DOW INC. (DOW) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-12-31 · sector Materials · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | The company lost $3.70 per share, so there are no earnings to pay a dividend out of and no ratio exists. |
| Operating cash flow | 144.4% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | negative | Operating cash flow was $1,447m 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. The basis that governs here is free cash flow, and this year it yields no ratio at all. The figure above is shown for completeness; treating it as the answer is the substitution this page exists to prevent.
Coverage rating 15 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 15/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2023-12-31 | 69.4% |
| 2022-12-31 | 35.5% |
| 2021-12-31 | 37.6% |
| 2020-12-31 | 41.6% |
| 2019-12-31 | 39.1% |
| 2018-12-31 | 171.6% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 35.5% to 69.4%, 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 36 materials companies here, 31% pay out a larger share on this basis.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $2.10 ÷ diluted EPS $-3.70
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $1,490.0m ÷ operating cash flow $1,032.0m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $1,490.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $1,032.0m − capex $2,479.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-03 · accession
0001751788-26-000018
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: declared $2.10 and paid $0.70 disagree; dividends paid imply $2.09, so declared 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.