Caterpillar Inc. dividend history

Caterpillar Inc.'s dividend was $5.94 a share in fiscal 2025, up 7.4% on the year before. That was 30.9% of net income. It has raised its dividend per share every year since fiscal 2009, as far back as our figures go.

Dividends, buybacks and capital spending

FY2026 Q2 TTM

Buybacks (TTM): $7.2B
Dividends (TTM): $2.8B
Returned to shareholders: 94%; of free cash flow
Buybacks, last 3 fiscal years: $17.9B
Diluted share count: −2.7%; year over year
Total shareholder yield: 3.6%; dividends 1.0% + buybacks 2.6% of market value
Dividend payout ratio: 26%; of net income paid out
R&D spending: 3.0%; of revenue
Sales & admin spending: 10.1%; of revenue
Days sales outstanding: 64 days; receivables vs revenue

Dividends by fiscal year

US$ millions unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Caterpillar Inc.: dividends by fiscal year, annual
Fiscal year	2009Dec 2009	2010Dec 2010	2011Dec 2011	2012Dec 2012	2013Dec 2013	2014Dec 2014	2015Dec 2015	2016Dec 2016	2017Dec 2017	2018Dec 2018	2019Dec 2019	2020Dec 2020	2021Dec 2021	2022Dec 2022	2023Dec 2023	2024Dec 2024	2025Dec 2025	LTMJun 2026
Dividend per share	$1.68	$1.74	$1.82	$2.02	$2.32	$2.70	$3.01	$3.08	$3.11	$3.36	$3.95	$4.12	$4.36	$4.71	$5.10	$5.53	$5.94	—
Dividend per share growth	—	+3.6%	+4.6%	+11.0%	+14.9%	+16.4%	+11.5%	+2.3%	+1.0%	+8.0%	+17.6%	+4.3%	+5.8%	+8.0%	+8.3%	+8.4%	+7.4%	—
Dividends paid	1,029	1,084	1,159	1,617	1,111	1,620	1,757	1,799	1,831	1,951	2,132	2,243	2,332	2,440	2,563	2,646	2,749	2,812
Share buybacks	0	—	0	0	2,000	4,238	2,025	0	0	3,798	4,047	1,130	2,668	4,230	4,975	7,697	5,190	7,224
Dividends ÷ net income	115.0%	40.1%	23.5%	28.5%	29.3%	66.1%	69.9%	—	242.8%	31.7%	35.0%	74.8%	35.9%	36.4%	24.8%	24.5%	30.9%	25.9%
Dividends ÷ free cash flow	20.6%	31.6%	26.1%	88.2%	14.5%	24.9%	33.1%	39.7%	38.1%	36.9%	36.4%	41.9%	38.2%	37.7%	22.7%	26.3%	30.8%	26.3%

Dividend per share is the amount declared for the fiscal year as stated in the company's filings (including any special dividend), restated for stock splits and checked against the cash dividends paid. Dividends paid and buybacks are cash amounts; the last-twelve-months column can include an extra payment when a quarter-end date moves.

Recent dividend announcements

October 14, 2026 Caterpillar keeps quarterly dividend at $1.63 per share Source

Compare with peers

Head to head: CAT vs CMI CAT vs PCAR CAT vs WAB

More: Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment stocks compared, Industrials sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Caterpillar Inc.'s SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 20, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Caterpillar Inc.