Heavy infrastructure spending resulted in a $334 million negative free cash flow in 2026Q1, though the company maintains a 4.0x OCF-to-dividend coverage ratio to support shareholder payouts.
| 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 | 1.94B | 2.23B | 2.37B | 2.31B | 855M | 1.82B | 1.28B | 1.79B | 1.7B | 1.71B | 1.63B | 1.64B | 1.45B | 1.42B | 1.24B | 1.17B | 959M | 848M | 559M | 27M | 688M | 599M | 398M | -251M | 614M | 417M | 453M | 917M | 516M | 624M | 661M |
| Operating CF Growth % | -39.5% | -5.7% | 2.64% | 170.06% | -53% | 42.55% | -28.72% | 5.11% | -0.12% | 4.67% | -0.67% | 13.34% | 1.83% | 14.5% | 6.16% | 21.9% | 13.09% | 51.7% | 1970.37% | -96.08% | 14.86% | 50.5% | 258.57% | -140.88% | 47.24% | -7.95% | -50.6% | 77.71% | -17.31% | -5.6% | -3.08% |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 21.99% | 26.17% | 31.54% | 30.94% | 9.95% | 24.82% | 19.88% | 27.02% | 24.78% | 25.9% | 25.46% | 25.4% | 20.16% | 21.64% | 19.85% | 17.98% | 14.91% | 13.67% | 8.21% | 0.42% | 11.23% | 10.19% | 7.27% | -4.55% | 7.08% | 5.21% | 5.18% | 15.47% | 10.04% | 13.05% | 15.29% |
| Net Income | 1.11B | 1.07B | 1B | 886M | 833M | 751M | 697M | 680M | 657M | 460M | 551M | 523M | 477M | 452M | 375M | 413M | 363M | 209M | 300M | -126M | -85M | -98M | 132M | -44M | -650M | -545M | 36M | 277M | 242M | 244M | 224M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.33B | 1.31B | 1.24B | 1.18B | 1.13B | 1.11B | 1.04B | 992M | 933M | 881M | 811M | 750M | 685M | 628M | 598M | 546M | 576M | 570M | 589M | 545M | 576M | 525M | 431M | 462M | 485M | 524M | 637M | 595M | 535M | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 210M | 202M | 142M | 157M | 89M | 249M | 170M | 150M | 182M | 417M | 264M | 247M | 227M | 268M | 227M | 167M | 227M | 122M | 129M | -221M | -271M | -199M | 94M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8M | 10M | 54M | 24M | 46M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -214M | -283M | -277M | -330M | -80M | -249M | -609M | 1M | -174M | 121M | -4M | -102M | 90M | 75M | 197M | -51M | -174M | -46M | -131M | 357M | 526M | 598M | -30M | -351M | 752M | 928M | 135M | -7M | -129M | 391M | 403M |
| Working Capital Changes | -375M | -61M | 262M | 416M | -1.11B | -46M | -25M | -33M | 105M | -174M | 7M | 222M | -32M | -2M | -156M | 94M | -33M | -7M | -328M | -528M | -58M | -227M | -229M | -318M | 27M | -490M | -363M | 42M | -186M | -35M | -12M |
| Capital Expenditures | -3.98B | -3.82B | -3.02B | -3.22B | -2.37B | -2.08B | -2.31B | -2.1B | -2.07B | -1.67B | -1.67B | -1.56B | -1.58B | -1.32B | -1.23B | -882M | -821M | -818M | -792M | -1.38B | -670M | -593M | -525M | -535M | -747M | -1.26B | -1.03B | -3.56B | -1.29B | -1.55B | -659M |
| CapEx / Revenue % | 49.39% | 44.78% | 40.16% | 43.14% | 27.62% | 28.33% | 36.01% | 31.76% | 30.18% | 25.29% | 26.13% | 24.23% | 21.97% | 20.18% | 19.62% | 13.56% | 12.76% | 13.18% | 11.64% | 21.29% | 13.08% | 10.09% | 9.59% | 9.7% | 8.61% | 15.76% | 11.81% | 60.14% | 25.19% | 32.44% | 15.24% |
| CapEx / D&A | 3.29x | 2.93x | 2.43x | 2.73x | 2.11x | 1.86x | 2.22x | 2.12x | 2.22x | 1.89x | 2.06x | 2.09x | 2.30x | 2.11x | 2.05x | 1.62x | 1.43x | 1.44x | 1.34x | 2.52x | 1.39x | 1.13x | 1.22x | 1.16x | 1.54x | 2.41x | 1.62x | 5.99x | 2.42x | - | - |
| CapEx Coverage (OCF/CapEx) | 0.45x | 0.58x | 0.79x | 0.72x | 0.36x | 0.88x | 0.55x | 0.85x | 0.82x | 1.02x | 0.97x | 1.05x | 0.92x | 1.07x | 1.01x | 1.33x | 1.17x | 1.04x | 0.71x | 0.02x | 0.86x | 1.01x | 0.76x | -0.47x | 0.82x | 0.33x | 0.44x | 0.26x | 0.40x | 0.40x | 1.00x |
| Cash from Investing | -4.19B | -4.03B | -3.05B | -3.38B | -2.47B | -1.23B | -2.84B | -2.82B | -2.61B | -1.87B | -1.92B | -2.06B | -1.91B | -1.53B | -1.35B | -1.06B | -1B | -935M | -839M | 658M | -751M | -494M | -392M | 203M | 829M | -1.13B | -867M | -3.56B | -1.63B | -1.55B | -841M |
