Ctrl K
Operating cash flow exceeded net income by 87% (OCF/NI of 1.87) in Q2 2026, with FCF of $18.1B comfortably covering $6.5B in dividends and buybacks, though working capital swings of $8.3B between quarters underscore cash flow volatility.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) cash flow statement — 30-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 | 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 | 45.13B | 33.94B | 31.49B | 35.61B | 49.6B | 29.19B | 10.58B | 27.31B | 30.62B | 20.34B | 12.85B | 19.46B | 31.48B | 35B | 38.81B | 41.1B | 31.36B | 19.37B | 29.63B | 24.98B | 24.32B | 20.11B | 14.69B | 12.31B | 9.94B | 11.46B | 13.47B | 7.77B | 3.73B | 4.58B | 5.8B |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 18.4% | 16.28% | 18.08% | 21.04% | 18.76% | 11.2% | 19.53% | 19.27% | 15.1% | 11.66% | 14.97% | 15.7% | 15.9% | 16.83% | 16.82% | 15.82% | 11.51% | 11.07% | 11.31% | 11.58% | 10.14% | 9.46% | 10.15% | 10.09% | 10.78% | 11.3% | 9.07% | 12.21% | 10.92% | 13.21% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 131.46% | 7.77% | -11.56% | -28.21% | 69.95% | 175.95% | -61.28% | -10.79% | 50.55% | 58.32% | -33.97% | -38.19% | -10.08% | -9.82% | -5.56% | 31.06% | 61.87% | -34.62% | 18.64% | 2.69% | 20.98% | 36.86% | 19.29% | 23.88% | -13.23% | -14.93% | 73.3% | 108.28% | -18.59% | -20.94% | 42.26% |
| Net Income | 20.59B | 12.48B | 17.75B | 21.41B | 35.61B | 15.69B | -5.56B | 2.8B | 14.86B | 9.27B | -431M | 4.71B | 19.31B | 21.6B | 26.34B | 27.01B | 19.14B | 10.56B | 23.93B | 18.69B | 17.14B | 14.1B | 13.33B | 7.23B | 1.13B | 3.29B | 7.73B | 3.25B | 1.34B | 3.26B | 2.61B |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 23.64B | 20.13B | 16.2B | 14.55B | 16.32B | 16.89B | 19.51B | 29.2B | 18.03B | 19.35B | 19.46B | 21.04B | 16.79B | 14.19B | 13.41B | 12.91B | 13.06B | 12.11B | 9.53B | 8.71B | 7.51B | 5.91B | 4.93B | 5.38B | 5.23B | 7.06B | 5.32B | 4.93B | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.07B | 0 | 190M | 394M | 0 | 368M | 642M | 344M | 358M | 515M | 460M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 511M | 986M | 1.24B | 298M | 2.12B | 700M | -3.6B | -2B | 1.05B | -3.2B | -3.83B | -1.86B | 1.57B | 1.88B | 2.02B | 1.59B | 559M | 467M | 598M | 261M | 614M | 1.39B | -224M | 164M | -81M | -768M | 521M | 23M | 266M | 622M | 359M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 981M | 2.59B | -3.79B | 2.68B | -7.65B | -2.44B | 1.7B | -4.59B | -3.02B | -3.49B | 13.4B | 21.43B | 32.02B | -728M | -2.73B | 716M | 1.19B | 1.22B | -1.36B | -1.93B | 259M | -669M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2M | 615M | -1.31B | -26M |
| Working Capital Changes | -692M | -2.39B | 100M | -3.33B | 2.13B | -1.66B | -1.65B | 1.5B | -300M | 476M | -550M | -1.98B | -540M | -1.33B | 363M | 2.51B | 112M | -2.36B | -1.92B | 73M | 376M | 477M | 430M | 162M | 1.13B | 643M | 91M | 266M | -809M | -288M | 641M |
