Capital One Financial CorporationCOF

Where COF's Payout Ratio sits inside its own 10-year distribution, with the yearly high, low and average.

$207.11-3.75 (-1.78%)Previous close
NYSEFinancial Services

COF Payout Ratio: current value, 10-year range and year-by-year history

Payout Ratio History

Historically priceyAbove avgAround avgBelow avgHistorically cheap
COF Payout Ratio historyCOF Payout Ratio from Sep 2023 to Jun 2026: low 4.11%, high 7.36%, latest 5.79%.3.85%4.79%5.74%6.68%7.62%Sep 23Mar 24Sep 24Jun 25Dec 25Jun 26med 4.98%

COF Payout Ratio by year

Yearly range of COF’s payout ratio from 2016 to 2026. Over the full period it ranged from 2.9% to 13.5%, averaging 6.2%.

COF Payout Ratio — yearly low, average, high and year-end values
YearLowAverageHighYear-end
20265.8%5.9%6.0%5.8%
20255.0%6.2%7.4%5.9%
20244.1%4.6%5.4%5.4%
20234.5%5.1%5.8%4.7%
20227.2%10.5%13.5%7.2%
20213.6%6.2%9.5%9.5%
20202.9%4.0%4.6%2.9%
20194.7%4.8%4.9%4.7%
20186.2%6.5%6.8%6.2%
20175.9%6.9%7.8%5.9%
20167.1%7.4%7.8%7.1%

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What fraction of free cash flow is paid out as dividends. More reliable than the earnings-based payout ratio because cash is harder to manipulate through accounting choices. Low ratio = room to grow the dividend and absorb an earnings dip. High ratio = dividend is consuming most of the cash generated.

FormulaTTM Dividends Per Share / (TTM FCF ÷ Shares) × 100%
Full guide
How to read this chart

A steadily rising FCF payout ratio warrants scrutiny only if FCF itself is flat or falling — that means the company is paying out a larger slice of shrinking cash. A high but stable ratio in a capital-light business (e.g. consumer staples) can be perfectly sustainable.

Key caveats
  • FCF can be lumpy: large one-off capex or working-capital swings distort a single year. Look at the multi-year trend rather than any single data point.
  • Utilities and REITs naturally sustain 60–90% FCF payout ratios; industrials and tech companies typically run 20–50%. Always compare to sector context.
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