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Do These 3 Checks Before Buying International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Readers hoping to buy International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. In other words, investors can purchase International Business Machines' shares before the 9th of August in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of September.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$1.65 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$6.60 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, International Business Machines has a trailing yield of approximately 5.0% on its current stock price of $131.64. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether International Business Machines can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for International Business Machines

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Last year International Business Machines paid out 105% of its profits as dividends to shareholders, suggesting the dividend is not well covered by earnings. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Over the last year, it paid out more than three-quarters (78%) of its free cash flow generated, which is fairly high and may be starting to limit reinvestment in the business.

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It's good to see that while International Business Machines's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. If executives were to continue paying more in dividends than the company reported in profits, we'd view this as a warning sign. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

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historic-dividend

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see International Business Machines's earnings per share have dropped 13% a year over the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. International Business Machines has delivered 8.2% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. International Business Machines is already paying out 105% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.

The Bottom Line

Is International Business Machines worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share have been in decline, which is not encouraging. Worse, International Business Machines's paying out a majority of its earnings and more than half its free cash flow. Positive cash flows are good news but it's not a good combination. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of International Business Machines don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. For example, International Business Machines has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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