RPM INTERNATIONAL INC/DE/ (RPM) — payout ratio, three ways
Fiscal year ending 2026-05-31 · sector Materials · computed from SEC filings, not taken from a data vendor.
| Basis | Payout | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 41.2% | A 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 | 30.2% | Before capital spending, so it understates the payout that free cash flow shows. |
| Free cash flow | 40.2% | The most honest single-year figure here, because it nets out the capital spending that commodity producers cut hard in a downturn — which is also why it flatters a trough year. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 11 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $2.13 ÷ diluted EPS $5.17
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $271.7m ÷ operating cash flow $898.7m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $271.7m ÷ (operating cash flow $898.7m − capex $223.5m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-07-22 · accession
0001193125-26-312142
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take my word for any of it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS derived from dividends paid ($2.13); no per-share tag filed
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell me — that is more useful to me than agreement.