Cash flow generation remains inconsistent, evidenced by an OCF/NI ratio that swung from a negative 17.47 in 2024Q1 to a positive 4.98 in 2025Q4, largely driven by volatile working capital changes.
| 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 | 8.81B | 9.6B | 10.36B | 11.81B | 8.66B | 7.19B | 10.35B | 9.48B | 3.77B | 4.09B | 4.03B | 2.93B | 2.16B | 719M | 2.35B | 1.49B | 1.74B | 745M | 1.66B | 1.34B | 642M | 718M | 1.45B | 2.31B | 1.38B | 1.08B | 1.67B | 1.82B | 886M | 1.83B | 700M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 3.49% | 4.19% | 6.05% | 4.8% | 4.13% | 6.45% | 6.18% | 7.75% | 9.77% | 10.11% | 7.74% | 6.18% | 2.22% | 8.07% | 6.89% | 8.27% | 4.05% | 8.67% | 7.61% | 3.88% | 4.3% | 7.98% | 12.27% | 7.12% | 5.8% | 8.56% | 9.7% | 5.02% | 15.58% | 3.69% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 6495.62% | -7.35% | -12.27% | 36.47% | 20.37% | -30.52% | 9.12% | 151.59% | -7.73% | 1.49% | 37.27% | 35.91% | 200.14% | -69.4% | 57.61% | -14.46% | 133.96% | -55.01% | 23.4% | 109.03% | -10.59% | -50.48% | -37.18% | 67.49% | 27.59% | -35.41% | -7.98% | 105.08% | -51.72% | 162.14% | -36.59% |
| Net Income | 6.29B | 6.29B | 3.78B | 5.37B | 6.78B | 5.42B | 8.49B | 5.12B | 2.65B | 2.23B | 1.84B | 2.08B | 2.09B | 1.48B | 1.62B | 1.26B | 1.28B | 1.3B | 290M | 1.12B | 1.16B | 1.28B | 1.44B | 584M | -397M | 971M | 981M | 699M | 1.19B | 812M | 1.06B |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.75B | 2.77B | 2.77B | 3.04B | 2.94B | 2.92B | 2.8B | 3.65B | 695M | 566M | 610M | 585M | 588M | 597M | 560M | 345M | 292M | 268M | 244M | 194M | 208M | 221M | 230M | 246M | 221M | 244M | 233M | 225M | 318M | 255M | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 482M | 326M | -95M | -1.66B | -472M | -216M | -386M | -313M | -101M | 242M | 74M | 21M | -22M | 197M | 134M | 217M | 188M | 319M | -221M | 0 | -23M | 394M | -72M | 168M | -41M | 205M | -69M | 47M | -167M | -46M | 126M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 81M | 11M | 2.71B | 1.58B | -1.18B | -57M | -4.15B | -175M | 81M | 281M | -169M | 251M | -73M | -2.49B | -34M | -117M | -83M | 11M | 601M | -98M | -695M | -885M | -186M | 1.11B | -761M | 128M | -1.7B | -15M | -1.5B | -854M | 431M |
| Working Capital Changes | -1.14B | 201M | 1.19B | 3.49B | 584M | -879M | 3.6B | 1.2B | 449M | 765M | 1.67B | -1M | -429M | 938M | 66M | -215M | 63M | -1.16B | 742M | 126M | -7M | -288M | 40M | 201M | 2.36B | -459M | 2.24B | 861M | 1.15B | 1.74B | -913M |
| Change in Receivables | -2.33B | 0 | -7.85B | -2.2B | -1.84B | -3.5B | -1.57B | -990M | 471M | -118M | 909M | -890M | -758M | 259M | -9M | -31M | 99M | 49M | 219M | 47M | 162M | 451M | 576M | 248M | -100M | -33M | -453M | -99M | -159M | 44M | -140M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Change in Payables | -806M | 0 | 9.89B | 5.51B | 3.49B | 2.04B | 4.24B | 1.15B | -510M | 731M | 125M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126M | -106M | -345M | -1.22B | -38M | 2.08B | -171M | 1.65B | 1.24B | 856M | 956M | -328M |
| Cash from Investing | -6.24B | -4.41B | -2.1B | -5.17B | 3.1B | -3.61B | 2.98B | -734M | -26.38B | -1.7B | -2.57B | -1.74B | -1.87B | 15M | -3.86B | -1.27B | -1.34B | -1.49B | -2.57B | 269M | 1.55B | 258M | 1.22B | -796M | -1.49B | -2.01B | -902M | 2.5B | 871M | -1.57B | -357M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.15B | -1.21B | -1.41B | -1.57B | -1.29B | -1.15B | -1.09B | -1.05B | -528M | -471M | -461M | -510M | -473M | -527M | -408M | -422M | -300M | -307M | -257M | -262M | -136M | -61M | -38M | -107M | -303M | 0 | 0 | -3.45B | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.41% | 0.44% | 0.57% | 0.81% | 0.72% | 0.66% | 0.68% | 0.68% | 1.09% | 1.13% | 1.16% | 1.35% | 1.35% | 1.63% | 1.4% | 1.95% | 1.42% | 1.67% | 1.35% | 1.49% | 0.82% | 0.37% | 0.21% | 0.57% | 1.57% | - | - | 18.42% | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -5.67B | -3.48B | -838M | -264M | -233M | -50M | -71M | -119M | -109M | -95M | 50M | 140M | 142M | 553M | 358M | 151M | -106M | -20M | -342M | 875M | -40M | -19M | -24M | 0 | -35M | -608M | -243M | 3.34B | -411M | 1B | -144M |
