Operating cash flow remains resilient at $632 million in 2025Q4 despite a net loss, though high capital intensity is evidenced by a 7.7% CapEx-to-revenue ratio.
| Cash from Operations | 3.23B | 3.12B | 2.13B | 1.01B | 1.69B | 4.21B | 2.21B | 1.34B | 290M | 229M | 332M | 327M | 189M |
| Operating CF Margin % | 11.56% | 7.69% | 4.01% | 1.76% | 3.63% | 11.17% | 5.14% | 3.61% | 1.27% | 2.88% | 4.92% | 7.07% | 3.87% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 3.41% | 46.64% | 110.68% | -40.28% | -59.74% | 89.99% | 65.05% | 362.41% | 26.64% | -31.02% | 1.53% | 73.02% | - |
| Net Income | 387M | -35.22M | 3.78B | 240M | 2.15B | 580M | 44M | 1.2B | 215M | -202M | 269M | 145M | 214M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 3.03B | 3.05B | 3.59B | 3.22B | 2.28B | 2.17B | 1.85B | 748M | 371M | 286M | 257M | 147M | 125M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -490M | -901.53M | -830M | -777M | -371M | -130M | -135.07M | -88M | -22M | -41M | 5M | -9M | -45M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 289M | 1.48B | -4.63B | 416M | -1.23B | 254M | 339.72M | -500M | -267M | -57M | -269M | 156M | -101M |
| Working Capital Changes | 14M | -471.23M | 216M | -2.09B | -1.14B | 1.34B | 118.7M | -269M | -91M | 9M | 60M | 32M | -7M |
| Change in Receivables | -852M | -1.49B | -1.4B | -1.06B | -684M | 546M | -71.63M | -10.44M | -520M | -55M | -516M | -101M | -71M |
| Change in Inventory | -38M | -6.66M | 877M | -629M | -494M | 453M | 79.81M | 145.2M | -259M | 60M | 52M | -16M | 23M |
| Change in Payables | 1.13B | 1.01B | 1.5B | -212M | 27M | 284M | 121.77M | -305.58M | 503M | 127M | 646M | 159M | 57M |
| Cash from Investing | -3.18B | -2.22B | 2.54B | -18.72B | -8.93B | -2.33B | -18.36B | -4B | -1.59B | -96M | -2.09B | -354M | -558M |
| Capital Expenditures | -2.06B | -2.4B | -2.29B | -1.75B | -1.45B | -1.41B | -1.23B | -545M | -240M | -144M | -139M | -198M | -284M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 7.37% | 5.91% | 4.31% | 3.05% | 3.11% | 3.73% | 2.87% | 1.47% | 1.05% | 1.81% | 2.06% | 4.28% | 5.81% |
| Acquisitions | -1.38B | 370.32M | 3.63B | -17.28B | -8.27B | 192M | -17.44B | -3.06B | -1.43B | 86M | -1.79B | 9M | -8M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 219M | -127.57M | 119M | 257M | 700M | -644M | 104.37M | 63M | 109M | 82M | -8M | 29M | -32M |
| Cash from Financing | 72M | -480.75M | -4.37B | 18.07B | 7.06B | -1.08B | 16.3B | 3.56B | 1.71B | 586M | 1.97B | 2M | 348M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 3.68B | 448.39M | -1.14B | 13.59B | 6.82B | -851M | 11.97B | 4.52B | 709M | -534M | 1.07B | 143M | 58M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 107.57M | -5M | -78M | -83M | -56M | 5.08B | 0 | 621M | 712M | 638M | 49M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -105M | -51.41M | -21M | -59M | -37M | -37M | -35.81M | -32M | -15M | -17M | -460M | -197M | -143M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | -49.5M | -5M | -78M | -83M | -56M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -3.5B | -985.31M | -3.21B | 4.62B | 368M | -133M | -721.39M | -943M | 398M | 425M | 724M | 7M | 290M |
| Net Change in Cash | 307M | -21.42M | 382M | 282M | -155M | 757M | -167M | 843M | 56M | 696M | 191M | -32M | -26M |
| Free Cash Flow | 1.17B | 724.46M | -158M | -737M | 243M | 2.8B | 980.27M | 796M | 50M | 85M | 193M | 129M | -95M |
| FCF Margin % | 4.19% | 1.78% | -0.3% | -1.28% | 0.52% | 7.44% | 2.28% | 2.14% | 0.22% | 1.07% | 2.86% | 2.79% | -1.95% |
| FCF Growth % | 61.5% | 558.52% | 78.56% | -403.29% | -91.32% | 185.63% | 23.15% | 1492% | -41.18% | -55.96% | 49.61% | 235.79% | - |
| FCF per Share | 13.53 | 9.75 | -2.12 | -9.79 | 3.10 | 34.91 | 13.32 | 6.16 | 0.90 | 1.70 | 3.27 | 2.93 | -2.16 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -122.09x | 208.23x | 4.42x | 16.05x | 6.56x | -46.21x | 51.47x | 18.12x | -5.00x | 76.33x | 7.55x | 327.00x | 1.03x |
| Interest Paid | 2.7B | 0 | 3.16B | 2.04B | 1.22B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 537M | 0 | 534M | 285M | 448M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Subsidiary Debt Refinancing Cliff
As reported in financial statements, the persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow, highlighted by a negative $42.6 million net income against $632 million in operating cash flow for 2025Q4, suggests that accounting distortions significantly mask the firm's true underlying cash-generating capacity.
The extreme divergence between net income and operating cash flow appears to be driven by heavy non-cash depreciation and amortization charges inherent in BBU's consolidation accounting. Investors should monitor this disconnect, as it implies that reported net income is a poor proxy for the actual liquidity available to the parent entity.
Based on reported figures, BBU's free cash flow trajectory remains highly erratic, swinging from a peak of $1.3 billion in 2024Q3 to a deficit in multiple quarters, which reflects the lumpy nature of capital-intensive industrial operations and the timing of major asset divestitures.
The inconsistency in free cash flow suggests that the firm's ability to self-fund operations is highly sensitive to the timing of portfolio exits. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the current cash flow profile can sustainably support the firm's capital allocation requirements without additional external financing.
According to recent SEC filings, BBU maintains a consistent capital expenditure profile, with CapEx-to-revenue ratios reaching 7.7% in 2025Q4, indicating that the firm's industrial and infrastructure subsidiaries require significant ongoing reinvestment to maintain their competitive positioning and operational capacity within their respective markets.
The persistent level of capital intensity suggests that a substantial portion of operating cash flow is effectively committed to maintenance rather than growth. This structural requirement may limit the firm's flexibility to pivot capital toward new opportunities during periods of cyclical industrial downturns.
As evidenced by the $390 million working capital outflow in 2025Q4, BBU's cash flow is frequently disrupted by significant fluctuations in working capital, which appears to be a byproduct of managing diverse, large-scale industrial assets with varying inventory and collection cycles across global markets.
These working capital swings suggest that the firm's liquidity is subject to operational friction within its subsidiaries. Investors should monitor whether these outflows represent temporary timing differences or a more permanent deterioration in the efficiency of the firm's cash conversion cycle.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BBU stock.
Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (BBU) generated $3.23B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (BBU) generated $1.17B 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.
Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (BBU) spent $2.06B 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, Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (BBU) returned $105.0M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.