WD 40
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 55.3% | 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 | 57.2% | whyAbsorbs working-capital swings that earnings do not. |
| Free cash flow | 60.3% | whyNets out the capital spending producers cut in downturns — so it flatters a trough year. |
5 points between highest and lowest basis.
Coverage rating 47 / 100 — Tight. ? Peer standing 19/50Direction 10/30Stability 18/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-08-31 | 60.3% |
| 2024-08-31 | 53.7% |
| 2023-08-31 | 48.7% |
| 2021-08-31 | 54.9% |
| 2020-08-31 | 67.5% |
| 2019-08-31 | 66.3% |
37% of the 35 materials here pay out more.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $3.70 ÷ diluted EPS $6.69
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $50.3m ÷ operating cash flow $87.9m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $50.3m ÷ (operating cash flow $87.9m − capex $4.53m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2025-10-27 · accession 0000105132-25-000067
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 WD 40’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.