| Cash from Financing | -3.88B | -6.42B | -7.65B | -4.29B | -11.24B | -8.21B | -8.53B | -7.19B | 23.52B | -2.65B | -225M | -530M | -1.58B | -930M | -228M | 2.87B | 274M | 307M | 314M | -1.04B | -2.51B | -1.78B | -1.53B | -1.7B | -235M | 670M | -774M | -4.21B | -1.54B | 658M | -593M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -1.92B | -3.42B | -6.73B | -2.1B | -7.22B | -7.42B | -3.67B | -1.76B | -274M | -2.59B | -103M | -517M | -1.5B | -853M | -87M | 509M | -137M | 30M | -341M | -937M | -2.51B | -1.27B | -612M | 6M | -287M | -1.1B | -1.62B | -2.99B | -807M | -316M | -280M |
| Dividends Paid | -1.62B | -1.61B | -1.57B | -1.45B | -1.38B | -1.34B | -15M | -15M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -11M | -11M | -11M | -11M | -11M | -11M | -14M | -11M | -12M | -13M | -100M | -185M | -185M | -190M | -200M | -238M | -243M | -245M | -242M |
| Share Repurchases | -2.11B | -3.62B | -7.03B | -2.28B | -7.61B | -7.74B | -4.04B | -1.99B | -342M | -2.73B | -139M | -671M | -1.61B | -1B | -208M | -225M | -201M | 0 | -378M | -1.19B | -2.77B | -1.62B | -676M | 0 | -355M | -1.14B | -1.7B | -3.03B | -833M | -335M | -292M |
| Other Financing | -705M | -726M | -411M | -469M | -79M | -112M | -328M | -237M | -423M | -468M | 26M | -114M | -10M | 50M | 98M | 145M | 90M | 142M | 74M | -213M | -100M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -36M | 1.6B | 1.15B | -705M | -47M | 598M | 93M |
| Net Change in Cash | -1.3B | 126M | 594M | 2.36B | 428M | -4.7B | 4.83B | 1.56B | 883M | -213M | 1.22B | 548M | -1.38B | -183M | -1.71B | 3.08B | 681M | -418M | -628M | 578M | -317M | -810M | 1.13B | -183M | -343M | -261M | -33M | 246M | 154M | 927M | -272M |
| Free Cash Flow | 7.66B | 8.39B | 8.96B | 10.24B | 7.36B | 6.04B | 9.26B | 8.44B | 3.24B | 3.62B | 3.56B | 2.21B | 1.52B | 192M | 1.94B | 1.07B | 1.44B | 438M | 1.4B | 1.08B | 506M | 657M | 1.4B | 2.2B | 1.07B | 1.09B | 1.69B | -1.63B | 627M | 1.23B | 700M |
| FCF Margin % | 2.76% | 3.05% | 3.62% | 5.24% | 4.08% | 3.47% | 5.77% | 5.49% | 6.66% | 8.65% | 8.95% | 5.83% | 4.36% | 0.59% | 6.67% | 4.94% | 6.85% | 2.38% | 7.32% | 6.13% | 3.06% | 3.94% | 7.69% | 11.7% | 5.56% | 5.84% | 8.63% | -8.72% | 3.55% | 10.45% | 3.69% |
| FCF Growth % | 27.45% | -6.34% | -12.53% | 39.11% | 21.93% | -34.78% | 9.73% | 160.18% | -10.32% | 1.4% | 61.53% | 45.1% | 692.19% | -90.11% | 81.67% | -25.92% | 229.45% | -68.69% | 29.54% | 113.44% | -22.98% | -53% | -36.48% | 104.74% | -1.01% | -35.55% | 203.18% | -360.45% | -49.07% | 75.86% | -36.59% |
| FCF per Share | 28.99 | 31.54 | 31.63 | 34.49 | 23.51 | 17.71 | 25.13 | 22.21 | 13.14 | 14.82 | 13.73 | 8.47 | 5.66 | 0.67 | 6.71 | 3.90 | 5.24 | 1.59 | 5.02 | 3.81 | 1.50 | 1.69 | 3.38 | 5.22 | 2.54 | 2.40 | 3.47 | -2.76 | 0.98 | 1.84 | 1.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.22x | 1.61x | 3.02x | 2.29x | 1.29x | 1.34x | 1.22x | 1.86x | 1.43x | 1.83x | 2.16x | 1.40x | 1.03x | 0.49x | 1.45x | 1.18x | 1.36x | 0.57x | 5.67x | 1.20x | 0.56x | 0.44x | 1.01x | 3.65x | -3.08x | 1.15x | 1.77x | 1.02x | 0.69x | 1.69x | 0.66x |
