Operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income with a 10-quarter average OCF/NI ratio of 5.3x, but this high conversion is heavily driven by non-cash stock-based compensation averaging $50.3M per quarter.
Box, Inc. (BOX) cash flow statement — 14-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Jan'25 | Jan'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Jan'19 | Jan'18 | Jan'17 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Jan'13 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 394.46M | 356.45M | 332.26M | 318.73M | 297.98M | 234.82M | 196.83M | 44.71M | 55.32M | 35.39M | -1.22M | -66.32M | -84.9M | -91.77M | -81.75M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 30.28% | 30.48% | 30.71% | 30.07% | 26.86% | 25.54% | 6.42% | 9.09% | 6.99% | -0.31% | -21.91% | -39.23% | -73.89% | -139.04% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 89.22% | 7.28% | 4.25% | 6.96% | 26.9% | 19.3% | 340.22% | -19.18% | 56.31% | 3005.66% | 98.16% | 21.88% | 7.49% | -12.25% | - |
| Net Income | 116.62M | 115.38M | 244.62M | 129.03M | 26.78M | -41.46M | -43.43M | -144.35M | -134.61M | -154.96M | -151.79M | -202.95M | -168.23M | -168.9M | -112.79M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 37.47M | 32.91M | 22.1M | 51.24M | 65.99M | 78.23M | 75.48M | 59.42M | 46.32M | 40.11M | 40.15M | 40.39M | 29.02M | 17.87M | 8.62M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 115.62M | 233.72M | 219M | 198.78M | 185.63M | 178.97M | 154.29M | 145.99M | 119.3M | 97.48M | 78.37M | 59.5M | 31.93M | 11.75M | 7.54M |
| Deferred Taxes | -26.93M | -31.54M | -171.22M | -75.29M | 1.65M | -1.91M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.12M | -2.59M | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 180.09M | 47.79M | 60.6M | 56.7M | 55.83M | 48.8M | 37.12M | 25.77M | 15.88M | 21.38M | 18.37M | 16.91M | 12.23M | 22.19M | 9.38M |
| Working Capital Changes | -33.61M | -41.8M | -42.84M | -41.74M | -37.9M | -27.82M | -26.63M | -42.13M | 8.44M | 31.38M | 12.5M | 19.82M | 11.27M | 27.57M | 5.28M |
| Change in Receivables | -27.3M | -31.21M | -14.48M | -21.88M | -8.93M | -27.22M | -18.88M | -34.3M | -12.41M | -42.02M | -20.57M | -45.37M | -11.49M | -25.16M | -11.5M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 6.2M | 6.8M | 6.39M | -1.18M | -1.9M | 17.61M | -12.3M | -100K | 1.66M | 6.9M | -1.09M | -4.02M | 3.23M | -3.18M | 2.05M |
| Cash from Investing | -43.98M | -42.7M | -23.21M | -82.79M | 120.6M | -239.37M | -16.38M | -13.3M | -16.15M | -11.71M | -7.57M | -80.86M | -38.88M | -32.19M | 314K |
| Capital Expenditures | -44.55M | -41.25M | -30.21M | -18.4M | -16.5M | -10.49M | -16.49M | -13.41M | -17.57M | -11.82M | -14.96M | -72.94M | -38.88M | -24.42M | -19.5M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.61% | 3.5% | 2.77% | 1.77% | 1.66% | 1.2% | 2.14% | 1.93% | 2.89% | 2.34% | 3.75% | 24.1% | 17.96% | 19.67% | 33.16% |
| Acquisitions | 64K | 309K | 8.39M | -2.73M | 0 | -59.4M | 0 | 8K | 2K | 107K | 87K | -198K | 0 | -7.76M | -62K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | -3.52M | -190K | -815K | 514K | 107K | 105K | 1.42M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -658.89M | -569.52M | -62.36M | -272.9M | -396.5M | -172.86M | 218.68M | -53.42M | -29.57M | -19.83M | 479K | 2.51M | 345.44M | 105.17M | 172.8M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -205M | -205M | 201.77M | -30.18M | -40.35M | -51.04M | 238.58M | -38.54M | -23.93M | -16.12M | -8.78M | -2.18M | 5.93M | 1.77M | 19.78M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -379.94M | -261.22M | -166.1M | -148.93M | -242.09M | -51.12M | 28.86M | 29.39M | 38.19M | 32.06M | 26.81M | 17.3M | 339.87M | 103.39M | 153.02M |
| Dividends Paid | -15M | -15M | -15M | -14.94M | -15.06M | -9.62M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -385.92M | -289.85M | -211.06M | -177.13M | -274.17M | -561.57M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -58.95M | -88.3M | -83.03M | -78.85M | -99M | -61.08M | -48.76M | -44.26M | -43.82M | -35.77M | -17.55M | -12.61M | -359K | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -316.82M | -250.98M | 241.85M | -44.21M | 12.19M | -178.81M | 419.5M | -41.93M | 9.44M | 30.68M | -8.35M | -144.69M | 221.59M | -20.27M | 90.12M |
| Free Cash Flow | 379.58M | 350.38M | 329.68M | 316.88M | 293.55M | 230.12M | 187.78M | 39.26M | 40.51M | 23.57M | -16.17M | -139.26M | -123.58M | -116.19M | -101.25M |
| FCF Margin % | 30.76% | 29.76% | 30.24% | 30.54% | 29.63% | 26.32% | 24.36% | 5.64% | 6.66% | 4.66% | -4.06% | -46.01% | -57.1% | -93.56% | -172.2% |
| FCF Growth % | 13.49% | 6.28% | 4.04% | 7.95% | 27.57% | 22.54% | 378.29% | -3.09% | 71.89% | 245.72% | 88.39% | -12.69% | -6.36% | -14.76% | - |
