More shares, same pie

A stock dividend distributes more shares instead of cash. A small one is valued at market price: that value leaves retained earnings and lands in par value plus paid-in capital in excess of par — nothing leaves the corporation, and total equity is unchanged.

A stock split is different again: it changes only share count and par value per share, in inverse proportion, with no journal entry at all. A 2-for-1 split doubles shares and halves par, and every dollar figure on the books stays exactly where it was.