Zimmer Biomet dividend
MyStockButler's October 2026 analysis: Zimmer Biomet pays $0.96 per share through October 2027, in quarterly payments of $0.24. The dividend is supported by 2025 free cash flow of $1,172.1 million, though acquisitions, debt and buybacks compete for that cash.
How much does Zimmer Biomet pay per share?
The dividend remains $0.96 through October 2027 because the declared quarterly payment is $0.24. The base reaches $1.00 in 2028 and $1.04 in 2029, while the bear stays flat and the bull reaches $1.12. The increases are assumptions, not guidance. They are supported by 2025 free cash flow of $1,172.1 million, but constrained by acquisitions, debt and buybacks.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real free cash flow per share | 5.44 | 4.68 | 4.19 | 3.83 | 4.33 |
| − Dividends paid, per share | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.95 |
| − Share buybacks, per share | 2.45 | 4.26 | 3.30 | 0.60 | 0.00 |
| = FCF not paid out, per share | 2.49 | 0.41 | 2.77 | 3.74 |
What this means. The company's own free cash flow per share is higher because it does not subtract shares given to employees as pay, while our count does.
How much would Zimmer Biomet's dividend pay you?
$10,000 invested in Zimmer Biomet at its 1.0% dividend yield (our report of October 24, 2026) pays $100.00 in the first year, before tax. If its dividend per share keeps changing 0.3% a year, as it did from 2021 to 2025, and the dividends are reinvested, year 10 pays $112.08, with $1,059.22 received in all.
Before tax. Past dividend growth is not a promise. Information only, not investment advice.
Is Zimmer Biomet's dividend covered by its cash?
Later, shareholder distributions accelerated. Dividends and buybacks consumed a large share of the five-year cash generation. In 2024, total shareholder payments exceeded free cash flow before acquisitions. In 2025, acquisitions and shareholder payments together required more cash than operations supplied, so debt issuance exceeded repayments and net debt rose.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | 1,172.1 | 1,055.3 | 978.8 | 910.0 | 987.1 |
| − Dividends paid | 190.3 | 196.0 | 200.9 | 201.2 | 200.1 |
| − Share buybacks | 487.0 | 868.0 | 692.2 | 126.4 | 0 |
| = Free cash flow not paid out | 494.8 | 85.7 | 582.4 | 787.0 | |
| Paid out, % of free cash flow | 57.8% | 100.8% | 91.2% | 36.0% | 20.3% |
What could change Zimmer Biomet's dividend?
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings | 1,732 (1,598 / 1,795) | 1,823 (1,578 / 1,971) | 1,907 (1,573 / 2,133) |
| Shares (millions) | 186 (189 / 182) | 182 (188 / 175) | 177 (186 / 168) |
| Dividends per share | 0.96 (0.96 / 0.96) | 1.00 (0.96 / 1.04) | 1.04 (0.96 / 1.12) |
| Price to earnings | 12.50 (10.50 / 15.00) | 13.00 (9.50 / 17.00) | 13.50 (9.00 / 18.50) |
What is Zimmer Biomet's dividend yield today?
Cash flow provides a stricter test. Zimmer Biomet often places implants and instruments at a hospital on consignment: it owns the implant until a surgeon uses it, then invoices the hospital. Profit can therefore arrive before cash, while inventory and equipment absorb funding. The stock offers a 6.2% free cash flow yield and a 5.8% “real” free cash flow yield, but neither is a promised payment. Dividends yield 1.0%, while a $1.5 billion buyback authorization competes with debt repayment and refinancing.