Free cash flow has turned negative at -$5.1M in 2026Q3, exacerbated by a $71.3M working capital outflow that highlights the difficulty of converting rapid top-line growth into tangible liquidity.
| Metric | TTM | Apr'25 | Apr'24 | Apr'23 | Apr'22 | Apr'21 | Apr'20 | Apr'19 | Apr'18 | Apr'17 | Apr'16 | Apr'15 | Apr'14 | Apr'13 | Apr'12 | Apr'11 | Apr'10 | Apr'09 | Apr'08 | Apr'07 | Apr'06 | Apr'05 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -174.18M | -1.32M | 15.29M | 11.4M | -9.62M | 86.53M | 25.1M | 19.26M | 69.21M | -10.5M | 551K | 39.41M | 28.86M | 24.01M | 18.75M | 33.49M | 35.98M | 39.77M | 15.52M | 15.02M | 13.59M | 8.83M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -0.16% | 2.13% | 2.11% | -2.16% | 21.91% | 6.83% | 6.13% | 25.78% | -4.5% | 0.24% | 15.19% | 11.47% | 10% | 5.77% | 11.45% | 14.42% | 16.06% | 7.2% | 8.65% | 9.75% | 8.4% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -1496.38% | -108.62% | 34.14% | 218.53% | -111.12% | 244.79% | 30.31% | -72.17% | 759.2% | -2005.44% | -98.6% | 36.55% | 20.23% | 28.01% | -43.99% | -6.94% | -9.52% | 156.18% | 3.34% | 10.55% | 53.85% | - |
| Net Income | -224.36M | 43.62M | 59.67M | -176.17M | -4.18M | 23.34M | 41.34M | 41.89M | 22.36M | 12.46M | 8.97M | 2.9M | 13.72M | 10.43M | 30.45M | 25.91M | 20.72M | 24.25M | 21.39M | 20.72M | 11.41M | 14.68M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 216.86M | 41M | 35.05M | 100M | 60.83M | 19.26M | 9.89M | 7.67M | 5.98M | 7.05M | 6.07M | 8.37M | 9.15M | 10.94M | 8.97M | 10.6M | 8.98M | 5.36M | 3.85M | 2.9M | 2M | 1.05M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 28.07M | 21.46M | 17.07M | 10.77M | 5.39M | 6.93M | 6.23M | 6.99M | 4.96M | 3.71M | 4.56M | 3.77M | 3.62M | 3.47M | 3.2M | 2.31M | 1.65M | 926K | 490K | 58K | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -24.49M | -20.16M | -23.29M | -18.66M | -7.28M | -1.69M | 3.42M | 4.79M | 3.83M | -52K | -2.75M | -3.33M | -805K | 5.46M | -1.34M | -309K | -253K | -4.36M | -3.1M | 823K | -1.36M | -678K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -61.53M | 31.04M | 33.63M | 179.66M | 11.11M | 15.63M | 8.07M | -775K | 3.67M | 2.34M | 6.24M | 9.32M | 907K | -5.69M | 91K | 1.68M | 3.25M | 11.9M | 10.74M | -1.52M | 2.35M | 49K |
| Working Capital Changes | -108.72M | -118.28M | -106.83M | -84.19M | -75.47M | 23.05M | -43.84M | -41.3M | 28.41M | -36.01M | -22.54M | 18.39M | 2.27M | -590K | -22.62M | -6.7M | 1.63M | 1.7M | -17.84M | -7.95M | -1.05M | -6.27M |
| Change in Receivables | -121.11M | -122.86M | 19.21M | -27.42M | 3.08M | 17.18M | -42.87M | 25.82M | 11.21M | -18.63M | -22.26M | -1.76M | -11.96M | 36.19M | -12.33M | -5.63M | 3.45M | -12.83M | -22.03M | 13.83M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -36.55M | 2.97M | 13.94M | -61.85M | -27.16M | -5.18M | 8.86M | -16.63M | 2.27M | -22.59M | 1.93M | 11.29M | 11.86M | -19.02M | -5.4M | -17.21M | -9.33M | 4.32M | -1.91M | -2.56M | 52K | -6.82M |
| Change in Payables | 6.29M | 22.33M | 12.97M | 12.54M | -7.04M | 2.56M | 3.13M | -7.05M | 5.74M | 2.84M | -2.71M | 5.34M | -2.24M | -4.07M | -10.92M | 10.93M | -3.79M | 9.91M | -1.94M | 7.5M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -1.24B | -28.49M | -51.71M | -7M | -52.29M | -378.77M | 59.17M | 11.12M | -7.62M | -37.35M | -16.58M | -23.82M | 15.58M | -13.11M | -17.33M | -933K | -124.76M | -29.48M | 67.02M | -91.35M | -5.72M | -3.53M |
