Clorox ($CLX) pays the richest dividend of the four big U.S. household-products companies, at a forward yield of about 5.8%, but it is the only one of the four whose free cash flow fell well short of its dividend in the latest fiscal year: $405 million of free cash flow against $602 million paid out, a coverage ratio of 0.67x. Procter & Gamble ($PG) covered its dividend 1.48 times, Colgate-Palmolive ($CL) 1.99 times, and Kimberly-Clark ($KMB) came in just under, at 0.99 times. If you came here from our piece on whether Clorox is a Dividend Aristocrat, this is the next question: compared with its closest peers, how strong is the payout behind the title?
The four dividends side by side
All prices and dividends below are from Financial Modeling Prep market data, October 15, 2026 close. Forward yield is the current quarterly dividend times four, divided by the share price, so you can redo it with any day's quote.
| Company | Price (Oct 15) | Quarterly dividend | Annual rate | Forward yield | TTM payout ratio | Latest raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clorox ($CLX) | $86.20 | $1.25 | $5.00 | 5.80% | 102.6% | $1.24 to $1.25 (+0.8%) |
| Kimberly-Clark ($KMB) | $104.07 | $1.28 | $5.12 | 4.92% | 85.9% | $1.26 to $1.28 (+1.6%) |
| Procter & Gamble ($PG) | $157.06 | $1.0885 | $4.354 | 2.77% | 63.8% | $1.0568 to $1.0885 (+3.0%) |
| Colgate-Palmolive ($CL) | $92.67 | $0.53 | $2.12 | 2.29% | 89.4% | $0.52 to $0.53 (+1.9%) |
The arithmetic for Clorox: 4 x $1.25 = $5.00; $5.00 / $86.20 = 5.80%. For Procter & Gamble: 4 x $1.0885 = $4.354; $4.354 / $157.06 = 2.77%. The raise sizes come from each company's dividend history in the same data set: Clorox's increase took effect with the August 2026 payment, Kimberly-Clark's with the April 2026 payment, P&G's with the May 2026 payment and Colgate's with the May 2026 payment.
Two things stand out before any cash-flow work. First, the yield ranking is almost the exact reverse of the raise ranking. The highest yielder gave the smallest raise, one cent a quarter, while P&G, third by yield, gave the largest. Second, Clorox is the only one paying out more than it earned over the past twelve months.
The number that separates them: free cash flow against dividends
Earnings-based payout ratios can be distorted by one-time charges. Cash is harder to dress up. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital spending, and the coverage ratio is simply free cash flow divided by dividends paid. Each company's most recent full fiscal year, from the same data set:
| Company | Fiscal year | Free cash flow | Dividends paid | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate-Palmolive | FY2025 (Dec. 31, 2025) | $3.634B | $1.823B | 1.99x |
| Procter & Gamble | FY2026 (June 30, 2026) | $15.147B | $10.232B | 1.48x |
| Kimberly-Clark | FY2025 (Dec. 31, 2025) | $1.639B | $1.660B | 0.99x |
| Clorox | FY2026 (June 30, 2026) | $405M | $602M | 0.67x |
Clorox's math: $405 million / $602 million = 0.67. Put another way, the company was about $197 million short of paying its dividend out of free cash flow, and it also spent $256 million buying back stock in the same year. Colgate, at the other end, had about $1.8 billion left over after its dividend ($3.634 billion minus $1.823 billion).
A ratio of 1.0x is the break-even line. Below it, the gap has to be filled from cash on hand or borrowing. One year below the line is not a crisis. Several years in a row is how dividend freezes start.
Is one bad year the whole story?
It helps to look one layer down, because Clorox and Kimberly-Clark fell short for different reasons.
- Clorox: operating cash flow dropped from $981 million in fiscal 2025 to $612 million in fiscal 2026, a 37.6% decline, while capital spending barely moved ($220 million to $207 million). The shortfall came from the business generating less cash. Coverage had been 1.26x in fiscal 2025 ($761M / $602M) and 0.81x in fiscal 2024 ($483M / $595M), so two of the last three years were below the line.
- Kimberly-Clark: operating cash flow of $2.777 billion still covered the dividend 1.67 times. What pushed free cash flow under the dividend was capital spending, which rose from $721 million in 2024 to $1.138 billion in 2025, up 57.8%. In 2024 its free-cash-flow coverage was 1.54x.
