The Austrian Traded Index (ATX) is being celebrated by investors with new record highs in its 35th anniversary year. On 13 May 1991, Austria’s benchmark index made its public debut and flickered across TV screens for the first time. Thirty-five years later, the ATX is an internationally established benchmark reflecting the long-term success of the 20 largest and most traded Austrian companies on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Investors who have continuously invested in the ATX since 1991 can now look back on an almost fifteenfold increase in their capital (average annual return incl. dividends: 7.95%). The importance of dividend distributions on the Austrian stock market is particularly evident in the long-term comparison: while the performance index (Total Return) already surpassed its 2007 high around five years ago and has continued to reach new record highs since, the price index only achieved this milestone at the end of last year.
"Thirty-five years of ATX impressively reflect the strong performance of the Austrian stock market. Looking at pure price performance, however, only tells half the story, as dividend payments are not taken into account. On the Austrian stock market, dividends are not a footnote, but a main chapter. Anyone who ignores them systematically underestimates Austrian stocks," says Christoph Boschan, CEO of Wiener Börse AG.
By international comparison, Austria is considered a high-dividend market. According to Bloomberg estimates, the average dividend yield in the ATX is expected to stand at around 4% in 2026, despite the strong price gains seen in the recent past. This is more than three times the level of the S&P 500, more than double the MSCI World dividend yield and more than one third higher than the DAX.
