COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP /DE/ (CMTL) — the dividend is covered by nothing
Fiscal year ending 2025-07-31 · sector Technology · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | The company lost $6.95 per share, so there are no earnings to pay a dividend out of and no ratio exists. |
| Operating cash flow | negative | Operations consumed $8.3m of cash rather than producing any, so no ratio exists. |
| Free cash flow | negative | Operating cash flow was $16.9m short of capital spending, so no ratio exists. The dividend was not funded from free cash flow this year. |
Nothing is marked as applying, deliberately — no basis produces a ratio. Earnings, operating cash flow and free cash flow are all negative, so there is no denominator to divide the dividend by. That is not a gap in the data; it is the answer. The dividend was funded from something other than the money the business made this year — borrowing, cash on hand, or asset sales — and the filing will say which.
Coverage rating 62 / 100 — Adequate. ? Peer standing 32/50Direction 30/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2020-07-31 | 22.0% |
| 2019-07-31 | 16.5% |
| 2018-07-31 | 22.9% |
| 2017-07-31 | 32.1% |
| 2016-07-31 | 206.3% |
| 2015-07-31 | 105.8% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 16.5% to 22.0%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
Among the 42 technology companies here, 64% pay out a larger share on this basis.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.01 ÷ diluted EPS $-6.95
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $0.2m ÷ operating cash flow $-8.3m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $0.2m ÷ (operating cash flow $-8.3m − capex $8.6m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2025-11-10 · accession
0000023197-25-000080
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 derived from dividends paid ($0.01); no per-share tag filed
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.