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How Tractor Supply’s Dividend Yield, Payout Ratio, and Cash Flow Compare With Other Retailers

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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Tractor Supply’s reported dividend yield was 3.09% at the October 2, 2026 market close, above the figures reported for Target and Lowe’s in the same MarketBeat comparison. For fiscal 2025, Tractor Supply’s dividends equaled about 44.7% of diluted earnings per share, while operating cash flow covered cash dividends about 3.4 times before capital spending. After capital expenditures, about $740.5 million remained before other uses. These measures describe different parts of the dividend picture; none guarantees future payments.

What the comparison measures

Yield relates an annualized dividend to a share price. An earnings payout ratio relates dividends to earnings per share. Cash-flow coverage compares cash dividends with cash generated by operations, while operating cash flow after capital expenditures shows how much less cash remains for other uses. The measures use different periods and denominators, so a higher yield or lower payout ratio alone does not establish that a dividend is safer.

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The fiscal-year cash figures below use each company’s own FY2025; their year-end dates are not identical. Dollar amounts also reflect company scale, making coverage ratios and clearly defined per-share measures more useful than comparing raw cash totals alone.

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Dividend yield: Tractor Supply’s price-sensitive snapshot

MarketBeat reported these yields and annual dividends per share at the October 2, 2026 market close. A separate Yahoo Finance article published October 3, 2026, reported Home Depot’s yield and a different Lowe’s yield. Provider methods and the timing of market data may differ, so the four observations are not a perfectly harmonized comparison.

Retailer Reported annual dividend per share Reported yield Source and date basis
Tractor Supply $0.96 3.09% MarketBeat, October 2, 2026 market close
Target $4.64 2.98% MarketBeat, October 2, 2026 market close
Lowe’s $5.00 2.76% MarketBeat, October 2, 2026 market close
Home Depot not stated (Yahoo Finance comparison, October 3, 2026) 1.61% Yahoo Finance, published October 3, 2026; the article also reported Lowe’s at 2.63%

In the MarketBeat snapshot, Tractor Supply’s reported yield exceeded Target’s and Lowe’s. It also exceeded Home Depot’s separately reported Yahoo Finance figure, but that comparison crosses providers. Yield is not fixed: it changes when the share price or annualized dividend changes. These are dated snapshots, not fiscal-year-end yields or a promise about future income. Stock Analysis explains the general yield and payout-ratio methods in its payout ratio methodology.

Payout ratio: earnings basis matters

For Tractor Supply, fiscal 2025 dividends paid were $0.92 per share and diluted EPS was $2.06. Dividing the reported dividend by reported diluted EPS gives an implied simple earnings payout of about 44.7% ($0.92 ÷ $2.06). This calculation uses paid dividends and GAAP diluted EPS; it is not a forward payout ratio.

In February 2026, Tractor Supply’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share. Four such payments would annualize to $0.96 if maintained for four quarters, but future declarations remain at the board’s discretion.

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Retailer and period Dividend figure Earnings figure or reported ratio Basis
Tractor Supply, FY2025 $0.92 paid per share $2.06 diluted EPS; implied payout about 44.7% Calculation: paid dividends per share divided by diluted EPS
Lowe’s, FY2025 $4.70 paid per share 40% reported payout ratio (37% in FY2024) Company-reported ratio; do not assume the measure uses the same denominator or convention as other rows
Home Depot, FY2025 $9.20 cash dividends per share $14.23 diluted EPS; implied payout about 64.7% Calculation from annual-report figures: cash dividends per share divided by diluted EPS; not an issuer-presented payout ratio
Target, FY2025 $4.52 paid per share; $4.54 declared per share not stated (Target FY2025 Form 10-K) Dividend figures reported; a comparable payout ratio is not established here

These figures are not all computed on a uniform basis. In particular, a company-reported payout ratio may differ from a simple calculation using paid or declared dividends divided by GAAP or adjusted EPS, and provider figures may use trailing or forward periods. Treat the stated basis and fiscal year as part of the number, not as an optional footnote.

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Cash flow: dividends covered before and after capital spending

Operating cash flow can show whether a company generated cash well above its dividend during a reported year, but it is not all freely available for distribution. Capital expenditures and other obligations consume cash, and working-capital changes can affect annual cash flow.

Company (fiscal-year basis) Operating cash flow Cash dividends paid Capital expenditures / free cash flow
Tractor Supply (FY2025, year ended December 27, 2025) $1.635 billion $487.7 million $894.8 million capital expenditures; operating cash flow less capex was about $740.5 million before other uses
Home Depot (FY2025, year ended February 1, 2026) $16.3 billion $9.2 billion $3.7 billion capital expenditures; operating cash flow less capex was about $12.6 billion before other uses
Target (FY2025, year ended January 31, 2026) $6.6 billion $2.1 billion not stated in the cited FY2025 figures
Walmart (FY2025, year ended January 31, 2025) $36.4 billion $6.7 billion $12.7 billion free cash flow, defined by Walmart as operating cash flow minus payments for property and equipment

For Tractor Supply, $1.635 billion of operating cash flow divided by $487.7 million of cash dividends is about 3.4 times. Subtracting $894.8 million in capital expenditures leaves about $740.5 million before other investing, financing, or discretionary uses. Home Depot reported both substantial operating cash flow and dividend payments, but its annual report also discussed debt repayment and acquisition spending; operating cash flow alone is not residual distributable cash.

Walmart cautions that its free-cash-flow measure does not deduct debt service, other contractual obligations, or acquisitions, and that other companies may calculate free cash flow differently. Its $12.7 billion figure therefore should not be read as cash remaining after every obligation. Target’s and Walmart’s operating-cash-flow totals, like those of Home Depot, reflect much larger operations than Tractor Supply’s; raw dollars are not a like-for-like measure of dividend burden.

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How to interpret the measures together

  • For income comparison: use a dated yield snapshot and note its data provider. The share price can move the yield even when the declared dividend does not change.
  • For earnings coverage: identify the fiscal period, whether dividends were paid or declared, and whether the denominator is GAAP EPS, adjusted EPS, or another measure.
  • For cash funding: compare cash dividends with operating cash flow, then account for capital spending and other demands on cash.
  • For peer comparisons: preserve each company’s own fiscal-year label and distinguish scale from coverage. A large operating cash-flow total does not automatically mean a lighter dividend burden.

Tractor Supply’s FY2025 figures show historical earnings and operating-cash-flow coverage, with materially less cash left after capital expenditures than the headline operating-cash-flow amount. They do not establish future dividend continuity: business conditions, cash needs, and company decisions can change.

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Fiscal-year and source context

Tractor Supply’s FY2025 ended December 27, 2025; its annual report filing was dated February 19, 2026, and appears on the SEC annual-report index filed March 26, 2026. Tractor Supply FY2025 annual report.

Home Depot’s FY2025 ended February 1, 2026, and Target’s FY2025 ended January 31, 2026. Home Depot FY2025 annual report; Target FY2025 Form 10-K. Walmart’s report labeled FY2025 covers the year ended January 31, 2025. Walmart FY2025 annual report. Lowe’s annual report labels fiscal 2025 and 2024 and reports the company’s dividend payout ratios. Lowe’s annual reports and proxy statements.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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