Cash conversion efficiency is frequently decoupled from earnings, as evidenced by an operating cash flow to net income ratio that has swung from a low of -0.94 to a high of 13.14.
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Feb'25 | Feb'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Feb'20 | Feb'19 | Feb'18 | Jan'17 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Feb'14 | Feb'13 | Mar'12 | Feb'11 | Feb'10 | Feb'09 | Mar'08 | Mar'07 | Feb'06 | Feb'05 | Feb'04 | Mar'03 | Mar'02 | Mar'01 | Feb'00 | Feb'99 | Feb'98 | Mar'97 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 2.3B | 1.96B | 2.1B | 1.47B | 1.82B | 3.25B | 4.93B | 2.56B | 2.41B | 2.14B | 2.54B | 1.32B | 1.94B | 1.09B | 1.59B | 3.29B | 1.19B | 2.21B | 1.88B | 2.02B | 1.76B | 1.7B | 1.84B | 1.36B | 667M | 1.58B | 808.2M | 760.23M | 662.4M | 542.4M | -20.4M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 4.71% | 5.05% | 3.38% | 3.94% | 6.28% | 10.42% | 5.88% | 5.62% | 5.08% | 6.46% | 3.34% | 4.8% | 2.69% | 3.8% | 7.24% | 2.37% | 4.44% | 4.17% | 5.06% | 4.9% | 5.49% | 6.71% | 5.54% | 3.18% | 8.91% | 5.32% | 6.08% | 6.57% | 6.49% | -0.26% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 1060.73% | -6.48% | 42.72% | -19.41% | -43.91% | -34% | 92.09% | 6.52% | 12.47% | -15.87% | 92.51% | -31.68% | 76.87% | -31.03% | -51.83% | 176.72% | -46.06% | 17.53% | -7.31% | 14.93% | 3.95% | -7.93% | 35.27% | 104.05% | -57.73% | 95.25% | 6.31% | 14.77% | 22.12% | 2758.82% | -120.5% |
| Net Income | 1.14B | 1.07B | 927M | 1.24B | 1.42B | 2.45B | 1.8B | 1.54B | 1.46B | 1B | 1.23B | 897M | 1.24B | 523M | -481.09M | 22M | 1.37B | 1.39B | 1.03B | 1.41B | 1.38B | 1.14B | 934M | 800M | 622M | 570M | 395.84M | 347.07M | 224.4M | 94.5M | 1.7M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 814M | 831M | 866M | 923M | 918M | 869M | 839M | 812M | 770M | 683M | 654M | 657M | 656M | 716M | 907.64M | 945M | 978M | 926M | 793M | 580M | 509M | 456M | 459M | 385M | 310M | 309M | 167.37M | 109.54M | 78.4M | 68.3M | 66.8M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 139M | 139M | 139M | 145M | 138M | 141M | 135M | 143M | 123M | 129M | 108M | 104M | 87M | 90M | 122.18M | 120M | 121M | 118M | 110M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 121M | 60M | -59M | -214M | 51M | 14M | -36M | 70M | 16M | 162M | 201M | 49M | -297M | -28M | -19M | 28M | -134M | -30M | -43M | 74M | 82M | -151M | -28M | -14M | -37M | 23M | 42.79M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 287M | 402M | 484M | 158M | 159M | -23M | 257M | 62M | 21M | -3M | 8M | 140M | 30M | 464M | 1.06B | 1.47B | 222M | 45M | 261M | 78M | 92M | 100M | 45M | 12M | -55M | 46M | 20.61M | 0 | -100K | 3.1M | 500K |
| Working Capital Changes | -201M | -539M | -259M | -783M | -861M | -203M | 1.93B | -63M | 14M | 170M | 346M | -525M | 224M | -671M | -1.6B | 712M | -1.36B | -247M | -277M | -114M | -298M | 150M | 431M | 178M | -173M | 630M | 181.59M | 303.62M | 359.7M | 376.5M | -89.4M |
| Change in Receivables | -163M | -3M | -111M | 204M | -103M | 17M | 73M | -215M | -240M | 411M | -152M | 19M | -154M | -336M | -551M | -28M | -404M | -63M | 0 | 12M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -27M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -56.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -398M | -126M | -155M | 178M | 809M | -328M | -435M | 237M | -194M | -335M | 193M | 86M | -141M | 597M | -994.91M | 120M | -400M | -609M | 258M | -562M | -550M | -457M | -240M | -507M | -225M | -330M | -143.97M | -137.31M | 14.4M | 71.3M | 69.1M |
| Change in Payables | 441M | -238M | 358M | -1.02B | -1.1B | -201M | 1.68B | 47M | 432M | -196M | 518M | -536M | 434M | -986M | 1.74B | 643M | -443M | 141M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -724M | -730M | -704M | -781M | -962M | -1.37B | -788M | -895M | 508M | -1B | -887M | -419M | -1.71B | -517M | -586.91M | -724M | -569M | -540M | -3.57B | 1.46B | -780M | -754M | -1.17B | -543M | -659M | -965M | -1.03B | -400.11M | -249.6M | -22.3M | -20.4M |
