Which Sustainable Dividend Payers Cut Their Dividend?

A clean rating today does not mean a clean past. Of the 332 dividend payers that pass the six sustainability checks and have a usable record, 33 cut their dividend per share in the last five years. The table lists the most recent, so you can judge whether a cut was a warning or a one-off.

This is educational analysis, not investment advice. Figures are early Wednesday, November 4, 2026 readings and will move.

Which payers rated sustainable have cut recently?

These are the 12 most recent of 33. An asterisk marks a cut that followed a jump of more than 25%, which may be a special dividend ending. The rest are on the Sustainable Dividend Screener, using the "Cut in the last 5 years" filter.

How is a cut measured?

A cut is a fiscal year whose dividend per share is more than 10% below both of the two years before it, using cash dividends paid divided by the split-adjusted share count from 10-K filings. Testing against the lower of the two years stops a special dividend from making the next ordinary year look like a cut. Cash paid lags announcements, so a cut can appear a year late.

Why would a stock pass the checks after a cut?

The six checks look at the latest year: free cash flow, debt, interest cover and revenue. A company that cut its dividend to rebuild cash flow may look clean afterwards. The cut is the reason it looks clean, not a contradiction. Treat the cut as part of the history.

What else does the dividend record show?

For how the checks work, read how to find safe high-dividend stocks, and for context after the election, do dividend stocks hold up after election rallies.

What is a good way to read the cut history?

Not every cut is bad news. Context decides whether a cut was a warning, a reset or a one-off. Ask what the company did with the money, whether the dividend has grown since and whether cash flow now covers it.

What should you do with a payer that cut and recovered?

• Check the years since the cut. A payer that has raised its dividend for several years has rebuilt trust.
• Check payout against free cash flow. The safest dividends use less than 60% of free cash flow.
• Check the debt. A strong balance sheet is the best protection against another cut.
• Check the yield. If the yield is far above peers, the market may expect another cut.

All of this is on each row of the Sustainable Dividend Screener.

Why does a clean rating still need a record?

A rating is a snapshot. It describes the most recent year, while a record covers a decade. A company can pass today's six checks and still have a pattern of cutting in each recession. Reading both together is a fuller picture than either alone.

The method is deliberately plain: cuts are fiscal years more than 10% below both of the two years before, using dividends paid divided by split-adjusted shares. Because it is rule-based, you can check it yourself, and the editorial standards explain how the site treats data limits.

How does this compare with all dividend payers?

Of the 365 dividend payers with a usable record on this site, 245 have no cut in 10 years or more, and 44 cut within five years. Cuts are concentrated in a minority, so a clean rating is a real reduction in risk, but not a guarantee.

• Cuts are not evenly spread: they cluster in recessions and in sectors under stress.
• Ratings and records measure different things: one looks at the latest year, the other at a decade.
• Both can be useful: use the rating to screen, then read the record before you rely on it.

What terms should you know?

With these in mind, the table's meaning is clear: a clean rating describes today, and a cut in the last five years describes the recent past.

What should you do if you own one of these stocks?

• Read why it cut, using the company's own explanation in the filings.
• Check recovery: has the dividend been raised since the cut?
• Check cash cover and debt today, not only in the year of the cut.
• Decide your own rule, for example holding only payers with no cuts in five years.

A cut does not require selling. It requires understanding what happened, and whether the reasons have gone away.

What is the bottom line on cut history?

A clean rating and a recent cut can both be true. Read the record beside the rating, and use the reason for the cut to decide whether the risk has passed.

Frequently asked questions