Free cash flow remains highly volatile, swinging from a negative 1.3% margin in 2024Q1 to a peak of 7.7% in 2025Q4, 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 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 876.59M | 914.52M | 509.08M | 731.95M | 1.65B | 94.95M | 499.19M | 835.42M | 792.9M | 380.5M | 529.41M | 718.34M | 513.43M | 347.78M | 460.34M | 429.71M | 344.78M | 372.57M | 447.58M | 308.43M | 343.38M | 229.09M | 155.94M | 109.5M | 114.14M | 74.45M | 74.49M | 51.9M | 77.6M | 70.4M | 35.4M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 5.63% | 2.87% | 4.16% | 6.68% | 0.41% | 3.08% | 5.46% | 4.77% | 2.56% | 4.03% | 5.33% | 3.81% | 2.73% | 4.05% | 4.16% | 3.72% | 4.92% | 5.22% | 4.22% | 5.24% | 4.03% | 3.59% | 3.03% | 3.46% | 2.41% | 2.58% | 2.3% | 3.81% | 3.93% | 2.2% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 169.77% | 79.64% | -30.45% | -55.64% | 1637.85% | -80.98% | -40.25% | 5.36% | 108.38% | -28.13% | -26.3% | 39.91% | 47.63% | -24.45% | 7.13% | 24.63% | -7.46% | -16.76% | 45.12% | -10.18% | 49.89% | 46.91% | 42.41% | -4.07% | 53.31% | -0.05% | 43.53% | -33.12% | 10.23% | 98.87% | - |
| Net Income | 599.01M | 587.08M | 465.69M | 325.13M | 940.52M | 844.25M | 506.42M | 576.97M | 664.5M | 504.89M | 513.38M | 509.7M | 449.71M | 415.9M | 593.8M | 431.61M | 387.03M | 360.83M | 359.18M | 324.26M | 266.93M | 203.36M | 137.25M | 114.12M | 96.33M | 83.99M | 71.24M | 53.3M | 43M | 27.6M | 34.6M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 102.03M | 102.82M | 97.16M | 98.98M | 92.78M | 91.26M | 101.73M | 100.45M | 96.73M | 92.98M | 74.67M | 66.41M | 57.01M | 56.88M | 38.09M | 32.5M | 29.37M | 30.51M | 31.16M | 27.37M | 23.93M | 18.5M | 11.81M | 10.99M | 14.03M | 19.14M | 17.32M | 10.1M | 8.5M | 8.7M | 7.6M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 67.92M | 80.07M | 84.59M | 58.17M | 90.68M | 129.98M | 43.99M | 39.08M | 87.79M | 41.8M | 37.56M | 57.66M | 47.86M | 9.09M | 59.38M | 38.6M | 37.05M | 21.27M | 20.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 16.02M | 9.46M | -80.07M | -37.75M | -58.57M | -110.19M | -32.98M | -2.41M | -15.31M | -28.73M | 15.01M | -17.09M | -3.12M | 25.23M | -14.44M | 5.75M | 7.57M | -630K | 2.95M | -8.91M | -8.88M | 4.48M | 3.16M | 9.08M | 624K | 11.36M | -513K | -4.8M | -9.3M | 4.8M | -2.5M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -17.58M | -13.66M | 50.75M | 5.87M | -24.77M | -537K | 14.8M | -6.47M | 7.06M | 4.32M | 7.04M | 18.95M | 13.95M | 15.91M | -267.37M | 10.66M | 16.97M | 17.58M | 14.58M | 44.75M | 54.38M | 37.49M | 30.15M | 14.02M | 7.27M | -264K | 318K | 200K | 100K | -100K | 100K |
| Working Capital Changes | 109.18M | 148.75M | -109.04M | 281.54M | 609.52M | -859.8M | -134.76M | 127.8M | -47.88M | -234.77M | -118.26M | 82.72M | -51.99M | -175.24M | 50.88M | -89.41M | -133.2M | -56.99M | 18.9M | -79.34M | 6.95M | -34.74M | -26.43M | -38.72M | -4.11M | -39.77M | -13.88M | -6.7M | 35.2M | 22.2M | -5.3M |
| Change in Receivables | -15.8M | 139.64M | -176.22M | 675.3M | 923.52M | -1.55B | -452.14M | 208.31M | -190.05M | -364.18M | -132.9M | 107.56M | -137.1M | -87.32M | -88.11M | -162.69M | -57.85M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -38.07M | 92.58M | -25.43M | 57.71M | -2.74M | -14.53M | 9.11M | 4.24M | -120.31M | 26.38M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -801K | -74K | 1.7M | -300K | 2.2M | 2.1M |
