Cash flow generation is highly inconsistent, with capital expenditure intensity reaching 173.6% of operating cash flow in 2023Q4, necessitating continued reliance on external funding.
| Cash from Operations | 438.57M | 481.72M | 628.03M | 619.1M | 157.47M | 505.22M | 625.47M | 503.31M | 365.37M | 214.69M | 189.52M | 166.41M | 93.12M |
| Operating CF Growth % | -162.94% | -23.3% | 1.44% | 293.16% | -68.83% | -19.23% | 24.27% | 37.75% | 70.19% | 13.28% | 13.88% | 78.71% | - |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 18.44% | 20.77% | 23.28% | 23.86% | 7.17% | 29.11% | 38.11% | 32.47% | 23.07% | 26.09% | 25.48% | 20.47% | 14.65% |
| Net Income | -1.37B | -1.38B | 29.2M | -74.5M | 264.86M | 504.19M | 172.1M | 175.55M | 154.11M | 97.63M | 85.32M | 46.21M | 8.93M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 331.54M | 395.69M | 467M | 455.52M | 402.96M | 314.12M | 290.91M | 247.47M | 260.54M | 139.37M | 107.84M | 99.65M | 93.25M |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | -66.61M | -50.22M | 0 | 54.93M | 39.88M | 68.07M | 21.38M | 26.21M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.56B | 1.54B | 227.43M | 506.6M | 48.89M | -256.16M | 34.78M | 568.21M | 495.21M | 203.32M | 203.94M | 64.7M | 7.94M |
| Working Capital Changes | -99.36M | -91.37M | -106.89M | -212.84M | -517.43M | -81.57M | 61.7M | -7.71M | -59.08M | 2.76M | -8.03M | -46.95M | -18.92M |
| Capital Expenditures | 2.15B | -872.42M | -1.03B | -1.79B | -1.38B | -850.1M | -1.25B | -1.06B | -597.9M | -2.16B | -224.18M | -373.36M | -348.05M |
| CapEx / Revenue % | 90.53% | 37.61% | 38.03% | 68.94% | 62.62% | 48.98% | 76.08% | 68.64% | 37.75% | 262.37% | 30.15% | 45.92% | 54.75% |
| CapEx / D&A | 6.49x | 2.20x | 2.20x | 3.93x | 3.42x | 2.71x | 4.29x | 4.30x | 2.29x | 15.49x | 2.08x | 3.75x | 3.73x |
| CapEx Coverage (OCF/CapEx) | 0.20x | 0.55x | 0.61x | 0.35x | 0.11x | 0.59x | 0.50x | 0.47x | 0.61x | 0.10x | 0.85x | 0.45x | 0.27x |
| Cash from Investing | 2.14B | 132.74M | -1.1B | -1.79B | -1.8B | -1.23B | -1.25B | -1.06B | -603.97M | -2.16B | -224.18M | -391.4M | -348.05M |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 110.02M | -341.59M | 1.12B | -416.16M | -209.46M | 319.83M | -1.55B | -322.66M | 1.3M | -7.56M | -224.98M |
| Purchase of Investments | 0 | 0 | -248.21M | -212.51M | -616.84M | -293.94M | -685.4M | -953.82M | -65.8M | -1.76B | -99.75M | 0 | 0 |
| Sale of Investments | 0 | 0 | 11.96M | 2.8M | 218.06K | 0 | 1.02M | 1.1M | 1.61B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Investing | 3B | 1.01B | 56.78M | -165.76M | -925.78M | 330.3M | 256.96M | 17.03M | 12.97M | 222.71M | 21.28M | -10.48M | 26.02M |
| Cash from Financing | -2.64B | -556.41M | 442.81M | 1.11B | 1.67B | 766.86M | 644.28M | 567.34M | 197.24M | 1.94B | 112.52M | 220.49M | 216.51M |
| Dividends Paid | -245.4M | -295.55M | -336.89M | -371.97M | -313.34M | -276.01M | -209.64M | -165.52M | -144.14M | -95.85M | -64.45M | -58.16M | -54.35M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio % | - | - | 1658.09% | - | 119.35% | 33.5% | 38.59% | 94.28% | 93.53% | 98.18% | 76.2% | 145.97% | 125.25% |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | -2M | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock Issued | 0 | 0 | 5.32M | 41.82M | 976.95M | 0 | 370.79M | 454.02M | 454.44M | 14.9M | 104.16M | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -1.23M | -3.48M | -2.43M | -4.67M | -3.37M | -5.27M | -5.28M | -2.09M | -3.31M | -3.89M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 154.02M | 1.05B | 45.98M | 190.46M | 2.05B | 736.93M | 853.92M | 732.86M | 357.18M | 2.03B | 176.96M | 278.65M | 270.86M |
| Net Change in Cash | -64.9M | 54.95M | -25.05M | -60.2M | 31.37M | 42.75M | 15.67M | 3.28M | -38.8M | -7.62M | 81.51M | -5.02M | -36.98M |
| Exchange Rate Effect | -176K | -3.09M | -267K | -1.13M | -1.7M | 573K | 1.03M | -606K | 598K | -1.66M | 4.99M | 557.82K | 1.44M |
| Cash at Beginning | 90.5M | 76.14M | 101.19M | 124.99M | 101.61M | 62.48M | 46.82M | 43.54M | 82.34M | 89.96M | 8.01M | 13.03M | 50M |