- Procter & Gamble and Colgate: both were above 1.4x in each of their last two fiscal years (P&G 1.42x in fiscal 2025; Colgate 1.98x in fiscal 2024).
That distinction matters to a conservative investor. Heavy spending on plants is a choice that can be dialed back. Falling operating cash is a problem with the business itself, and only better results fix it. The next read on Clorox comes on November 2, 2026, when the company says it will post its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results after the close.
How long each streak runs, by the companies' own count where available
- Procter & Gamble: its April 14, 2026 dividend release filed with the SEC says it has paid a dividend for 136 consecutive years and increased it for 70 consecutive years.
- Kimberly-Clark: its January 27, 2026 dividend announcement calls that raise the 54th consecutive year of increases, with 92 consecutive years of payments.
- Colgate-Palmolive: a Motley Fool analysis from August 2026 says Colgate has raised its dividend for 63 straight years.
- Clorox: close to 50 years, with sources differing by a year or two, as our original Clorox Dividend Aristocrat article explains.
All four clear the 25-year bar that Dividend Aristocrat status requires, by a wide margin. Streak length does not separate them. Cash coverage does.
Kimberly-Clark's Kenvue deal changes the comparison
Kimberly-Clark is not a like-for-like peer right now. It has a pending acquisition of Kenvue ($KVUE). Under the merger terms in its second-quarter 10-Q, each Kenvue share converts into 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares plus $3.50 in cash, and shareholders of both companies have approved the deal. In an October 13, 2026 release on related debt exchange offers, Kimberly-Clark said it expects the acquisition to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Its October 15 preliminary third-quarter release says its 2026 outlook excludes the deal and that final quarterly results come November 5.
For a dividend investor, the practical point is that the cash-flow figures above describe a company that is about to change shape. More shares will be outstanding to share the dividend, and new debt will compete with it for cash. Our earlier coverage of Kimberly-Clark and three other Aristocrats has the background. Treat the 0.99x figure as a snapshot of the old company, not a forecast for the combined one.
A common mistake: ranking dividend stocks by yield alone
Sort these four by yield and Clorox comes first. Sort by cash coverage and it comes last. The yield ranking rewards a falling share price: Clorox's $86.20 sits about 33% below its 52-week high of $128.90, and the same $5.00 a year yields 5.80% at today's price against 3.88% at the high ($5.00 / $128.90). A yield that grew because the price fell tells you the market is worried, not that the payout is safe.
There is also a benchmark to clear. On October 15, 2026 the 10-year Treasury yielded 5.10%, per the same data set. Only Clorox's dividend yield is above that, and it is the one with the weakest coverage. P&G and Colgate yield far less than a Treasury, which means buyers are paying for dividend growth and safety, not current income. Our piece on why higher Treasury yields pressure Dividend Aristocrats covers that trade-off in more detail.
A five-point checklist for comparing dividend payers
- Compute the forward yield yourself: quarterly dividend x 4 / today's price.
- Divide free cash flow by dividends paid for at least the last two fiscal years. Look for 1.2x or better.
- If coverage is under 1.0x, find out whether operating cash fell or capital spending rose.
- Compare the size of the latest raise with the yield. A high yield paired with a token raise is a caution flag.
- Check for pending deals, like Kimberly-Clark's Kenvue acquisition, that will change share count and debt.
If you are planning around Clorox's next payment, our companion guide explains how the Clorox ex-dividend date works and the last day to buy. For more income coverage, see the Dividends section, the Markets section and the Wall Street Conservative front page. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
FAQ
Which has the highest dividend yield: Clorox, P&G, Kimberly-Clark or Colgate?
Clorox, at about 5.80% ($5.00 / $86.20 at the October 15, 2026 close). Kimberly-Clark is next at 4.92%, then P&G at 2.77% and Colgate at 2.29%.
Which of the four covers its dividend best with cash?
Colgate-Palmolive. Its 2025 free cash flow of $3.634 billion was 1.99 times its $1.823 billion in dividends. P&G was second at 1.48x.
Did Clorox's free cash flow cover its dividend?
Not in fiscal 2026. Free cash flow was $405 million against $602 million of dividends, or 0.67x. In fiscal 2025 it was 1.26x.
Are P&G, Kimberly-Clark and Colgate all past the 25-year mark?
Yes. P&G reports 70 consecutive years of increases, Kimberly-Clark 54, and Colgate 63 by the Motley Fool's count, all well beyond the 25 years Aristocrat status requires.