Blackstone Inc. (BX) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-12-31 · sector Financial services · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 121.2% | The figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 129.0% | Worse than the earnings figure, not better: operating cash flow absorbs working capital — inventory, receivables, payables — that earnings do not. |
| Free cash flow | 132.2% | What is left after maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 11 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 30 / 100 — Strained. ? Peer standing 6/50Direction 4/30Stability 20/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 132.2% |
| 2024-12-31 | 129.4% |
| 2023-12-31 | 111.4% |
| 2022-12-31 | 106.9% |
| 2021-12-31 | 117.4% |
| 2020-12-31 | 130.8% |
Coverage has deteriorated three years running — 106.9% to 132.2% — and the dividend now exceeds what the basis that applies can fund.
Among the 24 financial services companies here, only 12% pay out a larger share on this basis — this is at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $4.69 ÷ diluted EPS $3.87
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $6,013.4m ÷ operating cash flow $4,663.2m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $6,013.4m ÷ (operating cash flow $4,663.2m − capex $115.7m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-27 · accession
0001193125-26-082531
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
- DPS $4.69 filed as declared, but dividends paid imply $7.71 — one of the two underlying facts is wrong. The filed per-share figure is used.
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.