Sherwin-Williams has two dates inside a week of each other. On Wednesday, October 21, the paint maker declared a regular quarterly dividend of 80 cents a share, payable Friday, December 4. Six days later, on Tuesday, October 27, it reports third-quarter results before the market opens.
Who is on the list for December 4
Holders of record on Friday, November 13 receive the 80 cents. The Cleveland company calls it a regular quarterly dividend, not a special one.
At 80 cents, a share pays $3.20 over four quarters. A shareholder with 150 shares collects $120 on December 4. The same 150 shares bring $480 across a year at this rate.
The dividend bill is large. Sherwin-Williams paid out $197.5 million in cash dividends in the second quarter, compared with $195.7 million in the third quarter of 2025 and $182.5 million in the third quarter of 2024. Holders have been paid a dividend that costs the company close to $200 million every quarter.
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Sherwin-Williams set its dates around the earnings calendar. Investors must own shares by the November 13 record date to collect the 80 cents on December 4, and the third-quarter report on October 27 comes less than a week after the October 21 declaration.
The October 27 report comes first
The results arrive earlier than the cash. Sherwin-Williams said in an October 1 notice that it will release third-quarter figures before the open on Tuesday, October 27, covering the quarter that ended September 30.
A conference call follows at 10:00 a.m. Eastern the same day. Chair, president and chief executive Heidi Petz and other senior executives will discuss the quarter and the outlook for the fourth quarter and the full year 2026. A listen-only webcast runs from the company’s Quarterly Results page, and a replay posts about two hours after the call ends.
The record date falls 17 days after the results come out. Because the dividend is already declared, the results cannot change the 80 cents. They can change what shareholders think of the company that pays it. The last report, for the second quarter, set the bar.
What the second quarter set up
In its second-quarter report of July 28, Sherwin-Williams posted net sales of $6.789 billion, up 7.5% from $6.315 billion. Net income was $843.6 million, up 11.8%. Diluted earnings were $3.43 a share, up 14.3% from $3.00, and adjusted earnings were $3.70, up 9.5% from $3.38.
Paint Stores Group sales were $3.890 billion, up 5.1%%. Performance Coatings Group sales were $1.914 billion, up 6.3%. Consumer Brands Group grew fastest, up 21.5% to $983.5 million, a gain that includes the Suvinil acquisition.
Petz said in the release that “Sherwin-Williams delivered strong second quarter results.” The company raised its 2026 outlook alongside the report, which gave shareholders a target for the October 27 numbers to meet.
The third-quarter 2025 report, issued October 28, 2025, showed net sales of $6.358 billion, up 3.2% from $6.163 billion. Net income was $833.1 million, up 3.3% from $806.2 million, and diluted earnings were $3.35 a share, up from $3.18. Adjusted earnings were $3.59, up 6.5% from $3.37.
Paint Stores Group sold $3.837 billion that quarter, up 5.1%%, and Performance Coatings sold $1.750 billion, up 1.7%%. Consumer Brands sold $770.1 million, down 2.6%%, the one unit that shrank, and it is the unit that grew 21.5%% in the second quarter this year. Those are the base figures the October 27 report will be measured against, and the company has told investors to expect third-quarter sales up by a mid to high single-digit percentage.
The dividend took about 23%% of second-quarter net income of $843.6 million. In the first six months, dividends of $394.6 million sat alongside a larger buyback program, with $1.46 billion returned in the second quarter alone through both channels.
Shoppers see the business through its stores. The company says it operates more than 5,400 Sherwin-Williams stores, and Paint Stores Group, the unit that runs them, is the largest of its three segments at $3.890 billion in second-quarter sales.
The guidance the quarter is measured against
Sherwin-Williams now expects 2026 net sales to rise by a mid to high-single-digit percentage. It expects diluted earnings of $10.92 to $11.32 a share and adjusted earnings of $11.80 to $12.20, compared with $11.43 adjusted in 2025. Diluted earnings in 2025 were $10.26 a share.
Against adjusted earnings guidance of $11.80 to $12.20, the $3.20 annual dividend takes about 26% to 27%. That is a calculation from two published figures, not a ratio the company stated. It leaves most of each year’s earnings with the business.
Dividends cost the company $197.5 million in the second quarter and $394.6 million in the first six months. Share repurchases were 5.6 million shares in those six months, and 24.0 million shares remain authorized for repurchase. Together, dividends and buybacks returned $1.46 billion to shareholders in the second quarter alone.
The company says it operates more than 5,400 of its own stores. Its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SHW.
Should the December 4 payment wait on the October 27 numbers?
A company announces one date for the cash and another for the numbers, and a household has to track both. Retirees who count on a December 4 payment also have benefit dates to track, and those dates come with applications, not board votes.
The Benefits Checklist covers 11 benefit programs, among them Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, SNAP and property-tax breaks, with the 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory. Its printable application tracker keeps each filing date beside the dividend dates already on the calendar.
Get the Benefits Checklist: 11 programs and the state phone numbers to call →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
