Free cash flow remains highly volatile, swinging from a negative 1.1% margin in 2024Q3 to a peak of 30.1% in 2024Q4, largely driven by unpredictable working capital fluctuations.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 521.8M | 479.85M | 408.43M | 363.7M | 244.7M | 386.03M | 196.44M | 279.37M | 169.29M | 222.15M | 239.85M | 330.16M | 74.92M | 137.89M | 184.93M | 173.59M | 192.41M | 252.82M | 60.09M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 15% | 15.11% | 14.57% | 10.96% | 18.17% | 9.25% | 14.74% | 9.41% | 13.16% | 15.47% | 23.32% | 5.17% | 8.92% | 5.62% | 5.88% | 7.16% | 8.86% | 1.77% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 508.82% | 17.49% | 12.3% | 48.63% | -36.61% | 96.51% | -29.68% | 65.02% | -23.8% | -7.38% | -27.35% | 340.66% | -45.66% | -25.44% | 6.53% | -9.78% | -23.9% | 320.75% | - |
| Net Income | 344.67M | 329.86M | 282.3M | 245.85M | 238.62M | 306.29M | 279.2M | 244.68M | 227.31M | 148.37M | 183.61M | 131.45M | 21.46M | 332.59M | 217.56M | 161.95M | 153.53M | 147.92M | 323.85M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 114.29M | 109.19M | 85.86M | 78.57M | 73.84M | 69.08M | 60.67M | 61.72M | 60.1M | 56.56M | 50.55M | 78.62M | 105.8M | 70.53M | 69.7M | 73M | 71.63M | 159.35M | 79.72M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 31.19M | 26.07M | 21.68M | 15.9M | 14.13M | 18.61M | 16.84M | 12.73M | 11.88M | 15.22M | 15.37M | 31.7M | 23.46M | 15.07M | 18.01M | 17.93M | -5.28M | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 49.42M | 19.84M | -5.13M | 5.51M | 40.09M | 7.89M | 3.79M | 17.45M | 93.46M | -7.23M | -38.49M | -95.7M | 94.07M | 43.04M | 29.9M | 33.46M | 29.54M | 23.73M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 7.97M | -5.19M | 7.86M | 45.19M | 54.1M | -33.3M | 6.61M | -784K | 24.15M | 15.15M | 8.31M | 84.24M | 262.04M | -172.57M | 65.16M | 67.63M | 59.52M | -11.04M | -2.64M |
| Working Capital Changes | 22.83M | -29.5M | -9.11M | -16.68M | -141.5M | -14.74M | -174.77M | -42.77M | -171.59M | -106.6M | -10.77M | 42.65M | -242.13M | -201.8M | -228.53M | -176.82M | -120.46M | -75.98M | -341.59M |
| Change in Receivables | -80.14M | -93.27M | -26.06M | 462K | 19.36M | 87.88M | -106.88M | 27.08M | 62.19M | -42.8M | 28.57M | 40.09M | -50.08M | 19.73M | -52.03M | -26.89M | 101.26M | 71.32M | -12.9M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.99M | 6.84M | -14.13M | 11.6M | -26.61M | 18.54M | 3.05M | 5.04M | 11.97M | -30.55M | -135.95M | -19.26M | 29.26M | -21.76M |
| Change in Payables | 50.6M | -23.56M | 34.53M | -9.03M | -40.49M | 28.8M | -1.24M | 44.59M | 1.89M | -7.48M | 19.55M | -23.98M | -81.04M | 54.9M | 30.39M | 48.25M | 19.88M | -40.55M | -4.08M |
| Cash from Investing | -632.7M | -742.11M | -154.56M | -155.64M | -256.24M | -304.65M | -265.32M | -180M | -326.72M | -90.66M | -179.69M | -71.89M | -199.81M | 20.05M | -111.4M | -154.32M | -90.31M | -67.64M | -304.56M |
| Capital Expenditures | -193.69M | -184.56M | -153.65M | -151.29M | -198.31M | -311.05M | -255.03M | -182.12M | -109.34M | -96.88M | -52.63M | -68.33M | -76.75M | -67.15M | -86.64M | -63.87M | -63.65M | -93.72M | -63.01M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 5.74% | 5.77% | 5.68% | 6.06% | 8.88% | 14.64% | 12.01% | 9.61% | 6.07% | 5.74% | 3.39% | 4.83% | 5.29% | 4.34% | 2.63% | 2.16% | 2.37% | 3.28% | 1.85% |
| Acquisitions | -435.08M | -564.82M | 0 | 0 | -58.78M | 0 | -15.82M | 255K | -222.05M | -3.5M | -126.94M | -200K | -132.6M | -6.88M | -4.29M | -11.91M | -29.96M | -8.5M | -190.88M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -5.46M | 3.87M | -914K | -8.01M | 844K | 5.58M | 3.4M | 208K | 5.25M | 113K | 9.28M | 3.66M | -7.55M | 16.04M | 809K | -42.45M | 47.07M | -7.94M | 8.53M |
| Cash from Financing | 574.64M | 693.64M | -252.78M | -169.37M | 13.95M | -90.14M | 25.05M | -43.71M | -9.32M | -61.18M | -88.9M | -409.43M | 104.6M | -190.88M | -108.01M | 7.54M | -183.73M | -5.6M | 60.02M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 845.63M | 987.5M | -156.25M | -81.25M | 100M | 225.55M | 138.52M | 45.51M | 282.59M | -27.65M | 233.59M | 0 | 298.43M | 273K | -828K | -528K | -4.91M | -3.79M | 46.64M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | -30M | -20M | -7.59M | -26.59M | -230.83M | -24.4M | -24.74M | -214.76M | 9.07M | -302.25M | -62.43M | -145.17M | -152.82M | -96.77M | 4.46M | 12.5M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -94.59M | -92.47M | -88.35M | -84.97M | -81.07M | -79.67M | -72.94M | -65.37M | -63.82M | -42.04M | -37.37M | -34.48M | -43.47M | -38.01M | -9.48M | -20.85M | -143.33M | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | -30M | -20M | -7.59M | -20M | -225.79M | -21.96M | -20M | -214.76M | 0 | -293M | -69.75M | -149.77M | -157.09M | -96.77M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -176.39M | -171.39M | 11.81M | 4.45M | 21.61M | -5.19M | -16.14M | 900K | -13.34M | -550K | 17.13M | -312.52M | -5.19M | -322K | -919K | 28.92M | -158.37M | -1.81M | 13.38M |
