Key Highlights

● General Mills held its quarterly dividend at $0.61 per share, payable on 2 November 2026.

● The trailing dividend yield stands at 7.56% on the $32.29 close of 9 October 2026.

● Fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings guidance of $3.00 to $3.20 now sits below fiscal 2026's $3.55.

● Guidance implies a payout of roughly 76% to 81% of adjusted earnings, up from 69%.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) has held its quarterly dividend at $0.61 per share even though its fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings guidance of $3.00 to $3.20 per share sits below the $3.55 reported for fiscal 2026, so the question is how much room the payout leaves. On the company's own guidance it is covered, but with a thinner margin than before.

The yield and the payments

Using a closing price of $32.29 on 9 October 2026, General Mills' trailing dividend yield is 7.56%. That figure is the sum of four regular quarterly payments of $0.61 per share, a total of $2.44, with ex-dividend dates from 10 October 2025 to 9 October 2026 inclusive: 10 October 2025, 9 January, 10 April and 10 July 2026. No special dividends were paid in the window. The record date is treated as the ex-dividend date.

On 29 September 2026 the company declared a further quarterly dividend at the prevailing rate of $0.61, with a record date of 13 October and payment on 2 November 2026. That ex-date falls after the window above. Annualised at four payments, the indicated regular yield is also 7.56%, a reading of the current rate.

Business and earnings

General Mills is an S&P 500 constituent, according to published index constituent lists, and its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange. It sells packaged foods. In fiscal 2026, to 31 May 2026, net sales were $18.4 billion, down 5%, with organic sales down 2%. Reported diluted earnings were a loss of $0.16 per share because of about $1.8 billion of non-cash goodwill and intangible impairments in the fourth quarter and a $1.0 billion valuation loss on the Brazil business, which is held for sale. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $3.55.

Cash flow and payout cover

Cash generation covered the dividend last year. Free cash flow was $1,626.3 million, or 85% of adjusted after-tax earnings, against dividends paid of about $1.3 billion. The company paid $2.44 per share in fiscal 2026, up about 2% on the prior year.

Fiscal 2027 is tighter. Guidance, reaffirmed with first-quarter results on 23 September 2026, is for adjusted earnings of $3.00 to $3.20 per share, adjusted operating profit down 13% to 8% in constant currency, and free cash flow of about 95% of adjusted after-tax earnings. Against the $2.44 annual dividend, that implies a payout of roughly 76% to 81% of guided adjusted earnings, compared with about 69% on fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings. Reported earnings are not the same measure, and the reported result for fiscal 2026 was a loss.

The first quarter of fiscal 2027 showed adjusted earnings of $0.75 per share, down 13% in constant currency, on net sales of $4.4 billion, down 3% because of the US yogurt divestiture, with organic sales flat. Dividends paid were $330 million, and operating cash flow was $297.8 million against $90.5 million of capital investment.

Risks

Total debt was about $13.5 billion at 31 May 2026 against cash of $453.8 million, so net debt is roughly $13.1 billion. The company is targeting at least $750 million of cost savings in fiscal 2027 and $3 billion by fiscal 2030, and has agreed the sale of its Brazil business for a base price of 800 million reais. A high yield partly reflects a lower share price.

Cost Savings, Volumes and the Brazil Sale Will Set the Payout Cushion

Delivery of cost savings, volume trends, completion of the Brazil sale and whether adjusted earnings stay within the guided range are the measures to follow. The next dividend payment is due on 2 November 2026, and the board has given no signal of a change.