Communications dividend payout ratios
31 companies, computed from their own SEC filings. 15 of them answer differently by 20 points or more depending on which basis you divide by.
What ordinary looks like here
On the basis each company’s own filings make applicable, the median communications company pays out 29.3%. Half sit between 20.0% and 54.9%. Across all 532 companies here the median is 41.9% — 12.6 points less than the site as a whole.
Which basis applies, and to how many
Not a choice — it is what each company’s filings support.
Where the bases disagree most
The same dividend, a different answer. These are the widest gaps in communications.
- Nexstar Media Group (NXST) 222.6 pts
- Uniti Group (UNIT) 87.6 pts
- Qwest (CTGG) 66.3 pts
- Optimum Communications (OPTU) 50.9 pts
- E.W. Scripps (SSP) 49.3 pts
Lowest payout
- Crexendo 3.8%
- IDT 5.2%
- Cable One 6.2%
- Adeia 13.9%
- Gray Media 18.2%
Highest payout
- Entravision Communications 170.9%
- Qwest 149.2%
- Optimum Communications 110.7%
- E.W. Scripps 92.3%
- Sinclair 60.0%
Common questions
What is a good dividend payout ratio for a communications company?
Measured on the basis its own filings support, the median here is 29.3%, with half between 20.0% and 54.9%. That is the empirical answer for this sector rather than a rule of thumb, and it is the only comparison that means anything — a figure that is ordinary in one sector is stretched in another.
Which measure should a communications company be judged on?
25 of the 27 measured here are read on free cash flow, because that is what their filings support. Each company’s page shows every basis it can be measured on and marks the one that applies.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each company’s own annual filing, read out of SEC XBRL. Every page names the accession number its figures came from and links it to EDGAR, so any figure here can be checked against the source.
All 31 companies
What a dividend payout ratio measures, and why one threshold does not fit every sector.
| Ticker | Company | Basis | Yield | Spread | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NXST | Nexstar Media Group | FCF | — | 222.6 | 27 |
| UNIT | Uniti Group | OCF | — | 87.6 | 56 |
| CTGG | Qwest | FCF | — | 66.3 | 0 |
| OPTU | Optimum Communications | FCF | — | 50.9 | 16 |
| SSP | E.W. Scripps | FCF | — | 49.3 | 4 |
| DLX | Deluxe | FCF | — | 46.3 | 31 |
| IRDM | Iridium Communications | FCF | — | 39.3 | 56 |
| VZ | Verizon Communications | FCF | — | 36.4 | 42 |
| TDS | Telephone & Data Systems | FCF | — | 29.1 | 16 |
| ACCO | ACCO Brands | FCF | — | 28.9 | 13 |
| SIRI | Sirius XM Holdings | FCF | — | 26.6 | 29 |
| TMUS | T-Mobile US | FCF | — | 24.4 | 35 |
| ATNI | ATN International | FCF | — | 24.0 | 50 |
| SBGI | Sinclair | FCF | — | 23.5 | 6 |
| T | AT&T | FCF | — | 21.8 | 60 |
| NWSA | News | FCF | — | 19.0 | 59 |
| NYT | New York Times | FCF | — | 15.6 | 55 |
| CMCSA | Comcast | FCF | — | 9.9 | 75 |
| PSKY | Paramount Skydance | FCF | — | 9.9 | 64 |
| IOTR | iOThree | FCF | — | 6.9 | 42 |
| GTN | Gray Media | FCF | — | 6.8 | 50 |
| ADEA | Adeia | FCF | — | 6.4 | 65 |
| FOXA | Fox | FCF | — | 5.0 | 69 |
| CABO | Cable One | FCF | — | 3.1 | 83 |
| IDT | IDT | FCF | — | 2.9 | 76 |
| CXDO | Crexendo | FCF | — | 0.1 | 73 |
| CCOI | Cogent Communications Holdings | — | — | — | 16 |
| EVC | Entravision Communications | OCF | — | — | 0 |
| NUVR | Nuvera Communications | — | — | — | 0 |
| SHEN | Shenandoah Telecommunications | — | — | — | 69 |
| SIDU | Sidus Space | — | — | — | — |