Free cash flow remains negative at -2.4% of revenue in 2026Q1, reflecting a broader trend of cash burn that complicates the company's ability to fund operations.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 11.3M | 12.3K | 61.4M | 190.7M | 150.2M | 96.4M | 247M | 55.6M | 168.9M | 177.67M | 172.75M | 159.68M | 139.1M | 136.36M | 198.69M | 68.39M | 185.59M | 224.76M | 42.06M | 108.67M | 96.17M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 0% | 4.44% | 16.79% | 7.22% | 5.44% | 13.22% | 3.16% | 9.8% | 10.27% | 9.96% | 9.11% | 7.07% | 7.22% | 10.6% | 3.55% | 13.52% | 17.98% | 3.35% | 9.19% | 8.69% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -76.19% | -99.98% | -67.8% | 26.96% | 55.81% | -60.97% | 344.24% | -67.08% | -4.94% | 2.85% | 8.19% | 14.79% | 2.01% | -31.37% | 190.51% | -63.15% | -17.43% | 434.41% | -61.3% | 12.99% | - |
| Net Income | -27M | -53K | 196.3M | 107.7M | 46M | -28.1M | 77.1M | -5.6M | -143.77M | 97.34M | 49.55M | 55.98M | -2.31M | 106.95M | 64.13M | 39.67M | 73.8M | 182.46M | 9.74M | 25.57M | 21.13M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 93.8M | 92.4K | 69.8M | 98.6M | 103.3M | 105M | 111M | 115.6M | 101.95M | 104.99M | 91.09M | 84.73M | 90.14M | 90.27M | 79.33M | 76.93M | 47.73M | 47.42M | 46.95M | 51.33M | 54.29M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 3.4M | 3.8K | 5.6M | 9.9M | 12.7M | 9.1M | 10.5M | 3.8M | 3.31M | 3.62M | 12.38M | 4.56M | 12.79M | 10.96M | 9.7M | 8.13M | 8.52M | 3.01M | 2.32M | 3.3M | 1.35M |
| Deferred Taxes | -23.8M | -22.5K | 39M | -14.9M | -7.9M | -9.7M | 33.5M | -300K | 7.08M | -40.59M | 19.09M | 15.06M | 13.85M | -69.68M | 12.87M | 14.78M | -14.99M | -4.6M | 4.93M | -8.13M | 8.34M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 87.95M | 99.49M | -267.9M | 4.5M | 12.5M | 45.4M | 13.9M | 10.6M | 170.13M | 1.12M | -1.04M | -1.9M | 27.34M | 2.01M | -22.8M | 7.92M | 12.23M | 23.03M | 871K | -1.03M | -2.83M |
| Working Capital Changes | -86.6M | -99.5M | 18.6M | -15.1M | -16.4M | -25.3M | 1M | -68.5M | 28.63M | 11.19M | 1.68M | 1.25M | -2.71M | -4.16M | 55.46M | -79.05M | 58.3M | -26.56M | -22.77M | 37.64M | 13.89M |
| Change in Receivables | -15.9M | -2.2M | -58.1M | -1.3M | -16.9M | -5.3M | 6.1M | -13.6M | 13.98M | -10.57M | 5.14M | -13.6M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -18.99M | -8.48M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -12M | -23.5M | 12.4M | 4M | -46.3M | -20.2M | 18.1M | -21.2M | 0 | -14.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -16.78M | -13.96M | -6.59M | 32.09M |
| Change in Payables | -66.8M | -75.3M | 70.2M | -21.3K | 49.2M | 1.9M | -16.5M | -28.5M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.69M | 1.25M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -76.8M | -100.4K | 167.7M | -73.7M | -33.5M | -25.1M | -39.6M | -140.1M | -223.97M | -198.8M | -222.51M | -78.55M | 35.69M | -140.59M | -177M | -50.15M | -227.94M | -196.39M | -31.53M | -20.5M | -27.45M |
| Capital Expenditures | -65.2M | -88.8K | -116.6M | -73.7M | -33.5M | -38.4M | -39.6M | -140.1M | -295.71M | -199.75M | -155.35M | -128.9M | -93.03M | -90.59M | -203.78M | -134.07M | -46.09M | -19.33M | -21.31M | -20.53M | -27.5M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 4.24% | 0.01% | 8.43% | 6.49% | 1.61% | 2.17% | 2.12% | 7.95% | 17.15% | 11.54% | 8.96% | 7.36% | 4.73% | 4.79% | 10.87% | 6.95% | 3.36% | 1.55% | 1.7% | 1.74% | 2.49% |
| Acquisitions | -11.6M | 0 | 284.3M | 0 | 0 | 13.3M | 0 | 0 | 70.93M | 0 | -67.44M | 604K | 0 | 0 | -9.26M | 0 | -243.78M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | -11.6K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 807K | 951K | 286K | 50.35M | 128.72M | -50M | 36.04M | 83.92M | 15.84M | 67K | 575K | 32K | 58K |
| Cash from Financing | 58M | 39.3K | -191.4M | -129.4M | -88.6M | -82M | -192.9M | 82M | 65.42M | 13.86M | 67.15M | -102.85M | -171.13M | 15.33M | -17.55M | -29.1M | 58.45M | -28.77M | -7.32M | -88.33M | -68.69M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 63.6M | 63.4M | -177.7M | -103.6M | -80.9M | -81M | -192.3M | 82.4M | 65.83M | 0 | 135M | 0 | -75M | 125M | 0 | -15.6M | 62.83M | -28.81M | -29.88M | -88.49M | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -6.3M | -17.2M | -10M | -22.6M | -5M | -1.7M | -700K | 0 | 0 | -4.9M | -65.33M | -99.99M | -100M | -100M | -18.65M | -11.35M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -6.3M | -17.2M | -10M | -17.9M | -5M | -1.7M | -700K | 0 | 0 | -4.9M | -65.33M | -99.99M | -100M | -100M | -18.65M | -11.35M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 700K | -46.16M | -3.7M | -3.2M | -2.7M | 700K | 100K | -400K | -413K | 18.7M | -2.53M | -2.86M | 3.87M | -9.67M | 1.1M | -2.15M | -4.38M | 39K | 22.56M | 332K | -68.69M |