| Change in Receivables | -9.58B | 3.7B | -818M | 1.34B | -2.16B | -7.53B | 2.42B | 1.85B | 855M | -915M | -2.12B | 3.63B | 4.49B | -1.1B | 1.15B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -957M | 51M | -574M | -320M | -930M | -530M | 284M | 7M | -424M | -267M | 603M | 85M | -146M | -237M | -233M | -404M | 15M | 1.21B | -1.54B | -749M | -536M | 0 | -298M | 115M | 185M | -294M | 120M | 32M | 0 | -11M | 60M |
| Change in Payables | 9.21B | -3.47B | 2.57B | -49M | 2.75B | 5.47B | -3.58B | -109M | -494M | 875M | 533M | -5.77B | -3.74B | 160M | 544M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.84B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -14.15B | -15.91B | -8.94B | -15.23B | -12.11B | -5.87B | -6.96B | -11.46B | -12.3B | -8.2B | -16.85B | -23.81B | -29.89B | -35.61B | -24.8B | -27.49B | -20.91B | -16.57B | -17.08B | -13.93B | -12.22B | -11.56B | -3.5B | -4.07B | -5.05B | -9.54B | -5.64B | -5.61B | -3.86B | -2.56B | -2.6B |
| Capital Expenditures | -18.28B | -17.35B | -16.45B | -15.83B | -11.97B | -8.06B | -8.92B | -14.1B | -13.79B | -13.4B | -18.11B | -29.5B | -35.41B | -37.98B | -30.94B | -26.5B | -19.61B | -19.84B | -19.67B | -16.68B | -13.81B | -8.7B | -6.31B | -5.63B | -7.6B | -9.71B | -7.63B | -7.89B | -3.88B | -3.9B | -3.42B |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 8.76% | 9.41% | 8.5% | 8.04% | 5.08% | 5.18% | 9.44% | 10.08% | 8.68% | 9.95% | 16.43% | 22.71% | 17.66% | 17.25% | 13.42% | 10.84% | 9.9% | 11.79% | 7.35% | 7.55% | 6.57% | 4.39% | 4.06% | 4.64% | 7.71% | 9.14% | 6.4% | 9.21% | 12.7% | 9.29% | 7.8% |
| Acquisitions | 1.08B | -1.02B | 195M | 278M | -2.9B | 439M | 450M | 142M | 392M | 5.1B | 2.78B | 5.74B | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.01B | 0 | -244M | 1.06B | 3.34B | 847M | -5.93B | 0 | 954M | 5.58B | 0 | 1.23B | 0 | 0 | 3.9B | 3.42B |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 295M | 2.46B | 7.28B | 144M | 2.65B | 1.75B | 1.47B | 1.51B | -11.68B | 6M | 55M | -37M | 5.87B | 1.46B | 3.1B | 2.35B | -522M | 2.9B | 179M | 21M | 463M | 2.4B | 3.26B | 68M | 2.34B | 298M | 762M | 1.69B | 21M | -2.77B | -2.69B |
| Cash from Financing | -26.99B | -19.06B | -23.47B | -30.11B | -24.98B | -23.11B | -3.74B | -19.76B | -13.7B | -14.55B | 25M | 2.81B | -5B | -3.82B | -8.98B | -11.77B | -5.17B | -3.55B | -10.4B | -14.29B | -11.85B | -7.67B | -6.22B | -7.03B | -4.07B | -2.1B | -7.49B | -1.13B | -308M | -1.88B | -2.92B |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -2.63B | 5.87B | 3.57B | -4.05B | -8.48B | -12.94B | 7.47B | -7.85B | -4.5B | -7.46B | 7.47B | 10.72B | 7.39B | 8.25B | 2.05B | -2.37B | 882M | 1.66B | 1.68B | -3.04B | -2.9B | -1.05B | -1.28B | -3.94B | -1.12B | 1.39B | -3.2B | 1.43B | 1.55B | -558M | -1.56B |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -9.71B | -11.86B | -15.23B | -14.94B | -5.42B | -1.38B | -1.76B | -4.04B | -604M | -1M | 650M | 211M | -4.41B | -4.49B | -4.14B | -3.19B | -306M | 168M | -6.82B | -6.39B | -4.49B | -2.74B | -1.66B | -18M | 41M | -623M | -1.5B | 108M | -261M | 173M | -4M |
