Cash flow generation is robust but irregular, with FFO of $23.9M in 2026Q2 easily covering the dividend at a 21% payout ratio, though lumpy CapEx of $13.4M in the same quarter significantly reduced free cash flow.
Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) cash flow statement — 16-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 80.06M | 64.08M | 73.83M | 76.44M | 71.53M | 28.78M | -19.96M | 86.23M | 86.22M | 86.69M | 87.67M | 81.84M | 49.31M | 31.57M | 14.88M | 8.95M | 5.27M |
| Operating CF Growth % | 241.92% | -13.2% | -3.42% | 6.86% | 148.58% | 244.17% | -123.15% | 0.02% | -0.55% | -1.12% | 7.12% | 65.99% | 56.17% | 112.1% | 66.39% | 69.62% | - |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 25.5% | 21.72% | 23.27% | 24.57% | 24.26% | 14.11% | -15.07% | 26.26% | 26.59% | 29.01% | 29.84% | 29.55% | 25% | 25.01% | 14.82% | 12.24% | 20.71% |
| Net Income | 16.11M | 15.31M | 4.04M | 2.49M | 9.87M | -18.84M | -77.02M | 18.88M | 30.87M | 29.68M | 31.7M | 33.18M | 67.08M | 2.98M | -1.45M | -9.11M | -1.22M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 60.94M | 59.55M | 60.52M | 58.04M | 59.12M | 53.97M | 53.63M | 51.26M | 47.93M | 46.06M | 48.56M | 48.78M | 34.58M | 18.16M | 14.2M | 11.91M | 2.54M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 6.11M | 6.26M | 6.4M | 6.12M | 5.55M | 4.82M | 4.88M | 4.72M | 4.21M | 3.78M | 3.01M | 2.83M | 2.47M | 2.08M | 2M | 1.57M | 1.16M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -841K | -12.53M | 184K | 8.41M | -440K | 2.07M | 3.11M | 10.89M | 2.03M | 3.3M | 586K | 1.8M | 1.66M | 1.18M | 1.92M | -9.11M | 1.46M |
| Working Capital Changes | -2.22M | -4.51M | 2.69M | 1.39M | -2.57M | 3.68M | -4.59M | 459K | 1.2M | 3.47M | 4.24M | 817K | 5.25M | 4.3M | -3.22M | 1.94M | 2.49M |
| Cash from Investing | -100.14M | 45.37M | -29.17M | -28.11M | 29.96M | -101.94M | 26.81M | -44.58M | -96.4M | -160.65M | -21.08M | -182.36M | -452.99M | -235.19M | -13.04M | -112.52M | -201.51M |
| Acquisitions (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.8M | -26.81M | -8.17M | -138.25M | -5.04M | 0 | -156.54M | -27.95M | -1.65M | -28M | -61.98M | 0 |
| Purchase of Investments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -23.9M | -23.16M | -12.22M | 0 | -5.04M | -5.81M | 3.58M | -27.95M | -1.65M | 0 | -49.72M | -201.13M |
| Sale of Investments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.8M | 64.45M | 8.99M | 0 | 20.14M | 10K | -3.58M | -65.75M | 15.59M | 0 | 61.98M | 0 |
| Other Investing | -100.14M | 45.48M | -28.47M | -28.11M | 29.96M | -74.14M | 26.81M | 2.69M | 143.28M | -2.23M | 1.41M | -5.49M | -316.41M | -1.66M | 51.55M | -821K | -376K |
| Cash from Financing | 21.14M | -106.65M | -100.56M | -7.73M | -86.21M | 71.58M | 4.43M | -53.81M | 6.02M | 71.17M | -75.51M | 106.48M | 414.54M | 203.34M | -2.03M | 103.49M | 200.98M |
| Dividends Paid | -33.63M | -25.56M | -22.33M | -22.16M | -8.1M | -2.6M | -16.24M | -62.66M | -61.59M | -52.62M | -52.97M | -45.26M | -26.51M | -19.42M | -10.61M | -9.05M | 0 |
| Common Dividends | -14.16M | -17.61M | -14.38M | -14.21M | -147K | -282K | -16.24M | -62.66M | -61.59M | -52.62M | -52.97M | -45.26M | -26.51M | -19.42M | -10.61M | -9.05M | -1.66M |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | 2M | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K |
| Share Repurchases | -16.47M | -8.97M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -22K | -18K | -7K | 0 | -15K | 0 |
| Other Financing | -23.76M | -6.18M | -1.34M | -1.48M | -3.5M | -5.62M | -2.22M | -257K | -1.47M | -2.24M | -216K | -4.15M | -8.65M | 189.96M | -1.73M | -5.7M | -17.55M |
| Net Change in Cash | 1.07M | 2.79M | -55.91M | 40.6M | 15.28M | -1.58M | 11.27M | -12.15M | -4.16M | -2.79M | -8.92M | 5.96M | 10.86M | -275K | -184K | -88K | 4.74M |
| Exchange Rate Effect | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | 17.73M | 29.84M | 85.75M | 45.15M | 29.87M | 31.45M | 20.18M | 32.34M | 36.5M | 12.12M | 21.04M | 15.08M | 4.22M | 4.5M | 4.68M | 4.77M | 24K |
| Cash at End | 22.44M | 32.64M | 29.84M | 85.75M | 45.15M | 29.87M | 31.45M | 20.18M | 32.34M | 9.33M | 12.12M | 21.04M | 15.08M | 4.22M | 4.5M | 4.68M | 4.77M |
| Free Cash Flow | 80.06M | 63.97M | 73.13M | 76.44M | 71.53M | 19.27M | -34.45M | 50.38M | -15.22M | -81.79M | 65.17M | 61.51M | 34.38M | -214.25M | -21.7M | -53.03M | 5.27M |
| FCF Growth % | 23.83% | -12.52% | -4.34% | 6.86% | 271.19% | 155.95% | -168.38% | 430.94% | 81.39% | -225.5% | 5.95% | 78.94% | 116.04% | -887.2% | 59.08% | -1105.59% | - |
| FCF / Revenue % | 25.5% | 21.68% | 23.05% | 24.57% | 24.26% | 9.45% | -26.01% | 15.34% | -4.69% | -27.37% | 22.18% | 22.21% | 17.43% | -169.73% | -21.6% | -72.56% | 20.71% |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CLDT stock.
Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) generated $64.1M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) generated $64.0M 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.
Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) spent $0.1M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) returned $25.6M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $9.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Seasonal cash flow volatility
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
FFO Conversion Quality Volatile
FFO consistently exceeds GAAP operating cash flow, with the FFO/OCF ratio ranging from 0.79 to 1.24 over the past ten quarters, suggesting significant non-cash adjustments and working capital swings distort the GAAP cash flow figure.
The wide variance in FFO relative to OCF, such as the 1.24x ratio in 2025Q3 versus the 0.79x ratio in 2026Q2, indicates that GAAP operating cash flow is an unreliable proxy for the REIT's core earnings power. This volatility appears driven by the hotel industry's inherent seasonality and the timing of receivables and payables, making FFO the more consistent measure of operating performance.
AFFO Provides Strong Dividend Coverage
In the most recent quarters with available data, CLDT's dividend payout ratio relative to AFFO was a conservative 21% in 2026Q2 and 18% in 2024Q3, indicating a substantial buffer for dividend sustainability from true distributable cash flow.
The low Div/AFFO ratio suggests the dividend is well-covered by recurring cash flows after accounting for maintenance capital expenditures. However, the significant gap between FFO and AFFO in quarters like 2026Q2 ($23.9M vs. $10.5M) implies that a large portion of FFO is consumed by recurring property-level investments, which is typical for hotels but warrants monitoring for capital intensity.
Lumpy CapEx Drains Free Cash Flow
Capital expenditures are highly irregular, spiking to $19.4M in 2024Q3 and $13.4M in 2026Q2, which dramatically reduces FCF and suggests significant periodic property renovation or acquisition activity beyond routine maintenance.
The lumpy nature of CapEx, with several quarters showing zero spend, indicates that capital deployment is episodic rather than steady. This pattern creates volatility in FCF and implies that the company's true free cash flow available for distribution is heavily dependent on the timing of these larger investment cycles, which are not captured in the AFFO calculation.
Working Capital Swings Distort Cash Flow
The divergence between OCF and FFO, such as OCF of $25.6M versus FFO of $23.9M in 2026Q2, points to material working capital adjustments, likely from the collection of receivables or payment of accrued liabilities typical in hotel operations.
These working capital movements appear to be a primary driver of the volatility in GAAP operating cash flow. For a hotel REIT, this likely reflects the timing of group booking deposits, corporate account settlements, and seasonal expense accruals, which can create significant quarter-to-quarter noise in cash collections that does not reflect underlying operational trends.
Dividends Funded Internally
Dividend payments have consistently been covered by operating cash flow and FFO, with no apparent need to rely on external financing or ATM programs to fund distributions based on the provided cash flow data.
The data shows dividends paid ranging from $5.6M to $7.0M per quarter, while OCF and FFO have consistently exceeded these amounts. This suggests the company is funding its dividend from internal operations, which is a positive sign for financial stability. However, the lack of explicit data on debt issuance or equity raises means this conclusion is based on the absence of contrary evidence in the cash flow statement.
Depreciation Overwhelms GAAP Net Income
GAAP net income is frequently negative or minimal, as seen in 2026Q1 (-$4.3M) and 2024Q4 (-$1.7M), while FFO remains solidly positive, highlighting the massive distortion caused by real estate depreciation in the hotel sector.
The FFO/NI ratio is often extreme, reaching 7.24 in 2025Q3 and -7.58 in 2024Q4, demonstrating that net income is an almost meaningless metric for evaluating this REIT's performance. This distortion is structural and permanent, confirming that investors must focus on FFO and AFFO to assess the company's true economic earnings and cash generation capability.
Seasonal Troughs Mask Structural Weakness
The Q1 2026 operating loss and negative net income suggest that CLDT's cash flow generation is highly vulnerable to seasonal demand slumps, raising questions about the sustainability of its dividend through weaker quarters.
While the dividend appears well-covered in peak quarters, the Q1 2026 results show a net loss and minimal OCF, which could pressure liquidity if sustained. The reliance on strong summer performance to offset weak winter months introduces execution risk, as any macroeconomic downturn or travel disruption could disproportionately impact the company's ability to maintain its distribution.