Atmos Energy dividend: cash flow and outlook
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Atmos Energy pays $4.00 a year per share, with the board maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share. Atmos Energy's accounting earnings cover the dividend, but its negative free cash flow means construction depends on debt and equity funding.
How much does Atmos Energy pay per share?
The model is producing accounting growth. Diluted earnings per share rose from $6.83 in fiscal 2024 to $7.46 in fiscal 2025. On August 5, 2026, the board maintained a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share. That equals $4.00 annually, so the cash commitment grows alongside the construction program.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 7.46 | 6.83 | 6.10 | 5.60 | 5.12 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 3.45 | 3.23 | 2.96 | 2.72 | 2.49 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
How much would Atmos Energy's dividend pay you?
$10,000 invested in Atmos Energy at its 2.4% dividend yield (our report of October 21, 2026) pays $240.00 in the first year, before tax. If its dividend per share keeps changing 8.5% a year, as it did from Sep 2021 to Sep 2025, and the dividends are reinvested, year 10 pays $675.19, with $4,182.58 received in all.
Before tax. Past dividend growth is not a promise. Information only, not investment advice.
Is Atmos Energy's dividend covered by its cash?
The 2025 gap was large. Free cash flow was -1,511,943 US$ thousands, while dividends consumed 553,761 US$ thousands. Together, payouts exceeded free cash flow by 2,065,704 US$ thousands. Atmos sold 713,739 US$ thousands of new shares and issued 1,143,447 US$ thousands of debt. Net debt rose from 7,213,934 US$ thousands at September 2021 to 8,793,260 US$ thousands at September 2025.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | -1,511,943 | -1,203,378 | 653,770 | -1,466,836 | -3,053,791 |
| − Dividends paid | 553,761 | 492,950 | 430,345 | 375,914 | 323,904 |
| − Share buybacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 223,425 | ||||
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 2,065,704 | 1,696,328 | 1,842,750 | 3,377,695 |
What this means. The company paid shareholders even when it did not generate enough free cash, so it had to use savings or borrow more.
What could change Atmos Energy's dividend?
Management guides to FY2026 diluted EPS of US$8.40–US$8.50 and capital spending of US$4,200 million. It indicates an annual dividend of US$4.00. For FY2027–2030, it targets annual EPS and dividend-per-share growth of 6%–8%. It also expects 90% of annual capital spending to begin earning within six months.
Dividends begin from the $4.00 annualized payment, which the board maintained in August 2026. The base path reaches $4.85 by October 2029 using management’s 6%–8% target, while the bear case reaches $4.36 on slower growth and the bull case reaches $5.08 on stronger execution. The history of uninterrupted increases and delivered indicated dividends supports growth rather than a cut.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 1,655 (1,513 / 1,678) | 1,823 (1,682 / 1,862) | 2,005 (1,867 / 2,068) |
| Shares (millions) | 176 (178 / 176) | 182 (186 / 180) | 187 (194 / 184) |
| Dividends per share | 4.24 (4.12 / 4.32) | 4.53 (4.24 / 4.69) | 4.85 (4.36 / 5.08) |
| Price to earnings | 18.00 (18.10 / 19.50) | 18.00 (16.50 / 20.00) | 18.00 (15.50 / 20.50) |
What is Atmos Energy's dividend yield against its price?
P/E means share price divided by annual earnings per share; forward P/E uses estimated future earnings. Atmos trades at 19.9x recent earnings and 18.5x expected earnings. Those multiples imply about $8.40 of recent earnings per share and $9.03 of expected earnings per share. Paying $20 for a shop that earns $1 can be sensible if profits are dependable, but risky if the shop must borrow heavily to expand.