Free cash flow yield
The cash a business produced last year as a percentage of what the stock market values it at.
Free cash flow yield is the cash return the business itself produced on its current market value. A 6% yield means that, at today's price, the company generated six cents of free cash for each dollar of stock.
It is easy to compare with bond yields and with the company's own growth: a business yielding 3% has to grow its cash flow for the price to make sense, one yielding 10% does not need much.
Where it misleads. It is one year's cash. Check several years of free cash flow before trusting a high yield, and see what growth the price implies with a reverse DCF.
Free cash flow yield across the S&P 500 today
445 companies with a meaningful value, as of Oct 11, 2026. Full ranked list.
Highest in the S&P 500
| Synchrony Financial SYF | 39.0% |
|---|---|
| Corteva Inc CTVA | 32.2% |
| Charter Communications Inc CHTR | 30.9% |
| Comcast Corp CMCSA | 29.5% |
| MetLife Inc MET | 27.6% |
| Ford Motor Company F | 26.7% |
| MGM Resorts International MGM | 23.1% |
| Everest Group Ltd EG | 22.8% |
| Capital One Financial Corporation COF | 20.4% |
| Principal Financial Group Inc PFG | 19.0% |
Lowest in the S&P 500
| Bloom Energy Corp BE | 0.08% |
|---|---|
| Consolidated Edison Inc ED | 0.09% |
| Lennar Corporation LEN | 0.14% |
| Micron Technology Inc MU | 0.16% |
| Axon Enterprise Inc. AXON | 0.21% |
| Vistra Corp. VST | 0.23% |
| Amazon.com Inc AMZN | 0.28% |
| CoStar Group Inc CSGP | 0.33% |
| Coherent Inc COHR | 0.35% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR | 0.43% |
Median free cash flow yield by sector
S&P 500 companies only. Sectors differ a lot, so compare a company with its own sector first.
| Sector | Median | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Services | 8.1% | 67 |
| Real Estate | 5.0% | 26 |
| Consumer Defensive | 4.9% | 29 |
| Communication Services | 4.7% | 20 |
| Energy | 4.6% | 21 |
| Consumer Cyclical | 4.5% | 51 |
| Healthcare | 4.4% | 55 |
| Technology | 3.9% | 82 |
| Basic Materials | 3.7% | 13 |
| Industrials | 3.7% | 72 |
| Utilities | 2.1% | 9 |
Questions
What is Free cash flow yield?
The cash a business produced last year as a percentage of what the stock market values it at.
How is Free cash flow yield calculated?
FCF yield = free cash flow ÷ market cap.
What is a normal free cash flow yield?
Across 445 S&P 500 companies, the median is 4.5%; the middle half sits between 2.8% and 6.8%. It varies a lot by sector.
Related terms
Live figures from the latest prices and SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice. Updated October 9, 2026.