Liberty Energy Inc. (LBRT) — 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 | 37.1% | 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 | 8.9% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 386.2% | 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: 377 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 0 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 0/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 386.2% |
| 2024-12-31 | 27.1% |
| 2023-12-31 | 9.2% |
| 2022-12-31 | 11.7% |
| 2019-12-31 | 22.4% |
| 2018-12-31 | 7.5% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 27.1% to 386.2%, 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 32 energy companies here, only 0% pay out a larger share on this basis — this is at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.33 ÷ diluted EPS $0.89
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $54.5m ÷ operating cash flow $609.6m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $54.5m ÷ (operating cash flow $609.6m − capex $595.5m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-02 · accession
0001694028-26-000006
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.
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.