"Divide" topped the charts in over 25 territories across the globe, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.

In April 2018, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named ÷ the best-selling album worldwide of the year.

Comprising 260 shows, it started on 16 March 2017 and ended on 26 August 2019 with the last of four homecoming gigs in Ipswich, Suffolk.

[8] On 13 December 2015, Sheeran announced a self-imposed hiatus from social media, commenting that he found himself "seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes.

Exactly one year after this announcement, on 13 December 2016, Sheeran's various social media platforms posted pictures of a blank blue square to state his imminent return to music.

Sheeran teased the tracks on social media during the week leading up to their release, posting instrumental extracts and each song's opening lyric.

[30][41] Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone gave a four-star review, commenting that "Ed is still showcasing pop savvy on Divide" and going on to say that he "doubles down on the blend of hip-hop bravado and everyday-bloke songwriting that helped him break out at the turn of the decade.

[38] Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press, after commenting on the album's "missteps", said that it "is certain to add listeners, subtract a few weary of his inconsistency, but definitely multiply his bank account", and ultimately called Sheeran "a special talent".

[42] Some reviews were unfavourable; Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian gave the album a two-star rating out of five, calling it "no less calculating than his peers at the very top level of pop stardom".

[36] In a negative review of 2.8 out of 10, Laura Snapes of Pitchfork stated: "considering he [Sheeran] is among the most successful songwriters in the world, a lot of his lyrics do not even scan.

"[39] In another negative review, writing for Drowned in Sound, David Hillier gave ÷ a 3/10 rating, calling it "the most anodyne and bland pop album possible.

[51] It has since topped the UK Albums Chart for a total of 20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest amount of time since Adele's 21 held the summit in 2011 and 2012.

[57] The tracks collectively achieved 134.6 million streams in the United States in the album's first week of availability.

[58] In its second week, it stayed on top of Billboard 200 with 180,000 units (87,000 copies sold),[59] which qualified it for a Gold certification from the RIAA on 22 March 2017.

[64] In Australia, the album opened at number one with a double Platinum certification in its first week, selling 97,014 copies.

[69] He also topped the charts in the Belgian region of Flanders, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden.

[75] It received a diamond certification disc nine months after it was released, due to selling 566,492 units (with streaming).