| Change in Payables | 77.48M | 10.78M | -79.94M | -200.84M | -307.27M | 660.03M | 180.27M | -17.97M | 36.08M | 144.04M | 80.67M | -53.27M | 40.25M | 47.49M | 61.73M | 68.04M | 14.68M | 21.85M | -70.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -69.66M | -54.67M | -74.29M | -82.79M | -64.92M | -85.67M | -271.71M | -113.03M | -72.81M | -107.53M | -312.99M | -54.45M | -388.9M | -28.86M | -359.07M | -38.31M | 8.6M | -123.89M | 31.48M | -55.72M | -81.24M | -86.67M | -54.82M | -13.07M | -70.24M | -13.22M | -24.09M | -88.8M | -31.6M | 55.3M | -12.7M |
| Capital Expenditures | -31.58M | -19.63M | -74.29M | -29.99M | -128.5M | -70.92M | -54.01M | -70.47M | -63.87M | -57.95M | -91.44M | -44.64M | -29.5M | -48.21M | -50.66M | -52.81M | -28.68M | -34.47M | -23.75M | -43.71M | -43.24M | -21.82M | -34.74M | -8.57M | -7.33M | -17.1M | -15.49M | -121.6M | -11.9M | -6.3M | -4.8M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.19% | 0.12% | 0.42% | 0.17% | 0.52% | 0.31% | 0.33% | 0.46% | 0.38% | 0.39% | 0.7% | 0.33% | 0.22% | 0.38% | 0.45% | 0.51% | 0.31% | 0.45% | 0.28% | 0.6% | 0.66% | 0.38% | 0.8% | 0.24% | 0.22% | 0.55% | 0.54% | 5.38% | 0.58% | 0.35% | 0.3% |
| Acquisitions | -11.86M | -11.86M | 0 | 0 | 63.58M | -14.75M | -223.23M | -59.2M | -5.32M | -49.07M | -220.2M | -369.83M | 0 | 19.13M | -308.83M | 0 | -41.15M | -41.15M | -59.66M | -22.22M | -39.72M | -60.15M | -19.11M | -2.09M | -15.99M | 0 | -5.9M | 400K | 2M | 1.4M | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -26.21M | -23.18M | 0 | -52.8M | 0 | 0 | 5.53M | 16.64M | -3.62M | -521K | -1.35M | 360.03M | -359.39M | 221K | 419K | 5.18M | 36.06M | 185K | 769K | -68K | 2.76M | -3.75M | -190K | -1.89M | -1.71M | 3.88M | -2.7M | 500K | -1.4M | 22.4M | -7.9M |
| Cash from Financing | -782.94M | -862.75M | -416.1M | -717.83M | -1.62B | 7.57M | -440.67M | -651.25M | -655.18M | -198.63M | -127.3M | -607.74M | -143.64M | -364.9M | -264.34M | -415.1M | -289.13M | -402.06M | -326.04M | -262.1M | -145.84M | -74.75M | -60.02M | -33M | -25.78M | -25.41M | -20.12M | -12.7M | -9.2M | -105.7M | -14.5M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -48M | -289M | -204M | -394M | 54M | 822.7M | -143M | -112M | -118.99M | 225M | 290M | -155M | 230M | 621.35M | 248.36M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9.38M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -336.86M | -195.46M | 114.89M | -63.88M | -1.49B | -608.48M | -177.51M | -246.35M | -300.99M | -207.04M | -172.93M | -229.86M | -164.04M | -742.14M | -245.07M | -240.93M | -151.06M | -249.16M | -177.52M | -153.58M | -67.09M | -23.29M | -19.12M | -5.95M | -5.51M | -8.51M | -6.68M | -1.2M | -1.8M | -1.3M | -6.9M |
| Dividends Paid | -302.92M | -301.38M | -294.77M | -291.57M | -285.32M | -277.32M | -209.96M | -277.79M | -265.22M | -258.22M | -245.43M | -235.62M | -215.01M | -220.26M | -275.35M | -194.7M | -168.9M | -162.87M | -151.19M | -125.18M | -90.84M | -51.46M | -40.9M | -27.05M | -20.27M | -16.9M | -13.44M | -11.5M | -7.4M | -104.4M | -7.7M |
