Gen Digital dividend: cash coverage and yield
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Gen Digital pays $0.50 per share annually and has declared another quarterly payment of $0.125. Its $1,523 million of free cash flow in FY2026 left $1,286 million of analytical real free cash flow after $237 million of stock-based pay, providing the cash context for the dividend.
How much does Gen Digital pay in dividends?
The base dividend remains $0.50 per share in each period because Gen has paid that annual amount for five years and has declared another quarterly payment at $0.125. The bear cuts it to $0.375 and then $0.25 as debt pressure rises. The bull reaches $0.52, $0.54 and $0.56 through modest increases, but no growth target exists.
| Apr 2026 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Apr 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 5,000 | 3,935 | 3,800 | 3,317 | 2,796 |
| Operating income | 2,120 | 1,610 | 1,110 | 1,206 | 1,005 |
| EPS, diluted | 1.57 | 1.03 | 0.95 | 2.14 | 1.41 |
| Dividend per share | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
What this means. The 27.1 percent sales growth includes a newly bought company and an extra week, so it does not show growth from the existing business alone.
How much would Gen Digital's dividend pay you?
$10,000 invested in Gen Digital at its 1.7% dividend yield (our report of October 31, 2026) pays $170.00 in the first year, before tax. If its dividend per share keeps changing −0.5% a year, as it did from Apr 2022 to Apr 2026, and the dividends are reinvested, year 10 pays $188.67, with $1,792.80 received in all.
Before tax. Past dividend growth is not a promise. Information only, not investment advice.
Is Gen Digital's dividend covered by its cash?
Operating cash was $1,545 million in FY2026, against net income of $973 million. Gen spent $22 million on capital items, leaving $1,523 million of free cash flow.
Stock compensation complicates that measure. Gen awarded employees shares valued at $237 million. No equivalent cash left the company that year, but existing shareholders were diluted. Deducting the award leaves analytical “real free cash flow” of $1,286 million, or 25.7% of revenue.
| Apr 2026 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Apr 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 1,523 | 1,206 | 2,044 | 751 | 968 |
| − Dividends paid | 312 | 313 | 323 | 314 | 303 |
| − Share buybacks | 634 | 272 | 441 | 904 | 0 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 577 | 621 | 1,280 | 665 | |
| Paid to shareholders | 946 | 585 | 764 | 1,218 | 303 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 62.1% | 48.5% | 37.4% | 162.2% | 31.3% |
What this means. The company's own net debt is 7,289 million dollars rather than our 7,253 million because it uses the full stated debt and a different cash figure, while we use the balance-sheet amounts after accounting reductions.
What could change Gen Digital's dividend?
The July 1, 2027 liquidity checkpoint could restrict buybacks or raise refinancing concerns if cash generation disappoints. Conversely, stronger renewals, profitable workplace-product conversion from December 2026, and evidence that debt falls without sacrificing investment would support the bull case.
What is Gen Digital's dividend yield against its share price?
The current share price is $29.13 and the current cash-flow multiple is 16.1x. That starting point matters because the base case begins slightly below it, while the bull case requires a rerating.
| Today (Oct 31, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 29.13 |
| Market value (calculated) | 17,282.13 |
| Free cash flow yield (calculated) | 8.8% |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 1.7% |