| Acquisitions | -120M | 4M | 129M | 6M | 2M | 1M | 89M | 97M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -154M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7M | 3M | 1.72B | 69M | 61M | 219M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -74M | -1.94B | 0 | 0 | -20M |
| Purchase of Investments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -131M | -607M | -3.05B | 0 | 0 | 0 | -344M | -380M | -345M | -830M | -212M |
| Sale of Investments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 254M | 613M | 2.94B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Investing | 288M | -214M | -160M | -167M | -102M | 843M | -614M | -809M | -532M | -203M | -243M | -346M | -333M | -207M | -123M | -176M | -182M | -124M | -50M | -11M | -20M | -119M | 100M | 738M | 1.58B | 136M | 583M | -122M | 6M | -43M | 50M |
| Cash from Financing | 1.99B | 2.24B | 609M | 1.14B | 1.32B | -296M | 1.59B | 1.01B | 874M | 110M | 255M | 463M | 498M | 190M | 41M | -199M | 202M | -35M | 145M | -690M | -434M | 74M | -43M | 230M | -1.22B | 716M | 464M | 2.68B | 1.15B | 938M | 180M |
| Dividends Paid | -675M | -663M | -626M | -579M | -546M | -509M | -467M | -436M | -407M | -377M | -347M | -322M | -295M | -273M | -252M | -211M | -162M | -125M | -95M | -56M | -11M | -11M | -11M | 0 | -149M | -189M | -167M | -163M | -140M | -119M | -103M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio % | - | 61.9% | 62.41% | 65.28% | 65.23% | 37.62% | 61.85% | 64.12% | 61.95% | 81.96% | 62.98% | 61.57% | 61.84% | 60.4% | 65.97% | 50.84% | 45.29% | 49.78% | 27.8% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 463.89% | 58.84% | 49.12% | 48.77% | 45.98% |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | 4M | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K |
| Stock Issued | 688M | 525M | 286M | 192M | 69M | 250M | 253M | 12M | 41M | 83M | 72M | 43M | 43M | 36M | 30M | 29M | 10M | 9M | 9M | 15M | 8M | 238M | 290M | 272M | 357M | 464M | 552M | 810M | 269M | 510M | 192M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -32M | 0 | 0 | -11M | 0 | -8M | -6M | -395M | -194M | -3M | -122M | -1M |
| Other Financing | -57M | -20M | -33M | 32M | -11M | -137M | 782M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -39M | 17M | -17M | 12M | 133M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -263M | 437M | -70M | 66M | -294M | 427M | -108M | -17M | -25M | -55M | -31M | 41M | 40M | 82M | -66M | -82M | 148M | -126M | -134M | -40M | -623M | 1.04B | 0 | 181M | 228M | 7M | 50M | 31M | 32M | 11M | 0 |
| Exchange Rate Effect | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 136M | -136M | 1M | 4M | -2M | 0 | 2M | 5M | 3M | 2M | 6M | -10M | -4M | 1M | -35M | -126M | 866M | 0 | -1M | 8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | 615M | 178M | 248M | 182M | 476M | 49M | 157M | 174M | 199M | 254M | 285M | 244M | 204M | 122M | 188M | 270M | 122M | 248M | 382M | 422M | 1.04B | 0 | 0 | 351M | 123M | 182M | 132M | 101M | 69M | 58M | 56M |
| Cash at End | 263M | 615M | 178M | 248M | 182M | 476M | 49M | 157M | 174M | 199M | 254M | 285M | 244M | 204M | 122M | 188M | 270M | 122M | 248M | 382M | 422M | 1.04B | 725M | 532M | 351M | 189M | 182M | 132M | 101M | 69M | 56M |
| Free Cash Flow | -2.04B | -1.59B | -648M | -910M | -1.52B | -257M | -1.03B | -314M | -371M | 40M | -43M | 76M | -130M | 96M | 14M | 287M | 138M | 30M | -233M | -1.35B | 18M | 6M | -127M | -786M | -133M | -845M | -579M | -2.65B | -779M | -927M | 2M |
| FCF Growth % | -131.51% | -145.22% | 28.79% | 40.09% | -491.05% | 75.17% | -229.62% | 15.36% | -1027.5% | 193.02% | -156.58% | 158.46% | -235.42% | 585.71% | -95.12% | 107.97% | 360% | 112.88% | 82.73% | -7594.44% | 200% | 104.72% | 83.84% | -490.98% | 84.26% | -45.94% | 78.13% | -239.79% | 15.97% | -46450% | 100.6% |