| Net Change in Cash | 458.37M | 426.63M | -1.04M | 40.63M | 1.22M | -8.52M | -44.1M | 55.99M | -176.74M | 77.76M | -29.09M | -158.24M | -33.15M | -37.43M | -31.66M | 24.07M | -78.33M | 189.82M | -194.32M |
| Free Cash Flow | 328.1M | 295.29M | 254.78M | 212.41M | 46.39M | 74.97M | -58.59M | 97.24M | 59.95M | 125.27M | 187.22M | 261.83M | -1.83M | 70.74M | 98.29M | 109.72M | 128.76M | 159.1M | -2.93M |
| FCF Margin % | 9.72% | 9.23% | 9.42% | 8.51% | 2.08% | 3.53% | -2.76% | 5.13% | 3.33% | 7.42% | 12.07% | 18.5% | -0.13% | 4.57% | 2.99% | 3.72% | 4.79% | 5.57% | -0.09% |
| FCF Growth % | 21.76% | 15.9% | 19.94% | 357.87% | -38.12% | 227.97% | -160.25% | 62.2% | -52.14% | -33.09% | -28.5% | 14438.94% | -102.58% | -28.03% | -10.41% | -14.79% | -19.07% | 5537.39% | - |
| FCF per Share | 3.57 | 3.21 | 2.77 | 2.31 | 0.51 | 0.79 | -0.61 | 1.01 | 0.60 | 1.25 | 1.80 | 2.43 | -0.02 | 0.63 | 0.83 | 0.93 | 1.09 | 1.35 | -0.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.95x | 1.45x | 1.45x | 1.48x | 1.03x | 1.26x | 0.70x | 1.14x | 0.75x | 1.50x | 1.31x | 2.51x | 2.55x | 0.40x | 0.81x | 1.02x | 1.26x | 1.71x | 0.19x |
| Interest Paid | 60.21M | 65.16M | 72.43M | 63.22M | 51.34M | 50.84M | 38.27M | 39.67M | 16.99M | 14.25M | 6.51M | 6.65M | 6.06M | 1.79M | 2.05M | 4.53M | 3.75M | 24.73M | 27.52M |
| Taxes Paid | 39.77M | 47.89M | 45.51M | 84.48M | 71.75M | 44.95M | 73.59M | 70.06M | 58.72M | 38.42M | 66.29M | 117.75M | 74.73M | 86.92M | 83.06M | 33.51M | 27.23M | 29.66M | 12.26M |
Working Capital Volatility
As reported in financial statements, BWXT's operating cash flow to net income ratio has fluctuated wildly, ranging from a low of 0.47 in 2024Q3 to a high of 3.90 in 2024Q4, suggesting that reported net income is a poor proxy for immediate cash generation.
The significant divergence between net income and operating cash flow appears driven by the timing of milestone payments inherent in long-term government contracts. Investors should monitor whether these accrual-based swings represent genuine operational efficiency or merely the lumpy nature of defense-related cash receipts.
Based on recent quarterly data, free cash flow margins have shown extreme instability, swinging from a negative 1.1% in 2024Q3 to a peak of 30.1% in 2024Q4, which indicates that the company's cash generation is highly sensitive to project-specific billing cycles rather than steady operational performance.
This volatility complicates the assessment of the company's underlying cash-generating power, as the FCF trajectory does not mirror the steady growth seen in the top line. The lack of a consistent FCF margin suggests that capital allocation decisions may be subject to unpredictable liquidity constraints.
According to recent SEC filings, working capital changes have been the primary determinant of quarterly cash flow, with a massive $130.2M inflow in 2024Q4 contrasting sharply with a $59.5M outflow in 2025Q4, highlighting the company's reliance on efficient contract milestone management for liquidity.
The reliance on working capital shifts suggests that the company's cash position is vulnerable to delays in government contract payments or inventory build-ups. Analysts should investigate whether these fluctuations are becoming more pronounced as the company scales its newer, non-defense initiatives.
As indicated by historical cash flow data, BWXT has utilized significant capital for acquisitions, including a $441.4M outflow in 2025Q2, while simultaneously maintaining a consistent dividend payout, suggesting a management strategy that balances aggressive inorganic growth with a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
The substantial acquisition spend in 2025Q2 appears to be a strategic effort to diversify beyond the core naval business, though it places pressure on free cash flow. Investors should monitor whether these capital deployments yield the expected returns, as the current cash flow profile remains heavily dependent on core contract cycles.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BWXT stock.
BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) generated $479.8M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) generated $295.3M 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.
BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) spent $184.6M 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, BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) returned $92.5M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $30.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.