Marsh dividend: cash cover and yield
Marsh pays $0.99 per quarter, and its free cash flow exceeded dividends paid in 2025. The dividend is covered by cash generation in that latest year, although buybacks, acquisitions and debt also compete for cash.
How much does Marsh pay in dividends over the years shown?
The dividend starts from a $3.96 annual rate based on a quarterly dividend of $0.99. Base dividends reach $4.15 in October 2027 and $4.48 in October 2028. They reach $4.84 in October 2029. This is slower than the recent increase because debt and other capital claims remain relevant, although free cash flow of $5,001 million exceeded dividends paid of $1,699 million in 2025.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 4,988 (4,288 / 5,116) | 5,290 (4,351 / 5,554) | 5,614 (4,455 / 5,958) |
| Shares (millions) | 468 (473 / 465) | 462 (471 / 456) | 456 (470 / 448) |
| Dividends per share | 4.15 (3.96 / 4.28) | 4.48 (4.12 / 4.75) | 4.84 (4.28 / 5.27) |
| Price to earnings | 21.00 (19.00 / 23.00) | 21.50 (18.00 / 24.00) | 22.00 (17.00 / 25.00) |
Does Marsh's cash cover its dividend?
Free cash flow is the money left after operating the business and paying for necessary capital investment. From 2021 through 2025, Marsh generated $18,934 million of it. Shareholders received $13,845 million through dividends and buybacks. Acquisitions used $11,601 million. Because those demands exceeded free cash flow, Marsh had to use other cash, sell assets, issue shares or borrow.
Dividends clearly delivered cash to owners, while buybacks require a judgment about price. Payments to shareholders consumed 103.1% of free cash flow in 2022 and 74.2% in 2025. The board authorized another $6 billion of repurchases in November 2025, but authorization did not require the spending. Through September 2026, Marsh had spent $2,016 million buying shares. The quarterly dividend also rose 10.0% to $0.99. None of those facts alone proves that repurchases created value.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 5,001 | 3,986 | 3,842 | 2,995 | 3,110 |
| − Dividends paid | 1,699 | 1,513 | 1,298 | 1,138 | 1,026 |
| − Share buybacks | 2,012 | 900 | 1,150 | 1,950 | 1,159 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 1,233 | 1,533 | 1,363 | 889 | |
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 120 | ||||
| Paid to shareholders | 3,711 | 2,413 | 2,448 | 3,088 | 2,185 |
What this means. In 2022, the company paid shareholders more cash than it generated, so it had to use savings or borrow money to cover the difference.
What could change Marsh's dividend?
The bear case pauses at $3.96 before modest increases produce $4.28 by the final date. The bull case rises to $4.28 first and $5.27 last, reflecting stronger cash generation. The five-year record of annual increases supports continued payments.
From 2027 through 2029, the key evidence will be Thrive savings, debt reduction, legal cash outflows, and repurchase activity. By 2028 and 2029, savings near target and stronger buybacks would support the bull multiple; constrained cash and limited repurchases would point toward the bear case.
What is Marsh's dividend yield at today's price?
| Today (Oct 16, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 186.54 |
| P/E, last 12 months (calculated) | 22.3x |
| Free cash flow yield (calculated) | 5.6% |
| Real free cash flow yield (calculated) | 5.2% |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 2.1% |
What this means. The next twelve months price-to-earnings figure uses analysts’ guesses about future profit, so it is not a guaranteed result.