CO
COF
Mar 31, 2023
Quarter ended Mar 31, 2023 · FY2023 Q1

Capital One Financial Corporation stock research

Capital One Financial (COF) Free Cash Flow — Quarter Ended Mar 31, 2023

Operating cash flow turned positive from a negative position a year earlier, driving a substantial free cash flow. Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, but the cash conversion improved markedly.

Free cash flow takeaway

A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.

Operating cash flow turned positive from a negative position a year earlier, driving a substantial free cash flow. Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, but the cash conversion improved markedly.

  • Revenue was lower than the preceding quarter, yet operating cash flow and free cash flow were both positive and higher than the year-ago quarter. The free cash flow margin, while lower than the prior quarter, was strongly positive compared to the negative margin a year earlier.
  • Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, revenue, operating cash flow, capital expenditure, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin were all lower. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, revenue was higher, and operating cash flow, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin improved from negative to positive, while capital expenditure was stable.

FCF snapshot

Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.

TTM free cash flow

$15.9B

Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.

Quarter free cash flow

$2.8B

Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.

Operating cash flow

$3.0B

Cash generated by operations before capital spending.

CapEx

$235.0M

Capital spending and related asset purchases.

FCF margin

215.7%

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.

PeriodRevenueOperating CFCapExFCFFCF margin
2022-06-30$1.4B$3.0B$193.0M$2.8B196.2%
2022-09-30$1.4B$2.8B$221.0M$2.6B180.6%
2022-12-31$1.4B$8.2B$290.0M$7.9B577.6%
2023-03-31$1.3B$3.0B$235.0M$2.8B215.7%

Cash conversion quality

Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.

FCF / net income287.2%Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash.
CapEx / revenue18.4%Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin.
Net cashn/aCash and equivalents minus total debt.

Recent events shaping cash flow

Near-term business events that help explain the free cash flow result.

Supportive

Operating Cash Flow Turnaround

Operating cash flow shifted from negative in the year-ago quarter to positive in the current quarter, which was the strongest observable driver of free cash flow improvement.

This turnaround directly enabled the company to generate positive free cash flow and a positive margin.

What the cash flow says

How to interpret the company's free cash flow beyond the headline number.

Revenue was lower than the preceding quarter, yet operating cash flow and free cash flow were both positive and higher than the year-ago quarter. The free cash flow margin, while lower than the prior quarter, was strongly positive compared to the negative margin a year earlier.

Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, revenue, operating cash flow, capital expenditure, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin were all lower. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, revenue was higher, and operating cash flow, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin improved from negative to positive, while capital expenditure was stable.

Monitor whether operating cash flow can sustain its positive level relative to revenue in future quarters.