Disney dividend: history, cash cover and yield
Disney paid $1.00 per share in fiscal 2025 and has declared $1.50 for the current fiscal year. Disney generated $10,077 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025; dividends and buybacks together used 52.6% of it.
How much does Disney pay shareholders?
The dividend recovers gradually rather than returning to aggressive growth. Disney has declared $1.50 for the current fiscal year, after paying $1.00 per share in fiscal 2025 and nothing in the preceding three years. The base path is $1.50, $1.65 and $1.80 per share. The bear case holds at $1.50 before cutting to $1.25, while the bull case reaches $2.10. The base is supported by fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $10,077 million, but investment, debt and buybacks prevent assuming faster increases.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Oct 2022 | Oct 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − Paid to minority owners, per share | 0.34 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.32 | 0.33 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 1.00 | 0.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 1.93 | 1.63 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| = FCF not paid out, per share | 2.30 | 1.97 | 2.38 | 0.26 | 0.76 |
Is Disney's dividend covered by its cash?
Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital spending. Disney generated $18,101 million from operations and spent $8,024 million on capital assets in FY2025, leaving $10,077 million of free cash flow. The recovery occurred while spending on physical businesses increased, which makes it more meaningful than a recovery produced only by cutting investment.
Shareholder payments returned after three fiscal years without dividends or buybacks. In 2025 Disney paid $1.803 billion in dividends and spent $3.5 billion buying shares. Together, those payments consumed $5.303 billion, or 52.6% of free cash flow. A buyback can help when Disney purchases shares below their earning power; a higher earnings-per-share figure alone does not prove that it did.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Oct 2022 | Oct 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 10,077 | 8,559 | 4,897 | 1,059 | 1,988 |
| − Dividends paid | 1,803 | 1,366 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| − Share buybacks | 3,500 | 2,992 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 52.6% | 50.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
What is Disney's dividend yield today?
At $108.49 on October 13, 2026, one share represents a small ownership interest in Disney. The company’s market capitalization was about $187.3 billion, while its enterprise value was about $228.2 billion. Market capitalization belongs to shareholders; enterprise value also includes lenders’ claims. Disney therefore had about $40.9 billion more debt than cash, so interest and repayment come before dividends or share repurchases.
Liquidity adds pressure. Disney’s current assets of $24,892 million were below current liabilities of $35,105 million, producing a calculated current ratio of about 0.71x. The ratio includes deferred revenue and does not capture future sports and content commitments. The 1.4% dividend yield therefore belongs beside, not above, the larger question: whether new parks, ships and stories earn durable returns after their costs.
| Today (Oct 13, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 108.49 |
| Market value (calculated) | 187,328.261998 |
| Enterprise value (calculated) | 228,184.261998 |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 1.4% |