How to receive income from shares?

The income received from shares is called a dividend. We invest in shares to make money – either through a share’s capital growth, i.e. the amount by which the share price increases in value over time, or through the dividends it pays to its shareholders. Dividends are payments made by companies to shareholders from their profits. Not all companies pay dividends. Dividends are usually paid twice a year and are in effect the yield from your investment. Some growth companies plough most of their profits back into generating more business rather than paying out dividends to investors.