O Payout Ratio: current value, 10-year range and year-by-year history
Cash & Leverage
Payout Ratio History
O Payout Ratio by year
Yearly range of O’s payout ratio from 2016 to 2026. Over the full period it ranged from 72.1% to 150.3%, averaging 84.1%.
| Year | Low | Average | High | Year-end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78.1% | 114.2% | 150.3% | 150.3% |
| 2025 | 74.4% | 78.0% | 80.0% | 79.0% |
| 2024 | 73.1% | 78.6% | 87.2% | 73.1% |
| 2023 | 73.5% | 76.1% | 78.3% | 76.9% |
| 2022 | 76.5% | 89.3% | 109.3% | 76.5% |
| 2021 | 84.7% | 97.2% | 125.9% | 125.9% |
| 2020 | 81.5% | 84.0% | 87.7% | 87.7% |
| 2019 | 83.0% | 84.0% | 86.2% | 83.0% |
| 2018 | 82.0% | 82.7% | 83.9% | 82.0% |
| 2017 | 72.1% | 76.3% | 79.5% | 79.1% |
| 2016 | 74.7% | 75.5% | 76.3% | 76.3% |
Get notified when O Payout Ratio crosses a threshold
Free — one alert setup, notifications by push, Telegram, or Discord.
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.
TTM Dividends Per Share / (TTM FCF ÷ Shares) × 100%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.
- 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.
Unlock 10y, 15y, 20y, and 30y history with peer comparison and CSV export.