BALL Corp (BALL) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-12-31 · sector Industrials · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 24.2% | The figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 17.4% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 27.9% | What is left after maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 10 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 35 / 100 — Strained. ? Peer standing 25/50Direction 10/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 27.9% |
| 2023-12-31 | 30.8% |
| 2020-12-31 | 62.1% |
| 2019-12-31 | 19.2% |
| 2018-12-31 | 18.3% |
| 2017-12-31 | 14.0% |
Among the 73 industrials companies here, 51% pay out a larger share on this basis.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.80 ÷ diluted EPS $3.30
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $220.0m ÷ operating cash flow $1,262.0m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $220.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $1,262.0m − capex $474.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-19 · accession
0001104659-26-017410
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take my word for any of it.
Caveats on this company
- ebitda built from net income (no operating income reported)
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell me — that is more useful to me than agreement.