| Capital Expenditures | -698M | -704M | -706M | -795M | -930M | -737M | -713M | -743M | -819M | -688M | -582M | -649M | -561M | -547M | -769.09M | -766M | -744M | -615M | -1.3B | -797M | -733M | -648M | -502M | -545M | -725M | -627M | -657.71M | -361.02M | -165.7M | -72.1M | -87.6M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.67% | 1.69% | 1.7% | 1.83% | 2.01% | 1.42% | 1.51% | 1.7% | 1.91% | 1.63% | 1.48% | 1.64% | 1.39% | 1.35% | 1.84% | 1.69% | 1.48% | 1.24% | 2.89% | 1.99% | 2.04% | 2.1% | 1.83% | 2.22% | 3.46% | 3.54% | 4.33% | 2.89% | 1.64% | 0.86% | 1.13% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14M | 0 | -468M | 0 | -145M | -787M | 2M | 56M | 103M | 39M | 206M | -31M | -174M | 21M | -7M | -2.32B | -89M | -421M | 0 | 0 | -3M | -3M | -368M | -326.08M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -25M | -25M | 8M | 2M | 7M | 0 | -1M | 1M | 16M | -9M | -5M | -19M | 34M | -46M | 182.18M | 38M | -6M | -16M | -119M | -84M | 5M | 26M | 7M | 5M | 69M | 30M | -46.02M | -39.09M | -83.9M | 49.8M | 67.2M |
| Cash from Financing | -980M | -1.08B | -1.31B | -1.14B | -1.81B | -4.3B | -876M | -1.5B | -2.02B | -2.3B | -1.4B | -1.51B | -223M | 319M | -211M | -2.48B | -1.36B | -348M | 737M | -3.38B | -513M | -641M | -459M | -133M | 45M | 495M | 217.75M | -395.17M | -147.2M | -89.8M | 44.1M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -13M | -13M | -17M | -19M | -19M | -133M | -24M | -15M | -48M | -46M | -394M | -28M | -24M | 381M | 127M | 509M | -99M | -210M | 894M | 133M | 12M | -33M | -371M | -17M | 5M | 721M | -17M | -29.95M | -165.4M | -12.69M | 7.8M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -168M | -268M | -483M | -321M | -998M | -3.47B | -284M | -955M | -1.5B | -1.84B | -527M | -1.01B | 50M | 171M | -97M | -1.43B | -1.01B | 138M | 83M | -3.31B | -382M | -480M | 56M | 14M | 40M | 48M | 235M | -365.22M | 18.18M | 14.87M | 2.7M |
| Dividends Paid | -801M | -801M | -807M | -801M | -789M | -688M | -568M | -527M | -497M | -409M | -505M | -499M | -251M | -233M | -241.09M | -228M | -237M | -234M | -223M | -204M | -174M | -151M | -137M | -130M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -173M | -273M | -500M | -340M | -1.01B | -3.5B | -312M | -1B | -1.5B | -2B | -698M | -1.05B | 0 | 0 | -133.09M | -1.5B | -1.19B | 0 | 0 | -3.46B | -599M | -772M | -200M | -100M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -397.45M | -2.46M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 2M | -1M | -2M | -3M | 0 | -3M | 0 | -1M | 32M | -1M | 22M | 20M | 2M | 0 | 90.89K | -1.33B | -7M | -42M | -17M | 8M | 31M | 23M | -7M | 0 | 0 | -274M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -91.97M | 33.6M |
| Net Change in Cash | 45M | -130M | 75M | -460M | -952M | -2.42B | 3.27B | 171M | 884M | -1.13B | 264M | -650M | -52M | 852M | 531M | 96M | -723M | 1.33B | -940M | 233M | 457M | 327M | 225M | 686M | 53M | 1.11B | -3.84M | -35.05M | 265.6M | 430.3M | 3.3M |
| Free Cash Flow | 1.6B | 1.26B | 1.39B | 675M | 894M | 2.52B | 4.21B | 1.82B | 1.59B | 1.45B | 1.96B | 673M | 1.37B | 547M | 817.09M | 2.53B | 446M | 1.59B | 574M | 1.23B | 1.03B | 1.05B | 1.34B | 816M | -58M | 951M | 150.5M | 399.2M | 496.7M | 470.3M | -108M |
| FCF Margin % | 3.83% | 3.02% | 3.35% | 1.55% | 1.93% | 4.86% | 8.92% | 4.18% | 3.71% | 3.45% | 4.98% | 1.7% | 3.41% | 1.35% | 1.96% | 5.56% | 0.89% | 3.2% | 1.28% | 3.07% | 2.86% | 3.39% | 4.88% | 3.32% | -0.28% | 5.37% | 0.99% | 3.2% | 4.93% | 5.63% | -1.39% |
| FCF Growth % | 27.79% | -9.63% | 106.22% | -24.5% | -64.45% | -40.32% | 131.28% | 14.66% | 9.36% | -25.98% | 191.68% | -51.02% | 151.19% | -33.06% | -67.67% | 466.59% | -71.97% | 177.18% | -53.26% | 19.34% | -1.72% | -21.81% | 64.09% | 1506.9% | -106.1% | 531.9% | -62.3% | -19.63% | 5.61% | 535.46% | -304.49% |
