly Top Ten.
That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with holding on to your shares of VSNT because you like its prospects for growth. After all, a spin‑off creates the conditions for a business to flourish by giving it focused leadership, independent capital allocation, and the freedom to pursue its own strategy without competing against the parent’s priorities.
With VSNT trading independently, CMCSA can focus its capital, management attention, and strategic energy on its core connectivity and content businesses, improving clarity, efficiency, and long‑term execution.
Only time will tell if CMCSA continues to thrive from here and whether they continue to increase their dividend.
- Royal Dividends held 72 shares of CMCSA prior to the 2025‑12‑15 record date and purchased 10 additional shares on 2025‑12‑15. Those 10 shares did not settle in time to qualify for the spin‑off. Later, on 2025‑12‑29, the portfolio acquired 18 more shares in order to sell a covered call.
Had that call contract not been sold, the Portfolio for the Ages would have been entitled to 2 shares of VSNT (based on the 72 eligible CMCSA shares) plus an estimated $35.20 in cash for the fractional remainder. However, because Schwab must follow the Options Clearing Corporation’s adjustment notice, the broker delivered 4 shares of VSNT instead — the amount specified in the newly adjusted deliverable for the 100 CMCSA shares represented by the call contract.
↩︎ - A 172-page pdf detailing the spin-off stated the dividend policy for VSNT going forward:
While we expect to have the capacity to return capital to our shareholders following the Separation, the declaration and amount of any dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, cash flows, capital requirements of our business, covenants associated with our debt obligations, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice and any other factors our Board deems relevant. In addition, our ability to pay cash dividends on our capital stock may be limited by the terms of our existing and future debt or preferred securities we issue or any credit facilities we enter into.
In other words, don’t hold your breath waiting for a dividend.
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