| Net Change in Cash | -7.5M | -48.9K | 37.6M | -12.4M | 28.2M | -10.7M | 14.5M | -2.5M | 6.75M | -7.26M | 17.39M | -21.72M | 3.66M | 11.1M | 4.14M | -10.49M | 16.1M | -394K | 3.21M | -161K | 37K |
| Free Cash Flow | -53.9M | -76.5K | -55.2M | 117M | 116.7M | 58M | 207.4M | -84.5M | -126.81M | -22.08M | 17.4M | 30.77M | 46.07M | 45.76M | -5.08M | -65.67M | 139.5M | 205.44M | 20.75M | 88.14M | 68.67M |
| FCF Margin % | -3.51% | -0% | -3.99% | 10.3% | 5.61% | 3.27% | 11.1% | -4.8% | -7.35% | -1.28% | 1% | 1.76% | 2.34% | 2.42% | -0.27% | -3.41% | 10.16% | 16.43% | 1.65% | 7.45% | 6.2% |
| FCF Growth % | 57.59% | 99.86% | -147.18% | 0.26% | 101.21% | -72.03% | 345.44% | 33.36% | -474.37% | -226.87% | -43.45% | -33.21% | 0.67% | 1000.33% | 92.26% | -147.08% | -32.09% | 889.96% | -76.45% | 28.36% | - |
| FCF per Share | -3.35 | -0.00 | -3.29 | 6.85 | 6.79 | 3.46 | 12.40 | -5.11 | -7.69 | -1.33 | 1.02 | 1.64 | 2.29 | 2.06 | -0.22 | -2.74 | 5.89 | 8.73 | 0.91 | 3.88 | 3.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 2.00x | -0.00x | -0.55x | 1.77x | 3.27x | -3.43x | 3.20x | -9.93x | -1.17x | 1.83x | 3.49x | 2.85x | -60.09x | 1.27x | 3.10x | 1.72x | 2.51x | 1.23x | 4.32x | 4.29x | 4.61x |
| Interest Paid | 800K | 0 | 52.4M | 37.8M | 33M | 0 | 0 | 38.4M | 26.1M | 28.1M | 26.69M | 28.2M | 34.42M | 36.15M | 30.09M | 43.59M | 15.94M | 15.06M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 57.2M | 0 | 19M | 16.6M | 43M | 0 | 0 | 3.1M | 3.74M | 2.7M | 17.66M | 35.85M | 6.85M | 3.26M | 18.72M | 43.09M | 28.6M | 41.26M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Severe liquidity and cash burn
As reported in recent financial statements, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is deeply inconsistent, with the OCF/NI ratio fluctuating wildly from -7.83 in 2025Q2 to 3.73 in 2023Q4, suggesting that reported earnings provide little visibility into the company's actual cash-generating capacity.
The extreme volatility in the OCF/NI ratio indicates that non-cash charges and working capital swings are significantly distorting the bottom line. Investors should monitor this divergence, as it suggests that accounting profits are not translating into the liquidity required to sustain operations.
Based on the provided quarterly data, Clearwater Paper has struggled to maintain positive free cash flow, recording a negative FCF margin of -2.4% in 2026Q1, which reflects a broader trend of cash outflows that have persisted throughout the majority of the last ten reported quarters.
The inability to generate consistent free cash flow suggests that the company's capital-intensive business model is currently consuming more resources than it produces. This trajectory warrants further investigation into whether the planned divestiture of the tissue business will sufficiently alleviate this persistent cash drain.
According to the company's cash flow statements, working capital changes have been a major source of instability, including a significant $62.1 million outflow in 2025Q2, which highlights the difficulty management faces in balancing inventory levels and receivables against the company's thin operating margins.
These erratic swings in working capital suggest that the company's supply chain and collection cycles are highly sensitive to market fluctuations. Such instability appears to be a primary driver of the company's current liquidity challenges, as cash is frequently trapped in the operating cycle.
As indicated by the financial data, the company's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue reached as high as 12.0% in 2024Q3, demonstrating a heavy reliance on continuous reinvestment in aging mill infrastructure that has yet to yield a sustainable improvement in cash flow generation.
The high capital intensity relative to revenue suggests that the company is forced to prioritize maintenance capex simply to keep operations running. This capital-heavy requirement may limit management's flexibility to pivot toward more profitable growth initiatives in the future.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CLW stock.
Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW) generated $0.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW) reported negative free cash flow of $0.1M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW) 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, Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW) spent $17.2M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.