Brookfield Stock Audit: 21/30, Dividend Outruns Cash

What did Brookfield Asset Management just report?

Brookfield Asset Management reported quarterly results on Friday, November 6, 2026, with earnings per share of $0.66 against a $0.66 consensus estimate. On unrounded figures that's a 0.9% beat, its fourth in a row. The shares rose 1.64% that session and stood at $75.86 as of the close on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

The report landed four days after a 6.7% jump on Monday, November 2, 2026. The numbers don't explain that move, but they do show a stock sitting 2.7% below its 52-week high of $77.99.

Brookfield is an asset manager that runs funds in real estate, infrastructure, renewable power, private equity and credit for pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions. At first glance its financials look strange. Some of that's noise, and some of it isn't.

The past year in one picture: a low close of $58.76 on March 12, 2026, a high close of $77.78 on August 13, 2026, and a net gain of only 1.1%.

What does the Stock Audit say about BAM.TO?

The free Chart Equity Stock Audit scores Brookfield Asset Management 21/30, a B grade in the "Solid, Monitor" band. It found two strengths, two concerns and one potential red flag. Valuation vs growth earns a perfect 5/5, while capital allocation is the weak spot at 2/5.

Module	Score
Revenue Strength	3/5
Profitability	4/5
Balance Sheet Safety	4/5
Competitive Advantage	3/5
Valuation vs Growth	5/5
Capital Allocation	2/5

Solid but not exceptional. The business earns a lot on its capital, and the stock looks cheap on one valuation measure. How that capital gets handed back to shareholders is where the audit pushes back.

Is Brookfield's revenue actually growing?

Yes, but single-year growth rates don't tell you much here. Revenue went from $2.79 billion in 2021 to $4.61 billion in 2025, a 13.4% compound annual rate over four years. In between, reported revenue fell to just $48.2 million in 2022, so 2025's 856% jump mostly reflects a changing reporting base.

Diluted shares were 388.8 million in 2023 and 1.62 billion in 2024. A company doesn't quadruple its share count while revenue drops 98% by accident. That looks like a change in what the listed company includes, and it's why revenue strength only gets a 3/5.

The cleaner signal is recent: trailing 12-month revenue is $6.63 billion, and the latest quarter grew 71.6% from a year earlier.

On the revenue chart, look for the dip in the middle years and then the step back up in 2025.

How profitable is Brookfield Asset Management?

Very. The trailing 12-month operating margin is 65.3% and the net margin is 71.2%. Return on equity is 34.3% on trailing figures, and the audit's own calculation puts it at 42.3%. Either way, the company keeps most of every revenue dollar, which is why profitability earns a 4/5.

The audit's concern is that net margin fell from 112.2% in 2024 to 54.9% in 2025. Some context first. A net margin above 100% means net income was bigger than revenue: in 2024, the company earned $541.0 million on just $482.0 million of revenue.

So the drop isn't a squeeze in the usual sense. The 2025 figures ($2.95 billion of operating income on $4.61 billion of revenue) give a more honest picture, and the trailing 71.2% net margin suggests it hasn't gotten worse since. Our guide to return on equity explains why 34% is a high number.

Does Brookfield's cash flow cover the dividend?

Not fully. In 2025 the company paid $2.82 billion in dividends but generated only $2.31 billion of free cash flow and $2.53 billion of net income. The Stock Audit flags a 108% payout ratio as its one potential red flag: the dividend is bigger than the profit behind it.

The cash engine itself is strong. Capital spending was zero, and the free cash flow margin was 50.2%. But it returned about $3.24 billion to shareholders in a year when free cash flow was $2.31 billion.

Buybacks also didn't offset dilution. According to the audit, the share count rose 314.8% over two years, while repurchases totaled $429.21 million. That's the main reason capital allocation scores a 2/5.

On the free cash flow chart, watch whether the line catches up to the dividend.

How much debt does Brookfield carry?

More than it used to. Total debt was $219.0 million at the end of 2024, $2.93 billion at the end of 2025 and $5.99 billion in the latest quarter, against $688.0 million of cash. Debt-to-equity was 0.36 at the end of 2025, still modest for a financial company.

