Free cash flow has reached an inflection point of $27.7 million in 2026Q1, supported by an OCF/NI ratio of 5.26 that highlights the impact of non-cash depreciation charges.
| Cash from Operations | 343.38M | 295.55M | 246.43M | 139.91M | 59.88M | 80.38M | 53.55M | 56.7M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 18.04% | 19.24% | 14.49% | 8.1% | 16.14% | 16.36% | 23.79% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 215.44% | 19.93% | 76.13% | 133.65% | -25.5% | 50.1% | -5.56% | - |
| Net Income | 80.59M | 117.28M | 66.45M | 1.72M | -19.25M | -119.98M | 5.72M | 28.39M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 88.7M | 115.13M | 93M | 47.83M | 44.73M | 25.22M | 15.54M | 9.67M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 13.83M | 18.02M | 11.48M | 39.22M | 41.66M | 157.72M | 35.09M | 6.76M |
| Deferred Taxes | 16.63M | 17.62M | 15.42M | 5.95M | 1.08M | -2.66M | 475K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 97.58M | 17.83M | 13.16M | 39.18M | 6.8M | 2.22M | 98K | 330K |
| Working Capital Changes | 31.84M | 9.67M | 46.91M | 6.02M | -15.13M | 17.86M | -3.37M | 11.56M |
| Change in Receivables | -6.75M | -7.79M | -1.47M | 2.84M | -1.32M | 193K | -4.22M | -612K |
| Change in Inventory | -10.69M | -12.43M | 10.46M | 0 | -15.82M | -7.67M | -4.59M | 222K |
| Change in Payables | 4.73M | 3.71M | 3.66M | 3.9M | 1.61M | 2.15M | -518K | 3.53M |
| Cash from Investing | -272.35M | -241.07M | -212.07M | -227.28M | -192.57M | -121.09M | -45.57M | -39.95M |
| Capital Expenditures | -195.58M | -241.13M | -221.74M | -228.46M | -187.88M | -118.44M | -40.58M | -39.47M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 11.19% | 14.72% | 17.31% | 23.66% | 25.42% | 23.79% | 12.39% | 16.56% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.05M | -5.39M | -5.09M | -530K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -76.76M | 66K | 9.67M | 1.18M | 1.36M | 2.74M | 99K | 47K |
| Cash from Financing | -123.96M | -78.43M | 125.45M | 200.73M | 134.36M | 27.58M | 8.08M | -12.68M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -95.61M | -54.34M | 128.41M | -126.1M | 141.26M | 21.24M | 15.83M | -6.05M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -1.02M | 0 | -1.07M | 331.2M | -3.9M | 237.19M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -213.31M | -7.75M | -6.63M |
| Share Repurchases | -1.02M | 0 | -1.07M | 0 | -3.9M | -287.66M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -27.34M | -24.09M | -1.89M | -4.37M | -3M | -17.54M | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -52.92M | -23.95M | 159.81M | 113.37M | 1.67M | -13.13M | 16.06M | 4.07M |
| Free Cash Flow | 90.8M | 54.41M | 24.69M | -88.54M | -128M | -38.07M | 12.97M | 17.24M |
| FCF Margin % | 5.2% | 3.32% | 1.93% | -9.17% | -17.32% | -7.65% | 3.96% | 7.23% |
| FCF Growth % | 181.16% | 120.34% | 127.89% | 30.82% | -236.22% | -393.43% | -24.73% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.71 | 0.43 | 0.22 | -1.43 | -2.47 | -0.83 | 0.28 | 0.37 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.13x | 3.70x | 6.99x | 81.44x | -12.60x | -6.34x | 9.35x | 2.00x |
| Interest Paid | 29.15M | 38.97M | 39.1M | 34.97M | 17.61M | 7.35M | 3.83M | 2.42M |
| Taxes Paid | 813K | 996K | 2.25M | 1.73M | 1.32M | 886K | 338K | 103K |
Capital intensity of expansion
According to reported financial statements, Dutch Bros consistently exhibits an OCF/NI ratio significantly above 1.0, with a 2026Q1 figure of 5.26, suggesting that non-cash charges like depreciation and amortization are the primary drivers of reported operating cash flow rather than pure net income generation.
The substantial gap between net income and operating cash flow indicates that the company's reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash accounting items. Investors should interpret this as a sign that the business is currently in a phase where accounting profitability is secondary to the cash-generative capacity of its underlying asset base.
As indicated by recent quarterly data, the company has transitioned from negative free cash flow in early 2024 to a positive $27.7 million in 2026Q1, reflecting a meaningful improvement in the ability of the shop base to self-fund its own capital requirements over time.
This trajectory suggests that the company is beginning to achieve the necessary scale to offset its aggressive capital expenditure program. However, the volatility in FCF margins, which dipped into negative territory as recently as 2025Q1, warrants caution regarding the consistency of this cash-flow generation during periods of rapid site development.
Based on the provided figures, CapEx as a percentage of revenue has moderated from a high of 23.9% in 2023Q4 to 12.3% in 2026Q1, signaling a potential improvement in capital efficiency as the company scales its footprint and optimizes its construction and site-opening processes.
The high capital intensity remains a defining feature of the company's company-operated model, requiring constant reinvestment to maintain the growth cadence. The reduction in relative capital spending suggests that management may be achieving better economies of scale in site development, though this remains sensitive to construction cost inflation.
Data from recent filings shows significant quarterly fluctuations in working capital, ranging from a $22.2 million outflow in 2025Q1 to a $27.3 million inflow in 2024Q3, which highlights the inherent difficulty in managing inventory and payables during a period of rapid, non-linear shop expansion.
These swings suggest that working capital is not yet a reliable source of cash, but rather a volatile component of the cash flow statement. Analysts should monitor whether these fluctuations stabilize as the company's supply chain matures and the pace of new shop openings becomes more predictable.
As reported in financial statements, the inclusion of stock-based compensation, which reached $4.7 million in 2025Q2, serves to bridge the gap between GAAP earnings and cash reality, potentially masking the true cost of talent acquisition required to support the company's aggressive national expansion strategy.
While SBC is a standard non-cash expense, its impact on the cash flow statement suggests that the company relies on equity-based incentives to preserve cash for capital-intensive shop builds. Investors should consider the dilutive impact of these grants when evaluating the long-term sustainability of the company's cash-flow-per-share metrics.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BROS stock.
Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS) generated $295.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS) generated $54.4M 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.
Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS) spent $241.1M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.