UPS dividend
UPS pays $6.56 per share annually, based on a declared quarterly rate of $1.64. Management forecasts $5,500 million of free cash flow against $5,400 million of dividends, leaving thin coverage.
How much does UPS pay in dividends?
Dividends do not set the price directly, but they are included in the return shown. The current annualized payout is $6.56 per share, based on the declared quarterly rate of $1.64.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, diluted | 6.56 | 6.75 | 7.80 | 13.20 | 14.68 |
| Real free cash flow per share | 5.52 | 7.23 | 5.65 | 8.88 | 11.32 |
| Free cash flow per share | 5.61 | 7.26 | 5.91 | 10.67 | 12.32 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 6.35 | 6.31 | 6.25 | 5.84 | 3.91 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 1.18 | 0.58 | 2.62 | 4.00 | 0.57 |
What this means. The company's own free cash flow per share is higher because it includes money from selling property and other investments, while our count also subtracts the value of shares given to employees as pay.
Does UPS’s cash cover its dividend?
UPS can reach $112.15 by October 2029, a 35% total return including dividends, if a smaller network produces durable savings and profitable replacement growth. Management guides to $91,200 million of 2026 revenue, $8,650 million of adjusted operating profit and $7.22 of adjusted diluted EPS. It forecasts $5,500 million of free cash flow against $5,400 million of dividends. U.S. Domestic adjusted operating margin is guided at 7.5% for 2026, with a second-half target of approximately 8.8%.
Across the five-year period, UPS returned nearly all of its free cash flow through dividends and share buybacks. Dividends pay owners directly, while buybacks reduce the number of shares in circulation. In both 2023 and 2025, distributions exceeded free cash flow, so UPS had to draw on other resources.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 4,765 | 6,213 | 5,080 | 9,335 | 10,813 |
| − Dividends paid | 5,398 | 5,399 | 5,372 | 5,114 | 3,437 |
| − Share buybacks | 1,000 | 500 | 2,250 | 3,500 | 500 |
| Paid to shareholders | 6,398 | 5,899 | 7,622 | 8,614 | 3,937 |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 134.3% | 94.9% | 150.0% | 92.3% | 36.4% |
What could change UPS’s dividend?
The base dividend remains $6.56 per share throughout. The bear case cuts it to $5.25 after the first period because 2025 dividends exceeded free cash flow. The bull case raises it to $6.72 and then $6.88 if recurring savings improve coverage. The freeze is most credible because 2026 forecast headroom is only about $100 million.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 6,808 (5,220 / 7,144) | 7,220 (4,956 / 8,019) | 7,644 (5,073 / 8,840) |
| Shares (millions) | 852 (852 / 848) | 851 (854 / 843) | 850 (855 / 838) |
| Dividends per share | 6.56 (6.56 / 6.56) | 6.56 (5.25 / 6.72) | 6.56 (5.25 / 6.88) |
| Price to earnings | 12.20 (10.00 / 14.00) | 12.50 (9.00 / 15.00) | 13.00 (9.50 / 16.00) |
What this means. The price to earnings number shows how many dollars investors pay for each dollar of yearly earnings, so a higher number means a more expensive share.
What is UPS’s dividend yield at today’s price?
At $97.50 on October 16, 2026, UPS had a stock-market value of $82,951.20 million. Its enterprise value was $102,782.20 million. Market value is the shareholders’ portion; enterprise value estimates the cost of buying the whole operating business by adding debt and subtracting cash. The difference implies $19,831 million of net debt, so operating cash must support lenders before it can fully support dividends or buybacks.