Cash flow generation has deteriorated, evidenced by a negative FCF margin of -3.3% in 2026Q1 and a substantial $4.5B outflow in working capital.
| 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 | 31.07B | 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 % | 3.78% | 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 | 11.01B | 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 | 21.82B | 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 | 242M | 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 | 851M | 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 | -2.91B | -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 | -8.24B | 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 | -642M | 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 | 4.77B | -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 | -13.33B | -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 | -17.48B | -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 | 9.41% | 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 | 1.05B | -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 | 1.23B | 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 | -17.88B | -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) | 5.48B | 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) | -9.35B | -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 | -13.29B | -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 | -10.51B | -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 | -682M | -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 | -187M | -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 | 13.37B | 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 % | 7.19% | 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 % | -2.37% | 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 | 6.73 | 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) | 1.21x | 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 | 168M | 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 | -1.04B | 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 |
Commodity price volatility exposure
According to recent financial disclosures, Chevron's OCF/NI ratio reached 1.14 in 2026Q1, highlighting a persistent disconnect where reported net income fails to capture the underlying cash-generative capacity of the firm's integrated operations during periods of significant commodity price volatility and operational cost inflation.
The consistent gap between net income and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash charges, particularly depreciation and depletion, are masking the true cash-earning power of the asset base. Investors should monitor whether this divergence indicates an over-reliance on accounting adjustments rather than sustainable cash generation from core upstream activities.
As reported in the latest quarterly filings, Chevron's FCF margin plummeted to -3.3% in 2026Q1, a stark reversal from the 16.5% margin observed in 2023Q4, signaling that the company's capital-intensive project pipeline is currently outpacing its ability to generate surplus cash from operations.
This negative trajectory suggests that the firm is struggling to maintain its historical cash-flow-positive status amidst rising capital requirements and softening revenue. The inability to cover capital expenditures with operating cash flow warrants further investigation into the sustainability of current dividend and buyback commitments.
Based on the provided data, Chevron's CapEx/Revenue ratio climbed to 8.5% in 2026Q1, reflecting a sustained commitment to high-cost infrastructure projects that appear increasingly difficult to fund through internal cash flows given the current environment of contracting revenue and margin compression.
The elevated capital intensity suggests that the company is prioritizing long-term reserve replacement over short-term liquidity preservation. This strategy may leave the firm vulnerable if commodity prices remain depressed, as the high fixed-cost nature of these investments limits the flexibility to scale back spending without impacting future production.
As indicated by the reported figures, Chevron experienced a significant working capital outflow of $4.5B in 2026Q1, a sharp contrast to the $3.0B inflow seen in 2024Q4, which suggests that inventory management and collection cycles are becoming increasingly erratic and detrimental to quarterly cash flow.
The erratic nature of these working capital swings implies that the firm is facing challenges in balancing its supply chain and inventory levels against fluctuating market demand. Such volatility complicates cash flow forecasting and may indicate underlying inefficiencies in the conversion of refined products into realized cash.
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.