| Share Repurchases | -519.61M | -354.65M | 0 | -63.88M | -1.46B | -581.76M | -177.51M | -309.44M | -300.99M | -185.49M | -172.93M | -229.86M | -164.04M | -757.3M | -245.07M | -240.93M | -151.06M | -266.91M | -200.85M | -167.32M | -85.27M | -38.84M | -29.62M | -16.09M | -13.22M | -13.71M | -9.94M | -2.7M | -3.1M | -1.4M | -6.9M |
| Other Financing | -95.17M | -76.92M | -32.22M | 31.62M | 100.06M | 70.67M | 89.8M | -15.12M | 30.02M | 38.13M | 1.05M | 12.74M | 5.41M | -23.86M | 7.72M | 20.53M | 30.82M | 9.97M | 12.06M | 16.67M | 12.08M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100K |
| Net Change in Cash | 29.72M | 15.11M | 238K | -71.96M | -39.93M | 13.62M | -204.06M | 69.24M | 44.73M | 86.22M | 79.44M | 39.29M | -33.11M | -47.97M | -163.65M | -24.94M | 61.3M | -157.44M | 155.86M | -9.71M | 117.96M | 64.15M | 43.06M | 65.51M | 17.26M | 35.83M | 30.27M | -49.7M | 36.8M | 19.9M | 8.1M |
| Free Cash Flow | 857.67M | 894.89M | 486.43M | 647.84M | 1.52B | 24.03M | 445.18M | 764.95M | 729.02M | 322.56M | 437.97M | 673.69M | 483.92M | 299.57M | 409.69M | 376.91M | 316.1M | 338.11M | 423.83M | 264.72M | 300.13M | 207.26M | 121.2M | 100.92M | 106.81M | 57.35M | 59M | -69.7M | 65.7M | 64.1M | 30.6M |
| FCF Margin % | 5.29% | 5.51% | 2.74% | 3.68% | 6.16% | 0.1% | 2.75% | 5% | 4.38% | 2.17% | 3.33% | 5% | 3.59% | 2.35% | 3.61% | 3.65% | 3.41% | 4.46% | 4.94% | 3.62% | 4.58% | 3.64% | 2.79% | 2.79% | 3.24% | 1.86% | 2.05% | -3.08% | 3.22% | 3.58% | 1.91% |
| FCF Growth % | 38.59% | 83.97% | -24.91% | -57.43% | 6231.6% | -94.6% | -41.8% | 4.93% | 126.02% | -26.35% | -34.99% | 39.21% | 61.54% | -26.88% | 8.7% | 19.24% | -6.51% | -20.23% | 60.11% | -11.8% | 44.81% | 71.01% | 20.09% | -5.51% | 86.25% | -2.79% | 184.65% | -206.09% | 2.5% | 109.48% | - |
| FCF per Share | 7.09 | 7.37 | 4.03 | 5.41 | 11.97 | 0.18 | 3.27 | 5.55 | 5.19 | 2.28 | 3.06 | 4.64 | 3.28 | 1.91 | 2.53 | 2.29 | 1.90 | 2.00 | 2.45 | 1.52 | 1.72 | 1.19 | 0.70 | 0.59 | 0.62 | 0.33 | 0.34 | -0.42 | 0.40 | 0.39 | 0.18 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.43x | 1.56x | 1.09x | 2.25x | 1.75x | 0.11x | 0.99x | 1.45x | 1.19x | 0.75x | 1.03x | 1.41x | 1.14x | 0.84x | 0.78x | 1.00x | 0.89x | 1.03x | 1.25x | 0.95x | 1.29x | 1.13x | 1.14x | 0.96x | 1.18x | 0.89x | 1.05x | 0.97x | 1.80x | 2.55x | 1.02x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92.57M | 71.56M | 51.37M | 47.52M | 50.85M | 47.54M | 37.87M | 28.91M | 28.54M | 27.07M | 3.88M | 518K | 1.27M | 21K | 189K | 426K | 172K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.94M | 429.1M | 227.43M | 93.07M | 219.03M | 215.64M | 262.86M | 269.19M | 311.8M | 271.98M | 313.8M | 257.58M | 256.44M | 203.4M | 224.75M | 202.25M | 190.52M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Freight cycle margin compression
According to quarterly financial disclosures, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow remains highly volatile, with the OCF/NI ratio swinging from a low of -0.36 in 2024Q1 to a peak of 2.24 in 2025Q4, indicating significant sensitivity to working capital fluctuations.
The wide variance in cash conversion suggests that reported net income is frequently decoupled from actual cash generation due to the timing of carrier payments and shipper collections. Investors should monitor whether this volatility reflects structural inefficiencies in the cash conversion cycle or merely the inherent seasonality of the freight brokerage business.