| Interest Paid | 664M | 0 | 1.34B | 1.33B | 1.23B | 1.25B | 1.44B | 1.65B | 267M | 240M | 244M | 245M | 259M | 265M | 248M | 185M | 180M | 158M | 140M | 122M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 216M | 0 | 898M | 1.47B | 1.85B | 2.24B | 1.84B | 1.78B | 1.02B | 1.04B | 1.06B | 1.19B | 1.08B | 519M | 655M | 633M | 326M | 220M | 366M | 455M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Regulatory PBM rebate reform
According to quarterly financial data, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is highly erratic, with the OCF/NI ratio swinging from a negative 17.47 in 2024Q1 to a positive 4.98 in 2025Q4, indicating significant disconnects between accounting profits and actual cash generation.
The extreme variance in the OCF/NI ratio suggests that reported net income is heavily influenced by non-cash actuarial adjustments and reserve movements rather than core operational cash flow. Investors should monitor these fluctuations as they imply that earnings quality may be lower than headline figures suggest, complicating the assessment of true underlying profitability.
As reported in financial statements, Cigna's free cash flow trajectory is characterized by sharp quarterly swings, ranging from a negative 3.2% margin in 2025Q2 to a peak of 8.0% in 2025Q4, reflecting a lack of consistent cash conversion across the company's diverse service and insurance segments.
The inability to maintain a stable FCF margin suggests that the company's cash flow is highly sensitive to the timing of medical claims payments and working capital cycles. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the business model can generate reliable cash flow independent of seasonal or accounting-driven timing differences.
Based on reported figures, working capital changes have been the primary driver of cash flow volatility, with a massive $3.5 billion inflow in 2025Q4 contrasting sharply with a $4.1 billion outflow in 2025Q2, highlighting the significant impact of timing on the company's liquidity position.
These large, erratic swings in working capital suggest that Cigna's cash position is heavily dependent on the timing of premium receipts and claim disbursements. Such fluctuations may indicate that the company's operational cash flow is less predictable than the steady nature of its recurring revenue model would otherwise imply.
As evidenced by recent filings, Cigna has prioritized significant capital deployment through share repurchases, including a $4.0 billion outlay in 2024Q1, even as operating cash flow remains inconsistent, suggesting a management focus on EPS support over maintaining a conservative cash buffer for potential regulatory or operational shocks.
The commitment to share buybacks during periods of volatile cash generation may indicate a management preference for financial engineering to offset organic growth challenges. Investors should monitor whether this capital allocation strategy remains sustainable if regulatory pressures on the PBM segment continue to compress margins and restrict future cash availability.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CI stock.
Cigna Corporation (CI) generated $9.60B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Cigna Corporation (CI) generated $8.39B 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.
Cigna Corporation (CI) spent $1.21B 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, Cigna Corporation (CI) returned $1.61B to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $3.62B on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.