| Capital Expenditures | -25.13M | 0 | -22.98M | -14.87M | -22.29M | -11.26M | -11.22M | -8.9M | -9.56M | -9.86M | -6.83M | -5.43M | -7.89M | -12.68M | -14.99M | -10.17M | -10.79M | -13.3M | -7.93M | -3.04M | -4.19M | -3.54M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.56% | 2.78% | 3.21% | 2.75% | 5% | 2.85% | 3.05% | 2.83% | 3.56% | 4.23% | 2.92% | 2.09% | 3.14% | 5.28% | 4.61% | 3.48% | 4.33% | 5.37% | 3.67% | 1.75% | 3.01% | 3.37% |
| Acquisitions | -844.59M | 0 | -24.16M | -11.52M | -46.54M | -388.29M | -33.14M | 24.4M | -3.27M | -430K | -295K | -395K | -105K | 850K | 0 | -8.93M | 10.79M | 0 | 7.93M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -50.03M | -28.49M | -4.57M | -250K | 4.57M | 0 | 81K | -431K | -1.22M | 7K | 80K | 0 | 0 | -850K | 13K | 109K | -10.79M | 20K | -7.93M | 15K | -1.53M | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 1.65B | -2.86M | -22.85M | 50.83M | -16.61M | 194.16M | -1.83M | -1.18M | 2.02M | 3.47M | -3.1M | 848K | 7.19M | 212K | 754K | 823K | 944K | 1.15M | 1.6M | 81.86M | -2.54M | 1.45M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 691.54M | 2M | -107M | -55M | -10M | 200M | 0 | -161K | -288K | -390K | -472K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.21M | 0 | -2.5M | 1M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -2M | 855K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 100K | 71K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 722K | 1000K | 289K | 565K | 619K | 836K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 197K | 451K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.99M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.76M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -312K | -433K |
| Other Financing | 964.86M | -5.71M | -4.29M | 1.19M | -9.38M | -3.85M | -1.93M | -1.09M | -397K | -5K | 1.13M | 126K | 485K | -77K | 189K | 204K | 108K | 98K | -820K | 1.14M | -235K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 242.88M | -32.44M | -59.56M | 55.63M | -79.83M | -98.08M | 82.43M | 29.19M | 63.61M | -44.38M | -19.12M | 16.44M | 51.64M | 11.11M | 2.18M | 33.38M | -87.84M | 11.44M | 84.14M | 5.53M | 5.33M | 6.75M |
| Free Cash Flow | -182.71M | -24.13M | -9.19M | -3.47M | -31.91M | 75.27M | 13.88M | 10.36M | 59.65M | -20.36M | -6.28M | 33.98M | 20.97M | 11.32M | 3.76M | 23.31M | 25.19M | 26.47M | 7.6M | 11.98M | 9.4M | 5.29M |
| FCF Margin % | -11.35% | -2.94% | -1.28% | -0.64% | -7.16% | 19.06% | 3.78% | 3.3% | 22.22% | -8.73% | -2.69% | 13.1% | 8.33% | 4.71% | 1.16% | 7.97% | 10.1% | 10.69% | 3.52% | 6.9% | 6.74% | 5.03% |
| FCF Growth % | -612.19% | -162.58% | -165.02% | 89.13% | -142.39% | 442.4% | 33.9% | -82.62% | 392.94% | -224.32% | -118.47% | 62.06% | 85.2% | 200.98% | -83.86% | -7.46% | -4.82% | 248.45% | -36.62% | 27.52% | 77.62% | - |
| FCF per Share | -3.75 | -0.86 | -0.34 | -0.14 | -1.29 | 3.09 | 0.58 | 0.43 | 2.50 | -0.87 | -0.27 | 1.47 | 0.92 | 0.51 | 0.17 | 1.06 | 1.15 | 1.22 | 0.36 | 0.71 | 4.40 | 2.63 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.81x | -0.03x | 0.26x | -0.06x | 2.30x | 3.71x | 0.61x | 0.41x | 3.87x | -0.80x | 0.06x | 13.61x | 2.10x | 2.30x | 0.62x | 1.29x | 1.74x | 1.64x | 0.73x | 0.73x | 1.19x | 0.60x |
| Interest Paid | 561K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | -4.9M | 24.63M | 20.44M | 2.91M | 1.88M | 2.4M | 532K | 6.78M | 1.81M | 1.8M | 1.58M | 700K | 2.56M | 15.26M | 13.1M | 9.87M | 104K | 2.78M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Working Capital Intensity
