Element Solutions
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 40.5% | whyA single year's earnings for a commodity producer can be several times the through-cycle average. This ratio computed in a trough looks alarming and in a peak looks trivial; neither describes whether the dividend is affordable across a cycle. |
| Operating cash flow | 26.8% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 34.2% | whyNets out the capital spending producers cut in downturns — so it flatters a trough year. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 13.7 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 41 / 100 — Tight. ? Peer standing 26/50Direction 10/30Stability 5/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 34.2% |
| 2024-12-31 | 26.6% |
| 2023-12-31 | 27.6% |
| 2022-12-31 | 31.6% |
| 2021-12-31 | 22.1% |
| 2020-12-31 | 5.0% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 26.6% to 34.2%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
51% of the 47 materials here pay out more.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.320 ÷ diluted EPS $0.790
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $77.8m ÷ operating cash flow $290m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $77.8m ÷ (operating cash flow $290m − capex $62.2m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-18 · accession 0001590714-26-000018
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 Element Solutions’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.