| FCF per Share | 7.60 | 5.93 | 6.43 | 3.09 | 3.96 | 10.09 | 16.02 | 6.80 | 5.65 | 4.73 | 6.08 | 1.92 | 3.89 | 1.57 | 2.41 | 6.90 | 1.07 | 3.72 | 1.36 | 2.71 | 2.07 | 2.07 | 2.67 | 1.63 | -0.12 | 1.97 | 0.31 | 0.84 | 1.05 | 1.04 | -0.28 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.40x | 1.84x | 2.26x | 1.18x | 1.29x | 1.33x | 2.74x | 1.66x | 1.64x | 2.14x | 2.07x | 1.47x | 1.57x | 2.06x | -5.61x | -2.68x | 0.93x | 1.68x | 1.87x | 1.44x | 1.28x | 1.49x | 1.87x | 1.93x | 6.74x | 2.77x | 2.04x | 2.19x | 2.95x | 5.74x | -12.00x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 46M | 51M | 31M | 22M | 50M | 62M | 71M | 81M | 76M | 77M | 81M | 82M | 0 | 89M | 68M | 78M | 83M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 643M | 543M | 283M | 716M | 442M | 514M | 391M | 366M | 628M | 550M | 355M | 332M | 0 | 568M | 882M | 732M | 766M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cyclical inventory working capital
As reported in quarterly financial statements, Best Buy's operating cash flow to net income ratio has fluctuated wildly, ranging from a low of -0.94 in 2025Q3 to a high of 13.14 in 2025Q4, indicating that reported earnings are frequently decoupled from actual cash generation capabilities.
The extreme variance in the OCF/NI ratio suggests that net income is a poor proxy for the company's immediate liquidity, largely due to the heavy impact of seasonal inventory swings. Investors should monitor whether this volatility reflects genuine operational friction or merely the timing of working capital adjustments inherent in the retail cycle.
Based on the provided cash flow data, Best Buy's free cash flow trajectory remains highly inconsistent, with quarterly margins swinging from a negative 4.8% in 2025Q3 to a positive 9.7% in 2025Q4, highlighting the company's sensitivity to seasonal demand and inventory management cycles.
The inability to maintain positive free cash flow across all quarters suggests that the business model requires significant cash buffers to navigate non-peak periods. This pattern implies that the company's cash generation is heavily back-weighted, leaving little room for error during periods of unexpected consumer demand contraction.
According to recent SEC filings, Best Buy's working capital changes are the primary driver of cash flow volatility, with quarterly fluctuations reaching as high as $755 million in 2025Q4, which directly dictates the company's ability to fund its dividend and share repurchase programs.
The massive swings in working capital suggest that inventory management is the critical lever for cash flow, rather than organic operational efficiency. When working capital outflows occur, they appear to overwhelm net income, forcing the company to rely on its balance sheet to maintain its capital allocation commitments.
As indicated by the financial data, Best Buy consistently prioritizes shareholder returns, paying out approximately $200 million in dividends quarterly, even during periods where free cash flow turns negative, which suggests a commitment to capital return that may be straining the company's underlying liquidity position.
The persistence of dividend payments during quarters of negative free cash flow indicates that management is utilizing cash reserves or debt capacity to sustain shareholder payouts. This strategy warrants further investigation, as it may limit the company's flexibility to invest in long-term growth initiatives like the healthcare pivot.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BBY stock.
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) generated $1.96B in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) generated $1.26B in free cash flow in 2026. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) spent $704.0M on capital expenditures in 2026. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2026, Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) returned $801.0M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $273.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.