Cash flow generation appears volatile, highlighted by a negative OCF/NI ratio of -3.47 in 2026Q1, which suggests that non-cash charges continue to distort underlying liquidity.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 260M | 305.67M | 375.62M | 203.92M | 181.83M | 143.47M | 748.74M | 483.75M | 606.55M | 385.73M | 514.33M | 370.04M | 372.81M | -49.46M | 569.05M | 254.87M | 235.13M | 155.03M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 13.22% | 15.51% | 7.52% | 5.87% | 4.66% | 26.6% | 15.81% | 20.41% | 13.75% | 18.66% | 14.34% | 17.14% | -3.11% | 42.07% | 21.46% | 21.81% | 15.92% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -88.34% | -18.62% | 84.2% | 12.15% | 26.74% | -80.84% | 54.78% | -20.25% | 57.25% | -25% | 38.99% | -0.74% | 853.71% | -108.69% | 123.27% | 8.4% | 51.66% | - |
| Net Income | 52.48M | 194.22M | -226.55M | 215.46M | 11.03M | 279.84M | 256.99M | 407.72M | 463.97M | 489.64M | 289.96M | 381.7M | 267.87M | 290.16M | 136.22M | 126.36M | 118.19M | 88.55M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 524.7M | 0 | 1B | 1.02B | 1.12B | 1B | 1.03B | 1.08B | 1.05B | 1.05B | 947.08M | 831.58M | 698.89M | 552.27M | 440.86M | 99.85M | 106.45M | 106.5M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 13.55M | 0 | 26.05M | 25.66M | 29.99M | 47.92M | 52.91M | 64.13M | 60.98M | 53.55M | 38.9M | 31.02M | 28.36M | 20.3M | 17.2M | 16.01M | 16.27M | 13.72M |
| Deferred Taxes | 2.91M | 0 | -63.06M | 49.74M | -50.69M | 34.01M | 23.16M | -38.92M | 33.37M | -48.66M | 11.64M | 19.62M | 1.21M | 171.5M | -88.51M | 69.16M | 80.74M | 61.98M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 417.27M | 835.97M | 474M | 113.03M | 418.57M | 60.47M | 88.78M | 163.99M | 8.27M | -3.78M | 175.38M | 35.13M | 31.95M | 6.96M | 30.2M | 329.31M | 219.46M | 167M |
| Working Capital Changes | -755.62M | -724.52M | -835.62M | -1.22B | -1.34B | -1.28B | -701.59M | -1.19B | -1.01B | -1.15B | -948.63M | -929.01M | -655.48M | -1.09B | 33.09M | -385.82M | -305.99M | -282.7M |
| Change in Receivables | 19.02M | 51.38M | 30.89M | 34.33M | 70.37M | -56K | 63.34M | -43.34M | -52.11M | -74.56M | -30.05M | -111M | -72.98M | -80.08M | -11.72M | -44.75M | -36.42M | -27.64M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -187.33M | 70.76M | -141.08M | -19.8M | -81.94M | 38.17M | -29.15M | 20.27M | -164.72M | 91.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 38.33M | 20.1M | -122.48M | -197.73M | 71.65M | 129.41M | 15.96M | -28.41M | 48.85M | 15.61M | 33.12M | 42.35M | 87.47M | 17.79M | 38.09M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -29.51M | -34.21M | -40.38M | -24.32M | -39.38M | -26.58M | -35.16M | -89.71M | -260.18M | -130.6M | -174.57M | -116.77M | -1.22B | -26.15M | -18.83M | -14.94M | -27.34M | -17.92M |
| Capital Expenditures | -21.34M | 0 | 0 | -35.21M | -44.27M | -42.57M | -46.59M | -91.6M | -89.8M | -80.05M | -79.22M | -68.32M | -39.74M | -24.3M | -18.56M | -15.37M | -17.24M | -13.42M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.93% | 1.44% | 1.85% | 1.3% | 1.43% | 1.38% | 1.66% | 2.99% | 3.02% | 2.85% | 2.87% | 2.65% | 1.83% | 1.53% | 1.37% | 1.29% | 1.6% | 1.38% |
| Acquisitions | -7.27M | 0 | 0 | 2.15M | 1.77M | -62.05M | -3.57M | 1.9M | -170.38M | -50.55M | -95.35M | -24.2M | -1.18B | 24.3M | -185K | -320K | -320K | -470K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -908K | -34.21M | -40.38M | 773K | -1.74M | 12.95M | -41.59M | -96.98M | 4.09M | -82.5M | 15.78M | -68.32M | 654K | -24.3M | -17.89M | 750K | -9.78M | -4.03M |
| Cash from Financing | -557.54M | -570.29M | -110.22M | -544.43M | -97.11M | -84.1M | -648M | -131.13M | -314.61M | -204.21M | -153.86M | -127.28M | 574.88M | -19.95M | -155.09M | -104.06M | -148.82M | -132.47M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -455.98M | -462.08M | -28.98M | -462.6M | -37.33M | -34.3M | -259.51M | -26.58M | -4.65M | 273.46M | 89.26M | -116.94M | 597.6M | -14.55M | -155.36M | -106M | -299.08M | -123.03M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -14.64M | -22.01M | -4.63M | -7.27M | -22.33M | -32.89M | -372.67M | -93.62M | -299.98M | -448.71M | -234.06M | -14.45M | -22.19M | -12.13M | -15.99M | 1.95M | 204.02M | 682K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -14.64M | -22.01M | -4.63M | -7.27M | -22.33M | -32.89M | -372.67M | -93.62M | -299.98M | -448.71M | -234.06M | -14.45M | -22.19M | -12.13M | -15.99M | -1.68M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -86.92M | -86.2M | -76.62M | -74.56M | -37.46M | -16.92M | -15.82M | -10.93M | -9.98M | -28.97M | -9.06M | 4.12M | -530K | 6.73M | 16.26M | 20.81M | 0 | -10.12M |
