CVS Health
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 191.4% | whyThe figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 31.9% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 43.5% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 159.4 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 29 / 100 — Strained. ? Peer standing 22/50Direction 4/30Stability 3/20
Against its own history: 43.5% this year vs 21.6% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 43.5% |
| 2024-12-31 | 53.3% |
| 2023-12-31 | 30.1% |
| 2022-12-31 | 21.6% |
| 2021-12-31 | 16.7% |
| 2020-12-31 | 19.5% |
43% of the 44 consumer discretionary here pay out more.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $2.66 ÷ diluted EPS $1.39
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $3,397m ÷ operating cash flow $10,639m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $3,397m ÷ (operating cash flow $10,639m − capex $2,832m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-10 · accession 0000064803-26-000010
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take our word for any of it.
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell us — that is more useful to us than agreement.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Who else looks like this
Every figure above is computed from CVS Health’s own filing, and every company here is measured the same way. Screen all of them on any of these twelve measures, or on the rules two investors published — free, and nothing you screen leaves your browser.