Air Liquide dividend
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Air Liquide's base-case dividend per share rises from €3.62 to €4.22. Air Liquide generated €2.2 billion of free cash flow in 2025, and shareholder distributions used 88.3% of it.
How much does Air Liquide pay per share?
Base DPS rises from €3.62 to €4.22. Bear stays at €3.35, while bull reaches €4.70. The base uses 8% annual growth, below the recent 11.6% growth rate and management’s 10% recurring-EPS ambition. Bear gives priority to debt and investment; bull assumes profits and cash conversion support faster distributions.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares (millions) | 628 (633 / 627) | 681 (697 / 679) | 681 (698 / 679) |
| Dividends per share | 3.62 (3.35 / 3.75) | 3.91 (3.35 / 4.20) | 4.22 (3.35 / 4.70) |
| Net debt | 15,615 (15,490 / 15,820) | 17,725 (16,790 / 17,610) | 17,925 (16,980 / 17,320) |
Is Air Liquide's dividend covered by its cash?
Free cash flow is the cash left after running the business and paying for that investment. Dividends and buybacks then compete with debt reduction and new projects. Shareholder distributions absorbed 88.3% of free cash flow in 2025, compared with 61.4% in 2021. That rising share means future investment must produce strong cash flow or require more borrowing or new equity.
Gas plants require spending before they produce revenue, and existing plants, cylinders and safety systems also need maintenance. In 2025, operations generated €6.5 billion, while capital spending consumed €3.8 billion. After leases and interest, free cash flow was €2.2 billion, only slightly above its 2021 level despite higher earnings.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 2,214.3 | 2,294.5 | 2,367.2 | 2,018.4 | 2,174.6 |
| − Dividends paid | 1,955.0 | 1,718.1 | 1,581.2 | 1,410.5 | 1,334.8 |
| − Share buybacks | 0 | 132.9 | 18.1 | 158.8 | 0 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 161.1 | 353.2 | 682.5 | 372.8 | 756.9 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 88.3% | 80.7% | 67.6% | 77.7% | 61.4% |
What this means. The company's own net debt is higher because it includes some obligations that our count leaves out, such as amounts owed to minority owners and lease payments.
What could change Air Liquide's dividend?
Air Liquide can deliver moderate gains through October 2029 if project ramp-ups, cash conversion and capital returns support growth without weakening returns. Management targets a 100-basis-point operating-margin improvement in 2026, excluding energy and DIG Airgas acquisition accounting, and another 100 basis points in 2027, excluding energy. BEYOND targets average recurring EPS growth of 10% and sales growth of 5% through 2030, recurring ROCE above 11% in 2030, and a €4 billion buyback in 2027–2028.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group OIR Margin (%) | 20.7% | 19.9% | 18.4% | 16.2% | 17.8% |
| Return on Capital Employed after tax – ROCE (%) | 10.7% | 10.3% | 9.8% | 9.1% | 9.3% |
| Efficiencies | 631 | 497 | 466 | 378 | 430 |
| Investment backlog | 4,900.0 | 4,200.0 | 4,400.0 | 3,500.0 | 3,200.0 |
What this means. The revenue growth percentages are adjusted figures that leave out changes in currency, energy costs, and major business purchases or sales, so they may differ from the actual reported growth.
What is Air Liquide's dividend yield today?
Comparable sales grew 2.0% in 2025 even as reported revenue fell 0.4%; operating margin rose from 14.3% in 2022 to 19.6% in 2025. The memo’s calculated real free cash flow margin was 8.0% in 2025. Diluted EPS rose from €4.05 in 2021 to €5.51 in 2025. Real free cash flow per share moved from €3.35 in 2021 to €3.37 in 2025. The immediate cash return is a 2.0% free cash flow yield and a 1.9% dividend yield.