| Cash at End | 82.6M | 131.09M | 76.14M | 57.6M | 124.99M | 101.61M | 62.48M | 46.82M | 43.54M | 82.34M | 89.52M | 8.01M | 13.03M |
| Free Cash Flow | 2.59B | -390.7M | -398.14M | -1.17B | -1.22B | -318.2M | -623.34M | -560.74M | -232.53M | -1.94B | -34.66M | -206.95M | -254.93M |
| FCF Growth % | 862.62% | 1.87% | 65.95% | 4.16% | -283.43% | 48.95% | -11.16% | -141.15% | 88.04% | -5509.88% | 83.25% | 18.82% | - |
| FCF Margin % | 108.97% | -16.84% | -14.76% | -45.07% | -55.52% | -18.33% | -37.98% | -36.17% | -14.68% | -236.28% | -4.66% | -25.45% | -40.11% |
| FCF / Net Income % | -188.99% | 28.3% | -1959.53% | 574.35% | -464.73% | -38.63% | -114.75% | -319.41% | -150.88% | -1991.62% | -40.98% | -519.42% | -587.56% |
Strategic transition execution risk
According to the provided quarterly data, operating cash flow for AQNB has exhibited significant inconsistency, ranging from a low of $34.2 million in 2025Q1 to a peak of $264.7 million in 2023Q2, highlighting the difficulty in maintaining stable cash generation during this period of corporate restructuring.
The erratic nature of operating cash flow suggests that the company's core regulated operations are currently being impacted by external factors or internal shifts that disrupt standard utility predictability. Investors should monitor whether the upcoming strategic pivot to a pure-play utility model successfully smooths these cash flow fluctuations over the next several quarters.
As reported in the financial statements, the company's capital expenditure relative to operating cash flow reached a high of 173.6% in 2023Q4, indicating that the firm continues to rely heavily on external funding to support its infrastructure investment requirements despite the ongoing strategic divestiture of renewable assets.
The high ratio of CAPEX to operating cash flow is typical for a utility in a growth phase, but for AQNB, it underscores the persistent need for capital to maintain its rate base. This intensity warrants further investigation into whether the current level of investment is yielding the expected regulatory returns or if it is merely sustaining aging infrastructure.
Based on the reported figures, the OCF-to-dividend coverage ratio has fluctuated wildly, dropping as low as 0.3 in 2023Q1 and reaching 4.7 in 2025Q2, which suggests that the sustainability of the dividend payout remains highly sensitive to the company's ability to generate consistent cash from its regulated operations.
The wide variance in dividend coverage indicates that the payout is not currently supported by a stable cash flow foundation, which may explain the market's skepticism regarding the dividend's long-term security. Analysts should interpret these coverage ratios as a reflection of the company's ongoing struggle to balance shareholder returns with the capital demands of its utility business.
Data from recent filings reveals a stark disconnect between net income and operating cash flow, most notably in 2024Q3 where a $1.3 billion net loss contrasted with $66.7 million in operating cash flow, illustrating the significant impact of non-cash impairments on the company's reported financial results.
This divergence suggests that GAAP net income is currently a poor proxy for the company's actual cash-generating capacity, likely due to the heavy influence of one-time write-downs and accounting adjustments. Investors should prioritize cash-based metrics over earnings-based ones to better assess the underlying health of the utility's operations during this transition.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AQNB stock.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Cor (AQNB) generated $481.7M in net cash from operating activities in 2024. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Cor (AQNB) reported negative free cash flow of $390.7M in 2024, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Cor (AQNB) spent $872.4M on capital expenditures in 2024. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2024, Algonquin Power & Utilities Cor (AQNB) returned $295.6M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $3.5M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.