Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) stock has started the year well and is up more than 10% since January.

But the bigger item is that Qantas is rewarding shareholders with its first dividend in six years in 2025.

The airline will pay a fully franked interim dividend of 16.5 cents per share alongside a special dividend of 9.9 cents per share, both set for April 16.

How will the stock react after the payment? Let's dive in and see.

Qantas stock rallies as dividends set to resume

Qantas stock shot up after the airline posted its H1 FY25 results last month. In it, the company advised it will resume paying dividends this year.

This follows a $1.4 billion net profit in the first half, marking a full recovery from the pandemic-era losses.

The earnings update and dividend announcement were met with strong investor interest.

Qantas last paid a dividend in 2019, just before the pandemic forced the airline to halt payouts and conserve cash.

It paid a 12 cents interim and 13 cents final dividend, marking a 25 cents per share total payout.

This had grown from 7 cents per share back in 2015, more than a 250% increase over that time.

The airline's newly announced payout trumps even the last figure. In April, investors can expect 26.4 cents per share in total.

The ex-dividend date is March 21, meaning investors need to own Qantas stock before this date to be eligible for the payment. Those buying shares on or after March 21 will miss out on the payout.

How could the Qantas stock price react afterwards?

Once Qantas shares trade ex-dividend on March 21, the stock price will typically adjust downward by the combined dividend amount (26.4 cents per share).

This is standard procedure for the share prices of companies that pay dividends on their ex-dividend dates.

Say a hypothetical stock traded at $1. It would drop to 73.6 cents in this scenario ($1 – 0.265 cents = 0.736 cents).

But this isn't always the case. There's plenty of other factors, like broader market sentiment, travel demand, and Qantas business updates that could influence its stock price.

So even though share prices do drop on their ex-dividend dates, it often doesn't last long if they are in an uptrend. Who knows what will happen here.

The airline has also authorised a $400 million share buyback. This may or may not impact Qantas stock as well.

Foolish takeaway

Qantas stock is set to pay its first dividend to shareholders in six years. Shareholders who own Qantas stock before March 21 will qualify for the April 16 payout.

What the airline's share price will do exactly afterwards, only time will tell. In the last 12 months, Qantas is up more than 94%.