Operating cash flow consistently outpaces net income (OCF/NI of 1.71x in 2026Q2), but approximately 60% of this cash conversion is driven by non-cash stock-based compensation, masking the true economic cost of operations despite strong FCF generation.
Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) cash flow statement — 10-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Feb'26 | Jan'25 | Jan'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Jan'19 | Jan'18 | Jan'17 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 717.2M | 691.6M | 596.33M | 486.21M | 349.57M | 191.74M | 132.75M | 46.58M | -13.41M | -79.75M | 7.25M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 5.49% | 5.03% | 4.36% | 3.45% | 2.14% | 1.86% | 0.96% | -0.38% | -3.79% | 0.81% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 68.44% | 15.98% | 22.65% | 39.09% | 82.31% | 44.43% | 185% | 447.23% | 83.18% | -1199.66% | - |
| Net Income | 273.7M | 222.8M | 392.74M | 39.58M | 49.23M | -75.21M | -92.49M | -252.37M | -267.89M | -338.06M | -107.16M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 143.9M | 129.3M | 114.56M | 109.69M | 83.44M | 55.32M | 35.66M | 30.64M | 23.21M | 12.54M | 5.04M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 225.9M | 297.9M | 306.44M | 239.11M | 158.12M | 77.77M | 121.27M | 134.93M | 14.35M | 11.21M | 5.23M |
| Deferred Taxes | 28.6M | 28.6M | -257.45M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 125.9M | 48.1M | 33.62M | 28.27M | 53.75M | 33.59M | 26.3M | 20.72M | 10.54M | 7.82M | 4.34M |
| Working Capital Changes | -80.8M | -35.1M | 6.43M | 69.56M | 5.03M | 100.27M | 42.01M | 112.66M | 206.37M | 226.74M | 99.81M |
| Change in Receivables | -9.2M | -53.1M | -15.07M | -27.07M | -2.73M | -20.86M | -20.22M | -31.74M | -12.21M | -19.76M | -8.02M |
| Change in Inventory | -35.1M | -27.7M | -117.81M | -41.26M | -115.09M | -41.74M | -195.5M | -96.95M | -54.85M | -68.88M | -48.61M |
| Change in Payables | -69.9M | 45.4M | 71.08M | 71.76M | 147.57M | 84.06M | 95.32M | 180.17M | 167.45M | 164.17M | 105.97M |
| Cash from Investing | -701.5M | -151.8M | 394.57M | -287.36M | -615.48M | -193.27M | -123.69M | -49.86M | 31.84M | -195.8M | -22.27M |
| Capital Expenditures | -149.1M | -129.2M | -143.83M | -143.28M | -230.29M | -183.19M | -130.74M | -48.64M | -44.16M | -40.28M | -22.27M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.14% | 1.03% | 1.21% | 1.29% | 2.28% | 2.04% | 1.83% | 1% | 1.25% | 1.91% | 2.47% |
| Acquisitions | -552.8M | 0 | 0 | -367K | -40.03M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | -5.2M | 0 | 0 | -1.4M | -10.09M | 7.05M | -1.23M | 76M | -155.52M | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 3.9M | -276M | -996.74M | 71.6M | -6.73M | 41.26M | 342.2M | 127.04M | 1.14M | 187.85M | 74.73M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 591.6M | -200K | -866K | -510K | -681K | -863K | -703K | -229K | -159K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -563.7M | -263.7M | -942.85M | 21.97M | -2.48M | 0 | 318.39M | 110.35M | 0 | 125M | 75M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -563.2M | -262.5M | -942.85M | -5K | -2.48M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -24M | -12.1M | -53.03M | 50.14M | -3.57M | 42.12M | 24.51M | 16.92M | 1.3M | 62.85M | -269K |
| Net Change in Cash | 19.2M | 264.33M | -6.47M | 270.59M | -272.64M | 39.73M | 351.26M | 123.76M | 19.56M | -87.7M | 59.71M |
| Free Cash Flow | 568.1M | 562.4M | 452.49M | 342.93M | 119.28M | 8.55M | 2.01M | -2.06M | -57.58M | -120.03M | -15.02M |
| FCF Margin % | 4.35% | 4.46% | 3.81% | 3.08% | 1.18% | 0.1% | 0.03% | -0.04% | -1.63% | -5.7% | -1.67% |
| FCF Growth % | 22.71% | 24.29% | 31.95% | 187.49% | 1294.62% | 325.1% | 197.91% | 96.43% | 52.03% | -699.13% | - |
| FCF per Share | 1.39 | 1.32 | 1.05 | 0.79 | 0.28 | 0.02 | 0.00 | -0.01 | -0.15 | -0.30 | -0.04 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 2.08x | 3.10x | 1.52x | 12.28x | 7.01x | -2.55x | -1.44x | -0.18x | 0.05x | 0.24x | -0.07x |
| Interest Paid | 3.5M | 2.4M | 2.7M | 2.9M | 2.1M | 2.05M | 1.9M | 375K | 34K | 55K | 204K |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CHWY stock.
Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) generated $691.6M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) generated $562.4M 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.
Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) spent $129.2M 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, Chewy, Inc. (CHWY) spent $262.5M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
SBC dilution offsetting cash generation
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Cash Generation Exceeds Reported Earnings
Chewy's operating cash flow consistently and significantly outpaces net income, with the OCF/NI ratio reaching 6.72x in Q4 2025 and 1.71x in Q2 2026, indicating that non-cash expenses like SBC are the primary driver of this powerful cash conversion quality.
The consistent gap between operating cash flow and net income is primarily driven by substantial add-backs for stock-based compensation and depreciation & amortization, not by working capital optimization. For instance, in Q2 2026, $137.4M of operating cash flow was generated on just $80.5M of net income, with SBC alone contributing $83.5M as a non-cash adjustment. This suggests the business's core cash generation capability is much stronger than headline GAAP earnings imply, but investors must view this cash flow as partially compensation for equity holders rather than fully distributable free cash.
FCF Trajectory Shows Maturing Efficiency
Chewy's free cash flow margin has expanded from a volatile range of 1.6%-4.8% in early 2024 to a more stable 2.2%-7.1% band through mid-2026, as per SEC filings, signaling an improving trajectory supported by operational discipline.
The trajectory indicates a maturing business achieving more predictable cash generation. The peak FCF margin of 7.1% in Q4 2025, a seasonally strong quarter, demonstrates the potential cash generating power of the platform. Comparing FCF to net income further highlights the cash flow strength; for example, Q2 2026 FCF of $89.5M is 1.11x net income, a significant improvement from Q2 2024 where FCF of $91.5M was only 0.31x the $299.1M net income driven by a one-time gain. This normalization suggests more sustainable earnings quality moving forward.
Capital Returns Overwhelm CapEx
Management has aggressively prioritized shareholder returns, deploying $553.3M for share repurchases in the first half of 2026 alone, which dwarfs the $85.6M in total capital expenditures and signals a mature, cash-rich stance.
The deployment pattern reveals a clear strategic shift. After years of prioritizing infrastructure investment, the company is now using its robust free cash flow to repurchase equity at scale, as seen in the $253.3M buyback in Q1 2026 and $200.0M in Q2 2026. This pivot, combined with a lack of dividend payments, suggests management views its stock as undervalued and is focusing capital allocation on reducing share count to boost per-share metrics. However, the continued deployment for acquisitions, notably the $378.0M outflow in Q2 2026, indicates M&A remains a key tool for strategic expansion, likely into adjacent health or logistics services.
The SBC Cash Illusion
Approximately 60% of Chewy's trailing twelve-month operating cash flow is derived from non-cash stock-based compensation, which masks the true cash cost of its labor force and suggests the economic cost of operations is higher than reported.
The cash flow statement obscures the dilutive and economic impact of its heavy reliance on equity-based compensation. Over the last four quarters, SBC totaled approximately $308M, representing a massive portion of the $517.4M in total operating cash flow. While a non-cash accounting add-back, this compensation is a real cost to shareholders through dilution, and its magnitude means that the 'free' cash flow available to all equity holders is significantly lower than the headline FCF figure. Analysts should treat the OCF figure with caution and focus on the cash conversion ratio (OCF/NI) to gauge true operational cash generation excluding this massive, but non-cash, expense.