CHEVRON CORP (CVX) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-12-31 · sector Energy · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 103.2% | Swings with the commodity, not with the business. A payout ratio for a producer says as much about the oil price in that fiscal year as about the dividend. |
| Operating cash flow | 37.6% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 76.9% | The figure the sector itself watches, and the one most producers set distributions against. Check whether any part of the payout is a variable or special dividend before reading a trend into it. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 66 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 22 / 100 — Strained. ? Peer standing 8/50Direction 4/30Stability 10/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 76.9% |
| 2024-12-31 | 78.4% |
| 2023-12-31 | 57.3% |
| 2022-12-31 | 29.1% |
| 2021-12-31 | 48.2% |
| 2019-12-31 | 67.9% |
Among the 32 energy companies here, only 16% pay out a larger share on this basis — this is at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $6.84 ÷ diluted EPS $6.63
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $12,751.0m ÷ operating cash flow $33,939.0m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $12,751.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $33,939.0m − capex $17,347.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-24 · accession
0000093410-26-000078
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.