As reported in recent filings, free cash flow margins have demonstrated extreme inconsistency, ranging from a negative 1.3% in 2024Q1 to a high of 7.7% in 2025Q4, underscoring the company's vulnerability to cyclical downturns in the North American freight market.
The inability to maintain a stable free cash flow margin suggests that the company's asset-light model, while flexible, does not insulate the bottom line from sharp contractions in freight demand. This trajectory warrants further investigation into whether recent strategic pivots can successfully smooth out these cash flow troughs over the long term.
Based on the provided cash flow statements, working capital changes have acted as a primary driver of liquidity, with a significant $157.6 million inflow in 2025Q4 contrasting sharply with the $133.2 million outflow observed in 2026Q1, highlighting the impact of timing on operational liquidity.
The substantial swings in working capital suggest that the company's cash position is heavily dependent on the synchronization of accounts receivable and payable cycles. This reliance may indicate that management has limited control over cash flow timing, making the company susceptible to liquidity crunches during periods of rapid volume shifts.
Data from recent financial statements reveals that the company has continued to prioritize shareholder returns, with $212.7 million allocated to share repurchases in 2026Q1, even as operating cash flow remained constrained at $68.6 million, suggesting a potential misalignment between cash generation and capital allocation strategies.
The decision to fund significant buybacks while operating cash flow is under pressure may indicate management's confidence in long-term stability, yet it also risks depleting the cash reserves necessary to navigate a prolonged freight recession. Investors should monitor whether this level of capital deployment is sustainable if the current margin compression persists.
Based on reported figures, stock-based compensation remains a persistent non-cash expense, consistently exceeding $20 million per quarter, which effectively masks the true cash cost of maintaining the human capital required to operate the company's complex, decentralized brokerage network.
While stock-based compensation is a standard industry practice, its consistent magnitude relative to net income suggests that the company's reported profitability may be overstated when viewed on a cash-basis. This warrants further investigation into whether these equity incentives are effectively driving the productivity gains necessary to offset structural margin declines.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CHRW stock.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) generated $914.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) generated $894.9M 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.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) spent $19.6M 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, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) returned $301.4M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $354.7M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.