Free cash flow takeaway
A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.
The current quarter's free cash flow improved sharply compared to both the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, driven by higher operating cash flow and lower capital expenditure. The free cash flow margin turned positive after being negative in the same quarter last year.
- Revenue increased from the prior quarter and from the year-ago quarter. Operating cash flow was higher than both comparison periods, while capital expenditure was lower than the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, resulting in a substantial increase in free cash flow and a significantly improved free cash flow margin.
- Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, revenue and operating cash flow were higher, capital expenditure was lower, and free cash flow improved. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, all metrics improved: revenue was higher, operating cash flow turned from negative to positive, capital expenditure was lower, and free cash flow turned from negative to positive.
FCF snapshot
Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.
TTM free cash flow
-$276.0M
Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.
Quarter free cash flow
$1.5B
Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.
Operating cash flow
$1.8B
Cash generated by operations before capital spending.
CapEx
$390.0M
Capital spending and related asset purchases.
FCF margin
25.6%
The share of revenue converted into free cash flow.
Cash flow trend
A short quarterly history shows whether FCF is scaling with revenue or only spiking for one period.
| Period | Revenue | Operating CF | CapEx | FCF | FCF margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-31 | $4.5B | -$1.0B | $729.0M | -$1.7B | -38.6% |
| 2025-03-31 | $6.1B | $107.0M | $806.0M | -$699.0M | -11.4% |
| 2025-06-30 | $5.2B | $1.5B | $767.0M | $710.0M | 13.8% |
| 2025-09-30 | $5.7B | $1.8B | $390.0M | $1.5B | 25.6% |
Cash conversion quality
Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.
| FCF / net income | 156.8% | Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash. |
| CapEx / revenue | 6.8% | Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin. |
| Net cash | n/a | Cash and equivalents minus total debt. |
Recent events shaping cash flow
Near-term business events that help explain the free cash flow result.
Cash flow turnaround
The strong increase in operating cash flow, combined with reduced capital spending, drove the free cash flow from negative to positive.
This enabled the company to generate a positive free cash flow margin.
What the cash flow says
How to interpret the company's free cash flow beyond the headline number.
Revenue increased from the prior quarter and from the year-ago quarter. Operating cash flow was higher than both comparison periods, while capital expenditure was lower than the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, resulting in a substantial increase in free cash flow and a significantly improved free cash flow margin.
Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, revenue and operating cash flow were higher, capital expenditure was lower, and free cash flow improved. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, all metrics improved: revenue was higher, operating cash flow turned from negative to positive, capital expenditure was lower, and free cash flow turned from negative to positive.
The Illinois CMC price mechanism, which resulted in a negative average price per MWh in the current quarter compared to a positive price in the same quarter last year, as noted in the filing.