Covered twenty times over — and flat for a decade. Jabil paid $42 million of dividends from $932 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2026, 4.5%, a pass, and net debt of $1,451 million is 0.5x EBITDA of $2,709 million, a pass. But the dividend has stood at $0.08 a quarter, $0.32 a year, flat for years on the record shown, a caution under §3, and the 0.11% trailing yield is far under 1%, so the card is graded warn as a growth holding, not income.
Key risk: The dividend is an afterthought next to buybacks and growth spending — a holder here is paid in price appreciation, if at all, not in checks.
Changes if: The quarterly rate is raised, or the dividend is cut.
- ✓Cash-flow cover 4.5% of FY2026 free cash flow, pass (<60%).
- ✓Leverage 0.5x, pass (<3x).
- !Growth record Flat 3+ years at $0.08 a quarter — caution under §3; no cut in 10 years, but no raise either.
- !Trap screen Yield 0.11%, under 1% — warn as a growth holding; no cut, payout under 100%.
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.