Covered on paper, fuller than comfortable. A 2.65% yield on a 93.0% trailing payout is covered — barely. $0.23 a quarter has not moved since 2024, and at this payout almost nothing is retained if beverage volumes or coffee costs squeeze earnings. The yield is real cash, but the cushion behind it is thin.
Key risk: A fuller payout meeting volume and cost pressure — with 93.0% of trailing earnings already going out, soft U.S. refreshment-beverage volumes or higher coffee and input costs leave little room before coverage itself is questioned.
Changes if: The trailing payout falls back below about 75% on an earnings recovery, or rises past 100%. The first restores the cushion; the second means the rate is outrunning earnings.
- !Payout-coverage check: 93.0% of trailing earnings — the $0.92 indicated dividend leaves very little retained; coverage holds, but with almost no cushion.
- ✓Yield check: 2.65% indicated — $0.23/qtr × 4 at the $34.68 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield for a single stock, not a special or a return of capital.
- !Dividend growth check: Flat at $0.23 since 2024, when it stepped up from $0.215; no raise in 2025 or 2026, so compounding has stalled even though the rate has held.
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.