DESWELL INDUSTRIES INC (DSWL) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2026-03-31 · sector Materials · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 29.9% | A single year's earnings for a commodity producer can be several times the through-cycle average. This ratio computed in a trough looks alarming and in a peak looks trivial; neither describes whether the dividend is affordable across a cycle. |
| Operating cash flow | 61.4% | Worse than the earnings figure, not better: operating cash flow absorbs working capital — inventory, receivables, payables — that earnings do not. |
| Free cash flow | 67.6% | The most honest single-year figure here, because it nets out the capital spending that commodity producers cut hard in a downturn — which is also why it flatters a trough year. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 38 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 15 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 15/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-31 | 67.6% |
| 2025-03-31 | 24.1% |
| 2024-03-31 | 24.9% |
| 2023-03-31 | 26.1% |
| 2021-03-31 | 104.3% |
| 2020-03-31 | 18.9% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 24.1% to 67.6%, 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 $0.20 ÷ diluted EPS $0.67
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $3.2m ÷ operating cash flow $5.2m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $3.2m ÷ (operating cash flow $5.2m − capex $0.5m)
Where the figures came from
- 20-F filed 2026-07-30 · accession
0002077096-26-000231
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 $0.20 filed as declared, but dividends paid imply $200.23 — 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.