“Regarding the first priority, we deployed about $1 billion for capital expenditures in the first quarter and continue to expect about $5 billion of CapEx for the full year as we invest behind the growth priorities we outlined at our financial meeting in March.”

In context

“e of 4.5% was lower than last year's rate of 6.2%. And but about 80 basis points higher than last year's adjusted rate of 3.7%. Altogether, our business delivered first quarter GAAP and adjusted EPS of $1.71, 24% lower than prior year GAAP EPS and 32% higher than prior year adjusted EPS. Now I want to turn to capital deployment and begin where we always do with a reminder of our priorities, which have been consistent for decades. We first look to invest fully in our business in projects that meet our strategic and financial criteria. Next, we look to support the dividend and build on a more than 50-year record of raising the annual dividend. And finally, we look to deploy any excess cash beyond those first 2 uses to retire shares over time within the limits of our middle A credit ratings. Regarding the first priority, we deployed about $1 billion for capital expenditures in the first quarter and continue to expect about $5 billion of CapEx for the full year as we invest behind the growth priorities we outlined at our financial meeting in March. Regarding the second priority, we paid $516 million in dividends in the first quarter, up slightly from a year ago, driven by a 1.8% increase in the per share dividend, partially offset by a lower share count. We plan to request that our Board approved another small increase in the quarterly dividend later this year, allowing us to build on our record of annual increases while moving us closer to our long-term goal of a 40% payout ratio over time. And finally, regarding the third priority, we did not engage in any share repurchase activity during the first quarter. Looking ahead and assuming our business continues to perform well, we should have some capacity to repurchase shares later in the year with the magnitude and pace governed by our outlook and our goal to maintain our current mid”