The level isn't the worry. The audit gives balance sheet safety a 4/5 because assets cover liabilities 2.56x, and the current ratio is 2.97. The direction is the issue: debt has roughly doubled since year-end, while dividends and buybacks outran free cash flow. The filings don't link the two, but the timing lines up. Our guide to the debt-to-equity ratio explains how to judge this.

Compare the latest bar on the debt chart with the years before 2025.

Is BAM.TO stock expensive?

That depends on the yardstick. At $75.86, the trailing P/E is 18.3x, and the audit's PEG of 0.95 earns valuation a 5/5. But the stock trades at 15.4x sales, the forward P/E is 24.8x and the free cash flow yield is only 2.9%. Those look a lot less cheap.

Analysts' forward EPS estimate is $3.01, below trailing EPS of $4.09. The last four reported quarters add up to about $2.51 per share, closer to the forward estimate. So the 18.3x headline P/E likely flatters the stock, and the PEG built on it deserves skepticism. Our guide to P/E vs PEG ratios explains why.

Analysts' average target of $76.23 sits almost exactly on the share price. Ratings split 10 buy, 7 hold and 1 sell.

The comparison below puts BAM.TO's P/E next to JPMorgan and two other large caps. Watch where it lands relative to the bank.

What's the bull case and the bear case?

The bull case

This is a highly profitable manager, with a 65.3% trailing operating margin and four straight earnings beats. Quarterly EPS climbed from $0.59 in May to $0.66 in November. ROIC went from 0.2% in 2023 to 15.5% in 2025, according to the BAM.TO Stock Audit.

The bear case

The dividend costs more than the company earns, debt is rising, and the beats are getting thinner: 6.1% in February, then 0.9% in November. At 15.4x sales, even a modest slowdown could hit the valuation. Our guide to the price-to-sales ratio explains why that multiple sets a high bar.

What would change the thesis

Free cash flow covering the dividend, debt leveling off and revenue growth holding above the 13% yearly pace would all help. If revenue falls well below that pace while the payout stays above 100%, the bear case gets much stronger.

What's next for Brookfield Asset Management stock?

The next catalyst is the earnings report expected Wednesday, February 3, 2027, according to the Yahoo Finance earnings calendar. Watch whether EPS keeps climbing from $0.66, whether free cash flow moves closer to covering the dividend, and whether total debt stops rising from $5.99 billion.

Brookfield is a very profitable manager whose valuation looks fair on trailing earnings but full on forward ones. The profitability case holds up. The cash return case doesn't yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brookfield Asset Management a good dividend stock?

It pays a dividend yield of 3.77%, and the most recent ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31, 2026. The yield is attractive, but the Stock Audit puts the payout ratio at 108% of earnings. A payout above 100% can't last forever unless earnings or cash flow grow into it, so income investors should watch coverage closely.

Why did BAM.TO stock jump on November 2, 2026?

The stock rose 6.7% on Monday, November 2, 2026, its largest one-day move in the last 10 sessions. The financials don't explain what caused it. The move came four days before the November 6 earnings report and helped push the shares back near the top of their 52-week range, which runs from a low of $58.09 to a high of $77.99.

Why is BAM.TO's forward P/E higher than its trailing P/E?

Trailing P/E divides the price by the last 12 months of earnings, while forward P/E uses analysts' estimate for the next fiscal year. Brookfield's trailing EPS is $4.09 and the forward estimate is $3.01. Lower expected earnings mean a higher multiple, which is why the forward P/E is 24.8x compared with 18.3x on a trailing basis.

Who owns Brookfield Asset Management stock?

Institutions own most of it, holding 90.2% of shares, while insiders hold 3.6%. Short interest is just 3.1% of the float, so there isn't a large group of investors betting against the stock. Heavy institutional ownership is common for large asset managers. It can also mean the share price reacts quickly when big funds change their positions.

What is a good return on equity for an asset manager?

ROE measures profit relative to shareholders' equity. For most companies, anything above about 15% is generally considered strong. Brookfield's trailing ROE of 34.3% is well above that. The catch is that asset managers often need relatively little equity to run their funds, so a high ROE is partly built into the business model. That makes trends over time more useful than a single reading.