As reported in recent financial filings, the divergence between net income and operating cash flow is stark, with the company recording a net loss of $156.6M in 2026Q3 while operating cash flow remained negative, suggesting that accounting accruals are failing to translate into tangible liquidity.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow indicates that the company's reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash items and timing differences. Investors should monitor whether this disconnect reflects aggressive revenue recognition or simply the inherent lumpiness of defense contract milestones.
Based on the provided cash flow data, the company's free cash flow has entered a period of sustained volatility, culminating in a negative $5.1M in 2026Q3, which highlights the difficulty of maintaining positive cash generation during a phase of rapid production scaling and operational expansion.
The inability to generate consistent free cash flow despite accelerating revenue suggests that the company is currently prioritizing market share and production capacity over immediate cash preservation. This trajectory warrants further investigation into whether the current cash burn is a temporary byproduct of growth or a structural issue.
According to recent SEC filings, working capital fluctuations have become a primary source of cash volatility, with a significant $71.3M outflow in 2026Q3 alone, indicating that the company is struggling to manage its inventory and receivables cycle effectively amidst its current growth phase.
The erratic nature of working capital changes suggests that the company's cash conversion cycle is highly sensitive to the timing of government contract payments and inventory buildup. This volatility may indicate that the company is carrying excessive inventory or facing delays in collecting on large-scale defense contracts.
As indicated by the latest quarterly data, capital expenditures have reached $16.6M in 2026Q3, representing 4.1% of revenue, which suggests that the company is increasingly forced to invest in physical infrastructure to support its expanding portfolio of unmanned systems and tactical missile production requirements.
The rising capital intensity appears to be a direct consequence of the company's need to scale manufacturing capabilities to meet increased demand. Analysts should monitor whether these investments are yielding the expected improvements in production efficiency or if they are merely maintenance costs for aging facilities.
Based on reported figures, stock-based compensation remains a consistent add-back to cash flow, totaling $8.1M in 2026Q3, which effectively masks the true extent of the company's cash burn by artificially inflating the operating cash flow metric relative to actual cash generation.
The reliance on stock-based compensation as a significant component of the company's cash flow profile suggests that management is utilizing equity to preserve cash. Investors should consider the dilutive impact of these awards alongside the underlying cash flow challenges to gain a clearer picture of shareholder value.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AVAV stock.
AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) generated $-1.3M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) reported negative free cash flow of $24.1M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) 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.