| Net Change in Cash | -318.09M | -282.27M | 214.07M | -359.43M | 37.78M | 3.69M | 72.36M | 261.28M | -3.9M | 77.39M | 165.07M | 114.95M | -320.58M | -89.02M | 395.13M | 135.88M | 50.13M | 4.35M |
| Free Cash Flow | 238.67M | 272.37M | 330.84M | 168.71M | 137.56M | 100.9M | 702.14M | 392.14M | 516.75M | 305.68M | 435.11M | 301.72M | 333.07M | -73.77M | 550.49M | 239.5M | 217.88M | 141.62M |
| FCF Margin % | 10.38% | 11.78% | 13.66% | 6.22% | 4.44% | 3.28% | 24.94% | 12.81% | 17.39% | 10.9% | 15.79% | 11.69% | 15.31% | -4.63% | 40.7% | 20.16% | 20.21% | 14.54% |
| FCF Growth % | -15.03% | -17.67% | 96.1% | 22.64% | 36.33% | -85.63% | 79.05% | -24.11% | 69.05% | -29.75% | 44.21% | -9.41% | 551.52% | -113.4% | 129.85% | 9.92% | 53.85% | - |
| FCF per Share | 5.47 | 4.81 | 6.57 | 3.84 | 3.15 | 2.32 | 13.57 | 6.88 | 8.77 | 4.66 | 6.01 | 4.12 | 4.57 | -1.01 | 7.62 | 3.39 | 3.15 | 2.05 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 4.55x | 3.42x | -1.66x | 0.95x | 23.94x | 0.57x | 3.12x | 1.27x | 1.36x | 0.82x | 1.90x | 1.01x | 1.43x | -0.17x | 4.17x | 2.02x | 2.94x | 2.88x |
| Interest Paid | 7.66M | 156.56M | 129.16M | 149.53M | 125.06M | 114.53M | 0 | 151.5M | 147.71M | 110.65M | 128.32M | 120.39M | 122.31M | 112.05M | 113.49M | 78.71M | 72.33M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 15.57M | 46.39M | 37.99M | 63.02M | 50.49M | 59.85M | 0 | 139.99M | 138.43M | 219.43M | 106.48M | 186.72M | 99.77M | 135.71M | 40.52M | 11.57M | 5.22M | 0 |
Linear revenue decay acceleration
According to the provided quarterly data, AMCX exhibits a persistent disconnect between net income and operating cash flow, with OCF/NI ratios frequently swinging into negative territory, such as the -3.47 reading in 2026Q1, suggesting that non-cash charges significantly distort the company's underlying cash-generating capability.
The wide variance between net income and operating cash flow appears driven by heavy non-cash amortization of content assets. Investors should monitor whether this gap reflects a sustainable accounting reality or an inability to convert reported earnings into actual liquidity as the business model shifts.
As reported in financial statements, free cash flow margins have demonstrated significant instability, ranging from a high of 24.2% in 2024Q1 to a low of 6.3% in 2024Q4, indicating that the company's ability to generate surplus cash is highly sensitive to the timing of content production cycles.
The erratic FCF trajectory suggests that management is struggling to maintain a consistent cash buffer while navigating the transition from linear to streaming. This volatility may indicate that the company is forced to prioritize short-term cash preservation over long-term strategic investment in new content.
Based on the reported figures, AMCX has faced consistent working capital headwinds, with negative quarterly changes reaching as high as $315.1 million in 2023Q4, which suggests that the company is experiencing significant friction in managing its cash conversion cycle during this period of operational transition.
The recurring negative working capital adjustments imply that the company may be struggling with inventory management or delayed collections from distribution partners. This persistent drain on cash flow warrants further investigation into the underlying efficiency of the company's accounts receivable and content production payment terms.
Data from the last ten quarters indicates that CapEx/Revenue ratios have remained modest, peaking at 3.4% in 2024Q4, which suggests that the company's primary capital requirements are largely embedded in content amortization rather than traditional property, plant, and equipment investments.
The low capital intensity relative to revenue may provide a temporary cushion for cash flow, but it also raises questions about the adequacy of investment in the company's digital infrastructure. Analysts should consider whether this low spending level is sufficient to support the competitive requirements of a modern streaming platform.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AMCX stock.
AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) generated $305.7M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) generated $272.4M 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.
AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) spent $0.0M 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, AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) spent $22.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.