METRO dividend
METRO currently pays CAD 0.4075 per share each quarter. METRO generated C$811.5 million of free cash flow and C$797.7 million of real free cash flow in fiscal 2025, but shareholder payouts exceeded free cash flow in each year shown.
How much does METRO pay in dividends?
Dividends rise more slowly than their recent history. The base case moves from CAD 1.68 per share to CAD 1.84. The bear case holds the current annualized rate at CAD 1.63, while the bull case reaches CAD 2.01. The current quarterly dividend is CAD 0.4075 and was unchanged from the prior quarter. Operating cash was below the prior-year level during the first 40 weeks. The base path is supported by METRO’s record of annual increases, but it assumes slower growth than the past five years.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 4.63 | 4.11 | 4.35 | 3.51 | 3.33 |
| Free cash flow per share | 3.69 | 3.22 | 2.31 | 2.16 | 2.61 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 1.44 | 1.30 | 1.18 | 1.07 | 0.97 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 3.60 | 2.12 | 2.51 | 1.95 | 1.85 |
Is METRO's dividend covered by its cash?
Free cash flow is the cash left after capital spending, lease payments and interest paid. METRO’s fiscal-2025 free cash flow was C$811.5 million. Its “real free cash flow” was C$797.7 million after stock-based compensation. These are useful owner-focused measures, but they are not standard IFRS measures.
The five-year record shows shareholder payouts above free cash flow in each year. Dividends are recurring payments to all shareholders; buybacks are more discretionary purchases that reduce the number of shares outstanding. When payouts exceed free cash flow, METRO must draw on existing cash, sell assets, issue shares or borrow.
| Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 811.5 | 727.6 | 539.3 | 519.4 | 644.7 |
| − Dividends paid | 316.8 | 294.6 | 275.0 | 257.9 | 240.1 |
| − Share buybacks | 790.0 | 478.2 | 586.0 | 470.0 | 456.3 |
| = Paid out more than the free cash flow | 295.6 | 46.0 | 323.1 | 210.1 | 53.6 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 136.4% | 106.2% | 159.7% | 140.1% | 108.0% |
What this means. 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 METRO's dividend?
The forecast would move toward the bear case if food traffic stays weak through FY2027 and FY2028, or if another distribution or labour disruption extends the recovery. A fading tax benefit combined with weaker cash generation would also pressure EPS and the multiple.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 1,173 (1,053 / 1,210) | 1,256 (1,065 / 1,330) | 1,354 (1,080 / 1,472) |
| Shares (millions) | 204 (207 / 202) | 200 (205 / 195) | 195 (203 / 188) |
| Dividends per share | 1.68 (1.63 / 1.72) | 1.76 (1.63 / 1.86) | 1.84 (1.63 / 2.01) |
| Price to earnings | 18.00 (16.50 / 19.00) | 18.00 (15.50 / 20.00) | 17.50 (14.50 / 21.00) |
What is METRO's dividend yield today?
METRO trades at 23.1x trailing P/E and 17.8x forward, making earnings recovery central. METRO’s free cash flow is computed from cash from operations minus capital spending, lease payments and interest paid and implies a 4.0% yield. The dividend yield is 1.7%; the 3.9% buyback yield needs context because payouts exceeded free cash flow in each of the five years shown. Net debt rose from C$2,191.0 million in 2021. It reached C$2,888.0 million in 2025 as diluted share count fell each year. Rising sales alone did not establish stronger demand or operating performance.