WM dividend: cash flow and yield
WM pays $3.78 per share annually, and the second quarter produced $1.10 billion of free cash flow against $1.04 billion returned to shareholders. WM's dividend uses the same cash that competes with buybacks and debt repayment.
How much does WM pay in dividends?
Dividends rise from $4.20 per share in October 2027 to $5.08 in October 2029 in the base case. The bear case freezes the current $3.78 annual rate; the bull case reaches $5.43. WM has raised its dividend for twenty-three consecutive years, but capital needs and debt argue for slower growth than the 2026 increase.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − Dividends paid, per share | 3.30 | 3.00 | 2.79 | 2.60 | 2.29 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 0.00 | 0.65 | 3.20 | 3.61 | 3.19 |
| = FCF not paid out, per share | 3.67 | 1.70 | 0.27 |
What this means. The company's own free cash flow per share is higher because it adds cash from selling businesses and other assets, while our count does not.
Is WM's dividend covered by its cash flow?
Free cash flow is the cash left after running the business and paying for capital expenditure. Across the period, WM generated $11.182 billion of it, while dividends and buybacks consumed $10.141 billion. That left less internally generated cash for acquisitions and debt reduction.
Free cash flow is the money left after operating the business and investing in it, although WM also includes proceeds from selling assets. In the second quarter, WM reported $1.10 billion of free cash flow and returned $1.04 billion to shareholders. The dividend is therefore not an extra cash pile; dividends, buybacks and debt repayment compete for the same dollars.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 2,816 | 2,159 | 1,824 | 1,949 | 2,434 |
| − Dividends paid | 1,334 | 1,210 | 1,136 | 1,077 | 970 |
| − Share buybacks | 0 | 262 | 1,302 | 1,500 | 1,350 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 1,482 | 687 | 114 | ||
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 47.4% | 68.2% | 133.7% | 132.2% | 95.3% |
What this means. In some years, the company paid shareholders more cash than its business generated, so it had to use savings or borrow money to cover the difference.
What could change WM's dividend?
The view would move toward the bear case if collection volume and customer retention weaken during 2027, because price increases would no longer translate into durable yield. Persistent Stericycle service issues through 2028 would also reduce margins and free cash flow.
What is WM's dividend yield at today's price?
The tables show a premium-priced service business with a 3.1% free cash flow yield and a 1.7% dividend yield. The 31.8x trailing P/E rests against a 24.8x forward P/E that requires expected earnings improvement. The turn is that diluted EPS fell in 2025 while the company’s own real free cash flow per share rose; debt also rose sharply with Stericycle while cash remained small.
| Today (Oct 16, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 224.19 |
| Free cash flow yield (calculated) | 3.1% |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 1.7% |
What this means. Enterprise value is higher than market value because it includes the company's debt and subtracts its cash, showing what it would cost to buy the whole business.