This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
An In-Depth Look at NOV Inc's Upcoming Payout, Yield, and Long-Term Sustainability
NOV Inc ( NYSE:NOV ) recently announced a total dividend of $0.09 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for 2026-09-11. This amount consists of a $0.09 per share cash dividend payable on 2026-09-25. For investors, the ex-dividend date is a critical marker: shareholders must own the stock before this date to qualify for the payment, while those buying on or after it will not receive the distribution. As investors look forward to this upcoming payment, the spotlight also shines on the company's dividend history, yield, and growth rates. Using data from GuruFocus, let's look into NOV Inc's dividend performance and assess its sustainability.
What Does NOV Inc Do?
-
This Powerful Chart Made Peter Lynch 29% A Year For 13 Years
-
How to calculate the intrinsic value of a stock?
-
Is NOV fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator.
NOV Inc (formerly National Oilwell Varco) designs, manufactures, and sells a wide range of equipment and components supplying the oil and gas industry, including rig equipment, downhole tools, drill pipe, and well casing. NOV's customers include major integrated oil companies, national oil companies, independent oil and gas companies, and drilling contractors. Its operations are organized into two reportable segments: energy products and services, and energy equipment. NOV operates on a global scale, with international markets contributing nearly two-thirds of its annual revenue. This geographic diversification helps buffer the company against regional downturns in drilling activity, though it also exposes results to currency swings and varying regulatory regimes across its markets.
A Glimpse at NOV Inc's Dividend History
NOV Inc has maintained a consistent dividend payment record since 2009, and dividends are currently distributed on a quarterly basis. That uninterrupted streak matters to income-focused investors, since it signals that management has prioritized returning cash to shareholders even through the severe oil and gas downturns of the past decade. Below is a chart showing annual Dividends Per Share , which tracks the historical trend and helps investors visualize how the payout has evolved over time. Reviewing this record alongside the company's earnings cycle provides useful context for judging whether the current distribution is likely to be maintained or raised.
Breaking Down NOV Inc's Dividend Yield and Growth
As of today, NOV Inc currently has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.61% and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 1.68%. The gap between the two figures suggests an expectation of increased dividend payments over the next 12 months. For value investors, the forward yield is often the more relevant measure, as it reflects the income stream actually anticipated rather than what was already paid. Still, a yield in the low single digits indicates that NOV Inc is not primarily an income vehicle; total return will depend heavily on capital appreciation and the pace of the broader energy equipment cycle.
Over the past three years, NOV Inc's annual dividend growth rate was 36.60%. Extended to a five-year horizon, this rate increased to 61.30% per year. However, over the past decade, NOV Inc's annual dividends per share growth rate stands at -9.50%. This divergence reflects the company's history: a deep cut during the 20152016 energy bust, followed by aggressive rebuilding of the payout in recent years. Investors should weigh the strong recent growth against that long-term contraction when forming expectations about future increases.
Based on NOV Inc's dividend yield and five-year growth rate, the 5-year yield on cost of NOV Inc stock as of today is approximately 17.58%. Yield on cost measures the annual dividend return relative to an investor's original purchase price, assuming the dividend grows at the historical rate. A figure near 17.58% implies that shareholders who bought five years ago and reinvested could be earning a substantial effective yield today, though such projections depend entirely on the dividend continuing to grow at that pace.
The Sustainability Question: Payout Ratio and Profitability
To assess the sustainability of the dividend, one needs to evaluate the company's payout ratio. The dividend payout ratio provides insights into the portion of earnings the company distributes as dividends. A lower ratio suggests that the company retains a significant part of its earnings, thereby ensuring the availability of funds for future growth and unexpected downturns. As of 2026-06-30, NOV Inc's dividend payout ratio is 1.62. And this may suggest that the company's dividend may not be sustainable, since a ratio above 1.00 means the company is paying out more than it earns.
NOV Inc's profitability rank offers an understanding of the company's earnings prowess relative to its peers. GuruFocus ranks NOV Inc's profitability 5 out of 10 as of 2026-06-30, suggesting fair profitability. The company has reported net profit in 4 years out of the past 10 years. That uneven earnings record is characteristic of the cyclical oilfield equipment industry, where capital spending by exploration and production customers can swing sharply with commodity prices.
Growth Metrics: The Future Outlook
To ensure the sustainability of dividends, a company must have robust growth metrics. NOV Inc's growth rank of 5 out of 10 suggests that the company has a fair growth outlook. A middling rank implies neither exceptional expansion nor serious contraction, which is consistent with a mature industrial supplier tied to energy capital cycles. For dividend investors, the key question is whether this growth profile is sufficient to restore coverage of the payout over time, particularly given the elevated payout ratio noted above.
Revenue is the lifeblood of any company, and NOV Inc's revenue per share , combined with the 3-year revenue growth rate , indicates a strong revenue model. NOV Inc's revenue has increased by approximately 8.30% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 75.61% of global competitors. That top-quartile revenue performance suggests NOV Inc is gaining share or benefiting from favorable end-market demand, which bodes well for its ability to generate the cash needed to support future distributions.
The company's 3-year EPS growth rate showcases its capability to grow its earnings, a critical component for sustaining dividends in the long run. During the past three years, NOV Inc's earnings increased by approximately 11.30% per year on average, a rate that outperforms approximately 65.26% of global competitors. If earnings continue to compound at a double-digit pace, the payout ratio could normalize toward a more comfortable level, easing concerns about dividend sustainability.
Next Steps
NOV Inc's upcoming $0.09 per share dividend, payable on 2026-09-25 to shareholders of record before the 2026-09-11 ex-dividend date, offers a modest but reliable income stream backed by a payout record stretching back to 2009. The picture is mixed, however: recent dividend growth has been impressive, with a five-year rate of 61.30% per year, yet the current payout ratio of 1.62 indicates the company is distributing more than it earns, and a profitability rank of 5 out of 10 reflects only fair earnings power. On the positive side, revenue and EPS growth both outpace a majority of global competitors, suggesting the underlying business is strengthening. Value investors should monitor whether earnings growth translates into improved dividend coverage in coming quarters. Will NOV Inc's revenue momentum be enough to bring its payout back within earnings, or will income investors need to look elsewhere for dependable yield?
GuruFocus Premium users can screen for high-dividend yield stocks using the High Dividend Yield Screener .