| Dividends Paid | -13.86B | -12.75B | -11.8B | -11.34B | -10.97B | -10.18B | -9.65B | -8.96B | -8.5B | -8.13B | -8.03B | -7.99B | -7.93B | -7.47B | -6.84B | -6.14B | -5.67B | -5.3B | -5.16B | -4.79B | -4.4B | -3.88B | -3.28B | -3.07B | -2.99B | -2.86B | -2.79B | -2.67B | -1.6B | -1.49B | -1.36B |
| Share Repurchases | -10.91B | -11.86B | -15.4B | -14.94B | -11.26B | -1.38B | -1.76B | -4.04B | -1.75B | -1.15B | 0 | 0 | -4.41B | -4.49B | -4.14B | -3.19B | -306M | 0 | -6.82B | -6.39B | -4.49B | -2.74B | -1.66B | -75M | 0 | -763M | -1.5B | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4M |
| Other Financing | -761M | -323M | -11M | 221M | -114M | 1.39B | 202M | 1.09B | -91M | 1.04B | -63M | -128M | -47M | -99M | -41M | -71M | -72M | -71M | -99M | -77M | -60M | -98M | 0 | -3.03B | 2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 4.07B | -977M | -1.01B | -9.85B | 12.33B | 58M | -174M | -3.57B | 4.5B | -2.17B | -4.03B | -1.76B | -3.46B | -4.69B | 5.08B | 1.8B | 5.34B | -631M | 1.99B | -3.13B | 450M | 752M | 5.03B | 1.31B | 840M | -211M | 331M | 1B | -446M | 123M | 271M |
| Free Cash Flow | 26.63B | 16.59B | 15.04B | 19.78B | 37.63B | 21.09B | 1.68B | 13.2B | 16.8B | 7.11B | -5.26B | -10.05B | -3.93B | -2.98B | 7.87B | 14.6B | 11.75B | -470M | 9.97B | 8.3B | 10.51B | 11.4B | 8.38B | 6.69B | 2.34B | 1.74B | 5.84B | -124M | -149M | 684M | 2.37B |
| FCF Margin % | 12.76% | 9% | 7.78% | 10.04% | 15.96% | 13.55% | 1.78% | 9.44% | 10.57% | 5.28% | -4.78% | -7.73% | -1.96% | -1.35% | 3.41% | 5.97% | 5.93% | -0.28% | 3.72% | 3.76% | 5% | 5.75% | 5.4% | 5.52% | 2.38% | 1.64% | 4.9% | -0.14% | -0.49% | 1.63% | 5.41% |
| FCF Growth % | 64.75% | 10.29% | -23.94% | -47.43% | 78.44% | 1157.42% | -87.3% | -21.43% | 136.25% | 235.11% | 47.62% | -155.54% | -31.81% | -137.88% | -46.06% | 24.27% | 2599.36% | -104.72% | 20.09% | -21.04% | -7.84% | 36.09% | 25.26% | 185.41% | 34.4% | -70.13% | 4808.06% | 16.78% | -121.78% | -71.18% | 334.62% |
| FCF per Share | 13.48 | 8.94 | 8.28 | 10.52 | 19.39 | 10.98 | 0.90 | 6.97 | 8.78 | 3.75 | -2.81 | -5.36 | -2.07 | -1.54 | 4.01 | 7.30 | 5.85 | -0.23 | 4.86 | 3.89 | 4.78 | 5.29 | 3.95 | 3.22 | 1.10 | 0.82 | 4.46 | -0.09 | -0.11 | 0.52 | 1.82 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.29x | 2.76x | 1.78x | 1.67x | 1.40x | 1.87x | -1.91x | 9.34x | 2.07x | 2.21x | -25.85x | 4.24x | 1.64x | 1.63x | 1.48x | 1.53x | 1.65x | 1.85x | 1.24x | 1.34x | 1.42x | 1.43x | 1.10x | 1.70x | 8.78x | 3.48x | 1.74x | 2.39x | 2.79x | 1.41x | 2.22x |
| Interest Paid | 37M | 942M | 587M | 465M | 525M | 699M | 720M | 810M | 736M | 265M | 158M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | -1.11B | 7.3B | 8.46B | 10.42B | 9.15B | 4.36B | 2.99B | 4.82B | 4.75B | 3.13B | 1.94B | 4.64B | 10.56B | 12.9B | 17.33B | 17.37B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CVX stock.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) generated $33.94B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) generated $16.59B 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.
