Covered six times over, priced as growth. AMETEK paid $285 million against $1,672 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, net debt is 0.7 times EBITDA on the company's measure, and dividends paid have risen every year. At 0.55% the yield is under the 1% line, so the card is graded warn: the payout is real and compounding, but it is not income at this price.
Key risk: Industrial end markets and acquisition integration: AMETEK grows by dealmaking, and a bad deal or a factory downturn hits the cash flow behind the dividend.
Changes if: Free cash flow payout rises above 60%, or net debt/EBITDA crosses 3x on the company's measure.
- ✓Cash-flow cover 17.1% of FY2025 free cash flow, pass (<60%).
- ✓Leverage Company-reported net debt/EBITDA 0.7x at March 31, 2026, pass (<3x).
- ✓Dividend history Dividends paid rose every year, $165m to $285m, 2020 to 2025; quarterly rate $0.31 in 2025, $0.34 in 2026. No cut in the series shown.
- !Yield Yield 0.55%, under the 1% line: a growth holding, not income.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.