Kimberly-Clark dividend: payout and coverage
Kimberly-Clark paid $5.04 per share in 2025 and maintained a $1.28 quarterly rate in the first half of 2026. On a simple measure, Kimberly-Clark's first-half free cash flow covered dividends, but the cash included discontinued operations.
How much does Kimberly-Clark pay its shareholders?
The dividend row rises modestly in the base case, freezes in the bear case and grows faster in the bull case. Kimberly-Clark paid $5.04 per share in 2025 and maintained a $1.28 quarterly rate in the first half of 2026. The five-year dividend growth rate was about 2.0% annually. The freeze remains credible because first-half cash left only $34 million after capital spending and common dividends.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 4.86 | 6.41 | 4.31 | 4.89 | |
| − Paid to minority owners, per share | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.29 | 0.11 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 4.98 | 4.83 | 4.69 | 4.61 | 4.47 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 0.42 | 2.97 | 0.66 | 0.30 | 1.18 |
Does Kimberly-Clark's cash cover its dividend?
Cash offers a further test. K-C generated about $0.9 billion of free cash flow in the first half of 2026 under a simple operating-cash-less-investment definition. Dividends consumed $843 million. That cash included discontinued operations, so the dividend is not proof that post-deal distributions will be comfortably funded.
The important pattern is that shareholder payments could exceed the simple free-cash-flow measure. When that happens, the company must draw down cash, borrow, sell assets or issue shares. Debt repayment also does not guarantee a stronger cushion: if cash falls faster than borrowings, net debt—debt minus cash—can rise.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − Paid to minority owners | 32 | 35 | 35 | 98 | 36 |
| − Dividends paid | 1,660 | 1,628 | 1,588 | 1,558 | 1,516 |
| − Share buybacks | 141 | 1,000 | 225 | 100 | 400 |
| − Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| − Debt repaid | 550 | 554 | 475 | 312 | 269 |
| Paid to shareholders | 1,801 | 2,628 | 1,813 | 1,658 | 1,916 |
What could change Kimberly-Clark's dividend?
KMB’s weighted forecast points to a decline by October 2027 and a modest recovery by October 2029, hinging on China demand, Kenvue savings, cash generation and deleveraging. Management guides for 2026 organic sales growth 100 basis points below weighted category growth, mid-single-digit adjusted operating-profit growth and high-single-digit adjusted continuing-operations EPS growth. It also promises adjusted free cash flow of $2,000 million, the company’s own figure. Its gross productivity target is 5.0%–6.0%, and the guidance excludes Kenvue.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 3,616 (3,200 / 3,776) | 3,838 (3,185 / 4,150) | 4,066 (3,267 / 4,498) |
| Shares (millions) | 614 (615 / 614) | 614 (617 / 610) | 614 (618 / 607) |
| Dividends per share | 5.16 (5.04 / 5.28) | 5.28 (5.04 / 5.56) | 5.40 (5.04 / 5.84) |
| Price to earnings | 15.50 (13.50 / 17.50) | 16.00 (12.50 / 19.00) | 16.50 (12.00 / 21.00) |
What is Kimberly-Clark's dividend yield today?
At $105.41, a 20.1x trailing P/E implies $5.24 of trailing EPS. The 14.3x forward P/E implies $7.37 of future EPS. That forward denominator is roughly 41% higher, but the difference may reflect adjustments, reporting changes, and acquisition timing rather than underlying growth. At 12x, $7.37 of EPS supports roughly $88. To support $105.41 at that multiple requires $8.78 of EPS.