Altria dividend: cash coverage and yield
Across 2021–2025, Altria generated $43,063 million of free cash flow and paid $33,629 million in dividends. Altria also used $8,900 million for buybacks, leaving $534 million before acquisitions, disposals and financing.
How much does Altria pay per share?
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real free cash flow per share | 5.35 | 4.98 | 5.08 | 4.44 | 4.44 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 4.14 | 3.98 | 3.81 | 3.66 | 3.49 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 0.59 | 1.98 | 0.56 | 1.01 | 0.91 |
| = FCF not paid out, per share | 0.66 | 0.74 | 0.06 |
What this means. The company's own free cash flow per share differs slightly because it uses its own cash-flow rules, while our count also subtracts the cost of shares given to employees as pay.
Is Altria’s dividend covered by its cash?
Across 2021–2025, Altria generated $43,063 million of free cash flow: operating cash left after capital spending. It paid shareholders $42,529 million. Dividends accounted for $33,629 million, while buybacks accounted for $8,900 million. The remaining $534 million came before acquisitions, disposals and financing.
Operating cash was $9,290 million in 2025. After $216 million of capital spending, free cash flow was $9,074 million. After another $62 million for stock compensation, stricter “real” free cash flow was $9,012 million. Stock compensation is not an immediate cash payment, but it gives employees a claim on ownership. The result was close to adjusted net income of $9,148 million, supporting the quality of those earnings.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 9,074 | 8,611 | 9,091 | 8,051 | 8,236 |
| − Dividends paid | 6,960 | 6,845 | 6,779 | 6,599 | 6,446 |
| − Share buybacks | 1,000 | 3,400 | 1,000 | 1,825 | 1,675 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 1,114 | 1,312 | 115 | ||
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 1,634 | 373 | |||
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 87.7% | 119.0% | 85.6% | 104.6% | 98.6% |
What could change Altria’s dividend?
Dividends rise in the base case from $4.65 per share to $4.92. The bear freezes them at $4.44, while the bull reaches $5.29 through faster annual increases.
The base follows management’s mid-single-digit dividend goal and the uninterrupted increase record. The freeze reflects the 87.7% share of free cash flow already paid to shareholders, while the bull assumes pricing and savings preserve enough cash for increases above target.
What is Altria’s dividend yield against its price?
| Today (Oct 14, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 73.155 |
| Free cash flow yield (calculated) | 7.4% |
| Real free cash flow yield (calculated) | 7.4% |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 6.1% |
What this means. Price to book is not meaningful because the company owes more than it owns, making its book value negative.