Gildan Activewear dividend
Gildan Activewear pays US$0.996 per share annually at the latest quarterly rate of US$0.249. In 2025, its free cash flow covered dividends and buybacks, while debt remains central.
How much does Gildan Activewear pay per share?
Dividends begin at US$0.996 per share, based on the latest quarterly rate of US$0.249. The base case rises to US$1.10 by 2029, slower than the recent 10% increase because debt remains a priority. The bear case cuts the annual amount to US$0.80, while the bull case reaches US$1.33 through repeated 10% increases.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Jan 2023 | Jan 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 2.57 | 2.46 | 3.03 | 2.93 | 3.07 |
| Real free cash flow per share | 2.77 | 1.69 | 1.65 | 0.68 | 2.18 |
| FCF per share — the company's own count | 3.22 | 2.39 | 2.22 | 1.07 | 3.00 |
| Free cash flow per share | 3.08 | 2.09 | 1.81 | 0.86 | 2.37 |
| − Paid to minority owners, per share | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 0.88 | 0.82 | 0.75 | 0.67 | 0.46 |
What this means. The company's own free cash flow per share is higher because it leaves out cash used to buy or sell businesses and follows different cash-flow rules than our count.
Is Gildan Activewear’s dividend covered by its cash?
Free cash flow is the money left after operating the business and buying necessary long-lived assets. In 2024, Gildan generated US$340,812 thousand but paid US$889,077 thousand in dividends and buybacks, creating a US$548,265 thousand shortfall. New debt of US$800,000 thousand helped cover that gap, while repayments totalled US$235,000 thousand. Shareholders received cash, but borrowing supplied part of it.
By 2025, free cash flow covered dividends and buybacks, leaving US$152,592 thousand before acquisitions and other uses. Yet net debt rose to US$4,029,222 thousand from US$1,437,071 thousand in 2024. Gildan let its buyback authorization expire on August 8, 2025, and said repurchases would wait until leverage returned toward its target range.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Jan 2023 | Jan 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 471,324 | 340,812 | 318,423 | 157,801 | 468,579 |
| − Dividends paid | 135,237 | 133,469 | 131,797 | 123,769 | 90,462 |
| − Share buybacks | 183,495 | 755,608 | 360,479 | 449,158 | 245,140 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 152,592 | 132,977 | |||
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 548,265 | 173,853 | 415,126 | ||
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 67.6% | 260.9% | 154.6% | 363.1% | 71.6% |
What this means. The company's own net debt is higher because it includes lease debt and some currency-hedge amounts that our calculation leaves out.
What could change Gildan Activewear’s dividend?
For fiscal 2026, management guides to US$6.0 billion of revenue, a 21.8% adjusted operating margin and adjusted diluted EPS of US$4.65–US$4.75, growth of 32.5%–35.0%. It forecasts US$1.0 billion of free cash flow and US$100 million of targeted synergies. US$220 million of IEEPA tariff refunds are expected, but are largely nonrecurring.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal operating profit | 1,310 (1,050 / 1,450) | 1,380 (1,120 / 1,580) | 1,450 (1,200 / 1,720) |
| Shares (millions) | 186 (186 / 185) | 184 (186 / 181) | 181 (187 / 173) |
| Dividends per share | 1.00 (1.00 / 1.10) | 1.05 (0.80 / 1.21) | 1.10 (0.80 / 1.33) |
| Enterprise value to normal operating profit | 9.00 (7.50 / 10.00) | 9.50 (7.00 / 11.00) | 10.00 (7.00 / 12.00) |
| Net debt | 2,260 (3,055 / 2,200) | 1,438 (2,462 / 1,323) | 629 (1,672 / 448) |
What is Gildan Activewear’s dividend yield today?
On October 19, 2026, Gildan’s shares traded at C$57.85. The company’s market value was approximately C$10.71 billion. Its enterprise value was approximately C$16.75 billion. Enterprise value estimates what the operating business costs before considering its financing: it adds debt and subtracts cash from the value of the shares. That is why the roughly C$6.04 billion gap matters. Lenders are paid before shareholders.