Covered, raised every year since the spin-off — and yielding under half a percent. Veralto paid $109 million of dividends from $909 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, 12.0%, a pass, and net debt of $1,498 million is 1.2x EBITDA of $1,227 million, a pass. The quarterly rate has risen every year since the September 2023 separation from Danaher, $0.09 to $0.13, declared again on September 23, 2026. The record is short and the 0.47% trailing yield is under 1%, so the card is graded warn as a growth holding.
Key risk: A three-year dividend record attached to a serial-acquirer parent's spin-off — the raise pattern is young and the acquisition appetite is not.
Changes if: The trailing yield rises above 1%, or the dividend is cut.
- ✓Cash-flow cover 12.0% of FY2025 free cash flow, pass (<60%).
- ✓Leverage 1.2x, pass (<3x).
- !Growth record Raised every year since the 2023 spin-off, but no 5-year record — a caution under the filter, not a fail.
- !Trap screen Yield 0.47%, 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.