Chevron Corporation (CVX) spent $17.35B 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, Chevron Corporation (CVX) returned $12.75B to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $11.86B on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Revenue contraction despite earnings beat
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Cash Conversion Strength Masks Earnings Volatility
Chevron's operating cash flow exceeded net income by 87% in Q2 2026, with OCF/NI at 1.87, indicating high earnings quality. According to the latest quarterly data, this conversion suggests robust cash generation.
The OCF/NI ratio of 1.87 in Q2 2026 is a standout, but the trend is uneven: Q1 2026 saw a ratio of 1.14, while Q4 2025 hit 3.88. This volatility likely reflects timing of working capital and non-cash items, yet the overall pattern suggests that reported earnings are well-supported by cash flows, though investors should monitor the sustainability of such high conversion rates.
FCF Swing Highlights Commodity Sensitivity
Free cash flow swung from -$1.5B in Q1 2026 to $18.1B in Q2 2026, a dramatic recovery. As reported in the cash flow statement, this volatility underscores the cyclicality of Chevron's cash generation.
The FCF margin of 26.9% in Q2 2026 is exceptional, but it follows a negative margin in Q1 2026. This seesaw pattern suggests that Chevron's cash flows are highly sensitive to commodity prices and operational timing. The strong Q2 performance appears driven by record upstream production and refinery throughput, but the sustainability of this trajectory is uncertain given the -4.6% revenue contraction.
Capital Discipline Amidst Growth Ambitions
Capital expenditures remained steady at $4.5B in Q2 2026, with CapEx/Revenue at 6.8%, down from 11.2% in Q4 2025. Based on the quarterly data, this suggests a disciplined approach to spending.
The CapEx/Revenue ratio has declined from 11.2% in Q4 2025 to 6.8% in Q2 2026, indicating that Chevron is spending less relative to its revenue base. This could reflect a focus on short-cycle Permian projects, which require lower capital intensity. However, the proposed Hess acquisition may signal a shift toward larger, longer-cycle investments, which could alter this trend.
Working Capital Volatility Drives Cash Flow Swings
Working capital changes swung from -$5.2B in Q1 2026 to +$3.1B in Q2 2026, a $8.3B reversal. According to the cash flow data, this volatility is a key driver of quarterly cash flow variability.
The working capital swings are substantial, with Q1 2026 showing a $5.2B outflow and Q2 2026 a $3.1B inflow. This pattern suggests that Chevron's cash flows are heavily influenced by timing of receivables, payables, and inventory, which may obscure underlying operational performance. Investors should monitor whether these swings normalize or indicate structural changes in the company's cash conversion cycle.
Shareholder Returns Outpace Cash Generation
In Q2 2026, Chevron paid $3.5B in dividends and repurchased $3.0B in shares, totaling $6.5B, against FCF of $18.1B. As per the cash flow statement, this indicates a strong capacity to fund returns.
The combined dividend and buyback payout of $6.5B in Q2 2026 is well covered by FCF of $18.1B, suggesting a sustainable capital return program. However, in Q1 2026, FCF was negative, yet the company still paid out $6.1B, indicating reliance on cash reserves or debt. This highlights the importance of commodity prices in maintaining the payout ratio.
Cumulative Cash Generation Outpaces Earnings
Over the last ten quarters, cumulative operating cash flow of $90.2B exceeds cumulative net income of $42.7B, a gap of $47.5B. Based on the reported figures, this suggests conservative earnings recognition.
The cumulative OCF/NI ratio of 2.11 over the period indicates that Chevron's cash generation is significantly higher than reported net income. This divergence may reflect large non-cash charges like DD&A and impairments, which reduce earnings but not cash flow. It also suggests that the market's focus on earnings may understate the company's true cash-generating ability, though the gap could narrow if commodity prices decline.
What the Cash Flow Statement Obscures
Chevron's cash flow statement shows no stock-based compensation in most quarters, yet the Q2 2026 earnings beat may include one-time gains. As reported in the cash flow data, this could overstate sustainable cash generation.
The absence of SBC in the cash flow data is notable, but the Q2 2026 net income of $12.1B far exceeds the typical quarterly run-rate, suggesting possible one-time items or favorable tax items. Additionally, the working capital swings and the timing of liftings in international contracts may distort quarterly cash flows. Investors should scrutinize the sustainability of the Q2 2026 cash flow surge, as it may not be repeatable if commodity prices soften.