| FCF Margin % | -23.07% | -18.61% | -8.62% | -12.2% | -17.67% | -3.51% | -16.13% | -4.74% | -5.4% | 0.61% | -0.67% | 1.18% | -1.81% | 1.46% | 0.22% | 4.41% | 2.15% | 0.48% | -3.42% | -20.87% | 0.29% | 0.1% | -2.32% | -14.26% | -1.53% | -10.55% | -6.63% | -44.67% | -15.15% | -19.39% | 0.05% |
| FCF / Net Income % | -183.83% | -148.37% | -64.61% | -102.59% | -181.48% | -18.99% | -137.09% | -46.18% | -56.47% | 8.7% | -7.8% | 14.53% | -27.25% | 21.24% | 3.66% | 69.16% | 40.59% | 13.1% | -78.98% | 627.44% | -22.78% | -7.14% | -104.96% | 1746.67% | 20.46% | 184.1% | -1608.33% | -955.6% | -273.33% | -379.92% | 0.89% |
Regulatory Recovery and Financing
As evidenced by the 2026Q1 data, CMSC reported a quarterly capital expenditure of $1.0 billion, which significantly outpaced operating cash flow of $705 million, reflecting a sustained period of heavy infrastructure investment aimed at expanding the regulated rate base under Michigan's clean energy mandates.
The consistent gap between capital deployment and operating cash flow is a structural feature of the company's current growth strategy rather than an operational failure. Investors should monitor whether this elevated CAPEX intensity translates into timely rate base inclusion, as the current burn rate necessitates consistent regulatory support to maintain long-term financial viability.
According to the provided cash flow statements, the company consistently records negative free cash flow, including a $334 million deficit in 2026Q1, which forces a reliance on external capital markets to fund both the ongoing infrastructure expansion and the company's dividend obligations to shareholders.
The reliance on equity issuance, such as the $166 million recorded in 2026Q1, suggests that management is actively managing the capital structure to offset the cash flow deficit. This dependency warrants close observation, as any tightening in equity market conditions could potentially constrain the company's ability to execute its planned capital projects.
Based on reported figures, CMSC maintained an OCF-to-dividend coverage ratio of 4.0x in 2026Q1, which appears to provide a sufficient buffer for dividend payments despite the company's significant negative free cash flow position resulting from its aggressive, multi-year capital expenditure program.
While the coverage ratio remains healthy, the sustainability of the dividend is fundamentally tied to the regulatory commission's willingness to allow recovery of the massive capital investments currently being made. Investors should interpret this coverage as a reflection of current operating cash flow strength rather than a guarantee of future payout growth.
Financial statements indicate that CMSC's cash flow is heavily influenced by timing differences and non-cash items, as evidenced by the volatility in quarterly operating cash flow, which fluctuated from $304 million in 2024Q3 to $1.0 billion in 2025Q1, suggesting potential sensitivity to regulatory lag.
The lack of transparency regarding interest payments and the anomalous debt-to-equity reporting suggests that the cash flow statement may be masking underlying leverage pressures. Further investigation into the reconciliation of net income to operating cash flow is required to determine if regulatory assets are being utilized to smooth earnings at the expense of actual cash generation.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CMSC stock.
CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J (CMSC) generated $2.23B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J (CMSC) reported negative free cash flow of $1.59B in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J (CMSC) spent $3.82B 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, CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J (CMSC) returned $663.0M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.