| FCF per Share | 2.71 | 2.39 | 2.22 | 2.13 | 1.95 | 1.48 | 1.20 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.18 | -0.13 | -1.15 | -1.03 | -1.21 | -1.06 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 3.25x | 3.52x | 1.36x | 2.47x | 11.13x | -5.66x | -4.53x | -0.31x | -0.41x | -0.23x | 0.01x | 0.33x | 0.50x | 0.54x | 0.73x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.68M | 2.75M | 4.69M | 7.48M | 5.55M | 2.58M | 1.94M | 1.24M | 1.18M | 1.1M | 3.46M | 1.97M |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 13.65M | 8.45M | 7.04M | 2.01M | 1.47M | 2.83M | 1.6M | 1.26M | 239K | 832K | 157K | 86K | 60K |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BOX stock.
Box, Inc. (BOX) generated $356.4M in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Box, Inc. (BOX) generated $350.4M 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.
Box, Inc. (BOX) spent $41.2M 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, Box, Inc. (BOX) returned $15.0M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $289.8M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
AI competition from Microsoft
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Strong Cash Conversion Masked by SBC
Box's operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income, with a 10-quarter average OCF/NI ratio of 5.3x, indicating high-quality earnings driven by non-cash charges like stock-based compensation, which averaged $50.3M per quarter.
The substantial gap between net income and operating cash flow is primarily a function of significant non-cash add-backs, most notably stock-based compensation. This suggests the company's core operations are highly cash-generative, but the economic cost of employee compensation is being obscured in GAAP net income. Investors should monitor whether this conversion quality remains stable as the company pursues GAAP profitability.
FCF Margin Volatility Amidst Growth
Free cash flow margin has been volatile, ranging from 13.3% to 49.1% over the past ten quarters, with the most recent quarter at 22.0%, indicating that while the business is fundamentally cash-generative, its FCF profile is heavily influenced by working capital timing.
The FCF trajectory does not show a smooth expansion, which is atypical for a maturing SaaS business. This volatility appears driven by large, lumpy swings in working capital rather than underlying operational weakness. The underlying FCF generation, after adjusting for these swings, appears robust and supportive of the company's capital return program.
Working Capital Swings Drive Cash Volatility
Working capital changes have been the primary driver of quarterly operating cash flow volatility, with swings from a $44.0M source in Q1 2025 to a $59.4M use in Q2 2025, suggesting inconsistent collection or payment timing patterns.
The erratic working capital movements, particularly the large negative swings in Q2 2025 and Q2 2026, suggest potential seasonality in collections or strategic timing of payables. This pattern makes quarterly OCF a less reliable indicator of underlying business performance than annual figures. The most recent quarter's $41.5M working capital use warrants monitoring to see if it represents a new trend.
Aggressive Buybacks Offset by Modest Dividends
Box has deployed significant capital to share repurchases, totaling $689.9M over the past ten quarters, while maintaining a consistent quarterly dividend of $3.8M, indicating a clear priority for returning cash to shareholders over strategic M&A.
The scale of buybacks, which peaked at $123.4M in Q4 2026, suggests management views the stock as undervalued or sees limited high-return reinvestment opportunities. This capital return strategy aligns with the company's pivot toward profitability but may raise questions about future investment in growth initiatives like AI, especially if buybacks continue at this pace.
SBC and Working Capital Obscure True Cash Flow
The cash flow statement's headline figures are significantly distorted by stock-based compensation, which averaged $50.3M per quarter, and volatile working capital swings, making it difficult to assess the true underlying cash generation trend without careful adjustment.
While operating cash flow appears strong, the heavy reliance on SBC as a non-cash add-back means the company is diluting shareholders to fund operations and buybacks. Furthermore, the erratic working capital pattern suggests that the timing of cash receipts and payments is not predictable, which could mask potential deterioration in customer payment behavior or inventory management if not analyzed on a longer-term basis.