Free cash flow margin compressed to 1.4% in 2026Q3 from 15.2% in 2025Q4, with cash of $212M providing a modest buffer while capital returns have been suspended.
Alight, Inc. (ALIT) cash flow statement — 9-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 305M | 360M | 252M | 386M | 286M | 115M | 233M | 268M | 196M | 303M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 15.92% | 10.81% | 11.32% | 12.96% | 3.95% | 8.54% | 10.5% | 8.24% | 13.17% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -64.15% | 42.86% | -34.72% | 34.97% | 148.7% | -50.64% | -13.06% | 36.73% | -35.31% | - |
| Net Income | -1.01B | -3.08B | -138M | -317M | -72M | -60M | -103M | 22M | -21M | 41M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 419M | 407M | 395M | 373M | 395M | 354M | 291M | 253M | 229M | 192M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 19M | 19M | 76M | 139M | 181M | 0 | 5M | 9M | 14M | 10M |
| Deferred Taxes | 175M | 8M | 14M | 108M | -46M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 700M | 3.05B | 10M | 162M | -14M | 106M | 61M | 35M | 32M | 143M |
| Working Capital Changes | 5M | -50M | -105M | -79M | -158M | -285M | -21M | -51M | -58M | -83M |
| Change in Receivables | 65M | 84M | -37M | -20M | -136M | 23M | 133M | -39M | 57M | -76M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -15M | -90M | 31M | 0 | 72M | 11M | 0 | -61M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -98M | -123M | 836M | -159M | -235M | -1.91B | -142M | -604M | -130M | -4.3B |
| Capital Expenditures | -98M | -110M | -121M | -140M | -148M | -114M | -90M | -77M | -80M | -57M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 4.46% | 4.86% | 5.19% | 4.11% | 6.71% | 3.91% | 3.3% | 3.02% | 3.36% | 2.48% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | -13M | 968M | 1M | -87M | -1.79B | -52M | -527M | -75M | -4.25B |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | -11M | -20M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25M | 1M |
| Cash from Financing | -190M | -298M | -1.07B | -231M | 54M | 2.34B | 463M | 420M | -538M | 4.19B |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -39M | -42M | -792M | -50M | -67M | 454M | 260M | 350M | -39M | 3.54B |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | -65M | -167M | -40M | -20M | 1.67B | 0 | -16M | 3M | -399M |
| Dividends Paid | -22M | -86M | -21M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3M | -10M | 0 | -69M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | -65M | -167M | -40M | -12M | -144M | 0 | -4M | 0 | -399M |
| Other Financing | -129M | -105M | -94M | -141M | 141M | 213M | 206M | 96M | -502M | 1.12B |
| Net Change in Cash | -232M | -309M | 12M | 308M | 107M | -134M | 551M | 85M | -478M | 193M |
| Free Cash Flow | 207M | 250M | 131M | 246M | 138M | 1M | 143M | 191M | 116M | 246M |
| FCF Margin % | 9.42% | 11.05% | 5.62% | 7.21% | 6.25% | 0.03% | 5.24% | 7.48% | 4.88% | 10.69% |
| FCF Growth % | -14.81% | 90.84% | -46.75% | 78.26% | 13700% | -99.3% | -25.13% | 64.66% | -52.85% | - |
| FCF per Share | 7.83 | 9.48 | 4.79 | 10.05 | 6.02 | 0.05 | 6.40 | 8.55 | 5.19 | 39.55 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.20x | -0.12x | -1.61x | -1.12x | -4.61x | -1.92x | -2.26x | 12.18x | -9.33x | 12.63x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 108M | 128M | 126M | 0 | 210M | 204M | 192M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 50M | 46M | 17M | 0 | 19M | 9M | 21M | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ALIT stock.
Alight, Inc. (ALIT) generated $360.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Alight, Inc. (ALIT) generated $250.0M in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Alight, Inc. (ALIT) spent $110.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Alight, Inc. (ALIT) returned $86.0M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $65.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Negative net income versus positive operating cash flow
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Positive Operating Cash Against Persistent Net Losses
According to reported figures, Alight generated operating cash flow of $29.0M in 2026Q3 and $73.0M in 2026Q2 while posting net losses of $51.0M and $10.0M, so the OCF/NI relationship is not meaningful on a per-quarter basis.
The most important signal is the divergence between accounting losses and positive operating cash flow, which suggests that a large share of reported losses may reflect non-cash charges such as amortization and impairments rather than deteriorating cash generation. D&A of roughly $100M to $107M per quarter is substantial relative to operating cash flow, and this gap appears to explain much of the difference. Investors should monitor whether operating cash flow can keep pace as revenue continues to contract, since the cash conversion story depends on sustaining collections at current levels.
Free Cash Flow Thinning Across Recent Quarters
Based on Alight's reported figures, free cash flow fell from $99.0M in 2025Q4 to $7.0M in 2026Q3, with FCF margin compressing from 15.2% to 1.4% over four quarters.
The trajectory points to a sharp deterioration in the cash generated per dollar of revenue, which appears to reflect both lower operating cash flow and a 2026Q3 working capital outflow. The swing from a 15.2% margin to near breakeven warrants further investigation into whether the 2025Q4 level was seasonally elevated. Free cash flow remains positive, but the margin trend suggests limited cushion if revenue decline persists.
Low Capital Intensity Holds Steady
Capital expenditure has run between $22.0M and $31.0M per quarter, equal to roughly 3.8% to 5.9% of revenue, indicating a light asset base relative to the company's cash generation.
The stable capex intensity suggests the business does not require heavy reinvestment to maintain operations, which is consistent with a services and technology platform model. Because D&A substantially exceeds capex, the depreciation and amortization figures likely include acquisition-related intangible amortization rather than replacement of physical assets. Investors should treat the depreciation-to-capex gap as a signal that reported earnings may flatter underlying asset replacement needs.
Capital Returns Curtailed Amid Cash Strain
Based on reported figures, dividend payments fell to zero after 2025Q4, and share repurchases ceased after 2025Q3, with the last buyback recorded at $25.0M in that quarter.
The halt in shareholder distributions suggests management may be prioritizing liquidity preservation given the operating loss position and declining free cash flow. Prior repurchase activity of $75M to $80M per quarter in 2024 contrasts sharply with the current absence of returns, which appears to reflect a deliberate change in capital allocation. Whether this reflects a temporary pause or a structural shift is not determinable from the supplied data and warrants further investigation.
Cash Generation May Mask Structural Erosion
As reported in the financial statements, the positive operating cash flow of $29.0M to $124.0M per quarter may overstate the durability of cash generation, given gross margin compression from roughly 40% to 27%.
The strongest challenge to a cash-based recovery view is that margin erosion could eventually flow through to operating cash flow once non-cash add-backs stabilize, which would convert today's reported cash positivity into sustained burn. Revenue decline of several percent year over year compounds this risk by reducing the base against which fixed costs are absorbed. Investors should monitor whether D&A-driven earnings gaps narrow as the company's intangible base amortizes, since a shrinking add-back would expose the underlying economics more directly.