BD Raises Dividend for 55th Year and Adds 10 Million Shares to Buyback

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX )) announced on November 5, 2026 that its board raised the quarterly common-stock dividend 1.0% to $1.06 per share and authorized repurchases of up to 10 million additional shares, extending its annual dividend-increase streak to 55 consecutive fiscal years while adding capacity for capital returns.

The dividend is payable on December 31, 2026, to holders of record on December 10, 2026, and carries an indicated annual rate of $4.24 per share. The increase matches the 1.0% raise BD announced on November 6, 2025, when the quarterly dividend moved to $1.05 and the indicated annual rate was $4.20. That earlier action marked the company’s 54th consecutive fiscal-year increase.

The streak maintains BD’s longstanding membership in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have increased dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. Chairman, CEO and president Tom Polen said: “Together, the dividend increase and new share repurchase authorization reflect our confidence in our long-term outlook, as well as our ongoing commitment to creating value through our New BD strategy and returning capital to shareholders.”

The buyback authorization is additional to shares still available under the board’s previous 2026 authorization; it is not a report that the shares have already been purchased. BD can repurchase through open-market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or other methods. Management retains discretion over timing, manner, number and value, depending on BD’s share price, general market and economic conditions and other business considerations. The announcement sets no fixed dollar value or purchase timetable.

The decision follows a separate authorization on January 27, 2026, when the board added up to 10 million shares beyond remaining capacity from its 2021 and 2025 authorizations. BD also reported $250 million of stock repurchases to that date in fiscal 2026.

Cash Returns Alongside Investment Plans

BD reported on November 5, 2026 that revenue from continuing operations rose 4.9% to $19.457 billion for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2026. Net cash provided by continuing operating activities increased 30.0% to $3.605 billion. After $672 million of capital expenditures, free cash flow reached $2.933 billion, up 42.5%. BD defines that measure as net cash provided by continuing operating activities less capital expenditures; it is not cash available for discretionary spending because obligations such as debt service are not deducted.

Those results are presented on a continuing-operations basis after BD completed the February 9, 2026 spin-off of its former Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business and combined it with Waters. Prior periods were recast, and New BD refers to the company following that separation.

BD paid $2.433 billion to repurchase common stock and $1.161 billion in dividends in fiscal 2026, compared with $1.000 billion and $1.196 billion, respectively, in fiscal 2025. Combined, those fiscal 2026 cash returns total $3.594 billion, calculated by addition, exceeding the year’s free cash flow. The new authorization therefore follows a year in which repurchase spending rose while dividend payments declined slightly.

The capital-return plans sit alongside a substantial investment commitment. Under its announced partnership with the U.S. government, BD intends to invest $19 billion in the United States over several years through capital, operational and supply-chain investments, including $3 billion directed toward manufacturing expansion.

For fiscal 2027, BD forecasts low-single-digit reported revenue growth and adjusted diluted EPS of $13.10 to $13.30, compared with $12.70 in fiscal 2026. The adjusted measure excludes items including purchase-accounting adjustments, integration and restructuring costs, separation-related costs and other specified charges or gains.

The additional authorization represents flexibility, not a fixed spending commitment. After a year of substantial shareholder payouts, and with the multiyear investment plan ahead, the central execution question is how much of the new capacity management will use and at what pace while funding operations, investment and the higher dividend.