Which dividend fields can you actually screen?
The table above is a starting list, not a dividend safety score. Its yield uses FMP's lastAnnualDividend field and returned price. The endpoint does not provide a per-row dividend period or quote timestamp, so this page does not label that ratio as a verified trailing-twelve-month yield or forward yield. Special payments may affect the underlying annual amount; their inclusion must be reconciled against the issuer's record.
| Condition | Where it is checked | Meaning and limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap and sector | Available in this screener | Sent to the provider before the candidate limit. US companies on NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX; funds and ETFs excluded. |
| Dividend yield | Calculated locally | Provider annual dividend per share / price × 100. Minimum and maximum apply to the returned sample only. |
| Payout ratio and free cash flow coverage | Separate financial review | The company screener response has no earnings payout or cash flow fields. Use statements for the same period. |
| Dividend growth and consecutive increases | Separate history review | Reconstruct regular dividends per share from dated payment records, adjusted for splits and currency. |
| Special distributions and future payments | Issuer verification | The annual dividend field does not identify specials or establish the next declared dividend. Read issuer announcements. |
Missing, non-finite or non-positive prices and annual dividends are excluded from yield filtering. A retrieval time records when this page received the response; it is not the market timestamp. Narrowing the sector can produce a different sample. Downloaded matches are not a count of every qualifying stock.
A dividend screen you can reproduce
For this hypothetical exercise, choose market cap above $2 billion and calculated yield between 2% and 6%, inclusive. After screening, require ordinary cash dividends no greater than 70% of positive free cash flow, three completed years without a regular dividend cut, and positive regular dividend growth. These are illustrative research rules, not universal thresholds or investment recommendations.
| Input / result | Company A | Company B |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap / price | $4 billion / $40 | $3 billion / $40 |
| Regular dividend per share | $2.00 | $0.80 |
| Special dividend per share | $0 | $2.40 |
| Annual total / price | $2 / $40 = 5% | $3.20 / $40 = 8% |
| Regular yield / price | 5% | $0.80 / $40 = 2% |
| Operating cash flow / capex | $600 / $200 | $180 / $100 |
| Free cash flow | $600 − $200 = $400 | $180 − $100 = $80 |
| Ordinary cash dividends paid | $200 | $60 |
| FCF payout / coverage | 50% / 2.00× | 75% / 1.33× |
| Regular annual DPS, oldest first | $1.60, $1.80, $2.00 | $1.00, $0.80, $0.80 |
| Decision under these rules | Keep for further review | Reject: payout above 70% and a dividend cut |
Company A's FCF payout is $200 / $400 = 50%; coverage is $400 / $200 = 2.00 times. Its two-year dividend CAGR is ($2 / $1.60)^(1/2) − 1 = 11.80%. Company B's apparent 8% yield includes a special payment and misses the initial 2% to 6% range if the provider includes that payment. Its regular yield is only 2%. This is why a high-yield shortlist can omit companies with lower recurring income and why its annual numerator needs checking.
Cash flow coverage is a calculation, not a guarantee
For this worksheet, FCF = operating cash flow − capital expenditures, with capex entered as a positive outflow. If a statement stores capex as a negative number, add that signed number instead. FCF payout = ordinary common cash dividends paid / FCF × 100; FCF coverage is the inverse ratio. Use company-wide cash amounts throughout, not per-share dividends divided by total cash flow.
Reconcile the issuer's own FCF definition before comparing it with this simple measure. Free cash flow is not standardized and is not all available for distributions: debt service, leases, acquisitions and other commitments can still consume cash. The SEC staff interpretation, Question 102.07 explains that limitation.
If FCF is zero or negative, do not interpret a negative payout percentage as good coverage. If dividends are zero, coverage is undefined rather than infinite evidence of safety. Separate preferred, minority-interest and special payments where records permit; otherwise mark ordinary coverage unknown. Also calculate all common dividends / FCF to show the cash cost of specials. In Company B, assuming 75 million shares throughout the year, the $2.40 special costs $180 million: total common dividends are $240 million and all-in FCF payout is 300%.
One unusually strong year can reflect working-capital timing. Compare several full years and the latest comparable period. Banks, insurers, REITs and partnerships need sector-specific capital or distribution measures; applying this industrial-company FCF rule without adjustment can misclassify them.
Build the dividend growth record from ordinary payments
A dividend growth screener needs a consistent history. Collect regular dividends per share for each completed year using one basis, such as payment date, and one currency. Adjust for splits, distinguish a full year from an incomplete one, and count cuts or suspensions before computing growth. A positive CAGR between two endpoints can hide a cut in the middle. With five annual observations there are four growth intervals, not five.
TradingView's dividend summary describes yield, payout ratio and dividend history. Use those views to cross-check a candidate, then resolve differences with issuer disclosures.
Special dividends are an actual source of distortion. Costco announced a $15 special dividend in December 2023, payable January 12, 2024. That payment is historical evidence of a special distribution, not a recurring annual commitment or a current Costco yield estimate. Do not annualize a special, and check return-of-capital classifications separately.
Save the candidates, then verify each company
- Apply the screener and download its CSV. Keep the applied inputs, source and retrieval time alongside your research. The file contains only matches from the returned sample.
- Use AI Finance Agent to retrieve cash flow statements and dividend records for each symbol. Ask it to show reporting dates, currencies, missing fields and the source for any classification of a special distribution. Confirm the numbers against the issuer's filings; an AI answer is not an audited reconciliation.
- For each candidate, calculate ordinary and total FCF payout separately. Record your growth rule, evidence of cuts and whether the next payment is declared or merely assumed.
- Open the table's TradingView chart link, confirm the exchange and share class, and inspect price history and dividend events. Save a watchlist there if you want to continue monitoring. A chart does not verify cash coverage or guarantee an entry price.
Research prompt: For these symbols, show the latest three complete fiscal years of operating cash flow, capex and common dividends paid. Reconcile ordinary versus special dividends with issuer disclosures, list any missing evidence, calculate FCF payout, and reconstruct split-adjusted regular dividends per share. Include dates, currencies and source links.
Use Market Screener for a broader screening workflow. Do not assume its filters natively calculate every rule in this worksheet. The FMP company screener documentation describes the underlying company query; the field map above reflects this page's implementation.
Sources and field mapping reviewed October 20, 2026. Educational screening workflow only, not investment advice. Prices and dividends can change; past payments do not guarantee future distributions or total returns.