Ferguson Enterprises Inc. /DE/ (FERG) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2025-07-31 · sector Industrials · payout ratios computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 35.2% | The figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 25.6% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 30.5% | What is left after maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 10 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 62 / 100 — Adequate. ? Peer standing 23/50Direction 30/30Stability 9/20
Free cash flow payout, last 4 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 30.5% |
| 2024-07-31 | 52.2% |
| 2023-07-31 | 31.2% |
| 2022-07-31 | 62.6% |
Among the 73 industrials companies here, 47% pay out a larger share on this basis.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $3.28 ÷ diluted EPS $9.32
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $489.0m ÷ operating cash flow $1,908.0m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $489.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $1,908.0m − capex $305.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2025-09-26 · accession
0002011641-25-000027
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 $3.28 filed as paid, but dividends paid imply $2.45 — 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.