Carrier dividend: cash coverage and yield
Carrier pays a current annualized dividend of $0.96 per share. In the first half of 2026, Carrier generated $795 million of free cash flow and paid $400 million in common dividends, so cash covered the dividend in that period.
How much does Carrier pay per share over time?
Free cash flow is operating cash after capital spending. It can fund dividends, debt repayment, buybacks or acquisitions, so it is not automatically cash for shareholders. In the first half of 2026, Carrier generated $795 million of free cash flow. It paid $400 million in common dividends.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend per share | 0.68 | 0.80 | 0.75 | 0.64 | 0.51 |
What this means. The dividend per share is the amount declared for each share, not necessarily the amount paid that year, and the figures are rounded to two decimals.
Where does Carrier’s free cash flow go?
Investment also matters. Carrier’s research and development spending was $625 million in 2025, down from $686 million in 2024. In the first half of 2026, free cash flow was $795 million, while buybacks and dividends together exceeded it. That can be sensible after asset sales, but it cannot continue indefinitely without more borrowing or less investment.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − Dividends paid | 772 | 670 | 620 | 509 | 417 |
| − Share buybacks | 2,892 | 1,944 | 62 | 1,380 | 527 |
| Paid to shareholders | 3,664 | 2,614 | 682 | 1,889 | 944 |
What this means. The share buyback figures exclude cash used to cover employees’ taxes on stock awards, so they are not every cash payment connected with shares.
What could change Carrier’s dividend?
The base dividend rises from $1.00 to $1.08 per share. The bear case holds it at $0.96, the current annualized payout, while the bull case reaches $1.28. The base assumes modest increases because Carrier expects to continue quarterly payments, but debt, investment and claims limit the pace.
Carrier says its priorities are organic investment, acquisitions, a growing dividend and then repurchases. The final judgment should therefore rest on whether Viessmann produces durable organic growth, stronger margins and returns above its cost of capital. Until then, Carrier has made a coherent strategic shift, but not yet a fully demonstrated financial success.
What is Carrier’s dividend yield against its share price?
The price-to-earnings ratio shows what investors pay for each dollar of annual profit. The next-twelve-month P/E implies about $3.29 of earnings per share. That is above Carrier’s latest 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.90, so the apparently moderate valuation already depends on improvement beyond the current outlook.
| Today (Oct 19, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 55.00 |
| Market value (calculated) | 45,337.88 |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 1.7% |
What this means. The price-to-earnings number uses analysts’ expected profit for the next year, not a promise from the company.