Free Cash Flow Is the Lifeblood of Dividends

June 20, 2025 | Free cash flow fuels dividends and long-term returns. Discover why it's central to AAII’s Dividend Investing strategy and the FCF Aristocrats index.

The best-performing subset of the S&P 500 index over the past 15 years is one you have likely never heard of: the S&P 500 Quality FCF Aristocrats index. FCF stands for free cash flow. Free cash flow is not only key to that index, but also to the Dividend Investing (DI) strategy.

I explain why free cash flow is so important, the role it plays in the DI mo…