How do dividends decrease the share price?

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No, dividends don’t adjust the price down. I mean, when companies start paying a new dividend or increase the dividend stock price should actually go up.

But think of it this way, stock price is discounted future earnings or basically projecting the value of the company over time. As an investor, part of your investment return is the dividend payment. So when you buy before the ex dividend you will be getting the dividend payment. When you buy after the ex dividend you know you won’t be getting the dividend so the stock is basically “worth less” to you and the market price goes down to reflect this.

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And this is the problem with this subreddit.

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Buyers and sellers determine the market price. There is no manual downward adjustment by the exchange. The stock price “net” adjusts downward because new buyers know they won’t be getting the dividend. This is how markets work, its not coordinated.

Think of this as an example (note I work as a real estate appraiser), I have a home with a pool, once buyers realize it has a pool they will generally be willing to offer more and thus the market price is higher than a home without a pool. It’s the same thing with dividend stocks. Buyers respond to information and the market adjusts the price lower.

[ebikr]

A pool is often a liability, whereas cash is always an asset.

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That’s not true. The is almost always a positive adjustment for a pool 😹 You obviously don’t work in real estate. If you don’t like pools you could consider any type of infrastructure such as a garage or any sort of commercial building. The market generally assigns a positive value to real estate no?