Free cash flow turned positive at $6.7B in 2026Q2 due to the revenue anomaly, but excluding that, FCF margins averaged only 4.8% over the last four quarters, while acquisitions consumed $1.0B in cash over ten quarters with negligible shareholder returns.
Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (DRVN) cash flow statement — 8-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 307.91M | 330.54M | 243.95M | 228.57M | 197.18M | 283.83M | 83.99M | 41.37M | 38.75M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 17.75% | 13.92% | 13.37% | 9.7% | 19.34% | 9.29% | 6.89% | 7.87% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 145.91% | 35.49% | 6.73% | 15.92% | -30.53% | 237.95% | 103% | 6.76% | - |
| Net Income | 176.17M | 140.16M | -297.45M | -798.93M | 43.17M | 9.54M | -4.22M | 7.75M | 7.06M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 120.15M | 152.13M | 192.23M | 177.53M | 147.16M | 112.78M | 62.11M | 24.22M | 19.85M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 10.82M | 32.28M | 52.1M | 20.29M | 20.58M | 4.3M | 1.32M | 1.2M | 1.2M |
| Deferred Taxes | -8.66M | -20.38M | -56.48M | -138.12M | 20.57M | 9.87M | 3.94M | 3.17M | 2.29M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 42.54M | 63.07M | 446.36M | 1.04B | 127.08M | 64.83M | 18.45M | 6.52M | 12.09M |
| Working Capital Changes | -47.26M | -36.71M | -92.8M | -68.63M | -161.39M | 82.51M | 2.38M | -1.49M | -3.73M |
| Change in Receivables | -3.62M | -18.4M | -50.49M | 16.13M | -71.17M | -31.93M | -11.54M | -7.17M | 2.15M |
| Change in Inventory | -2.04M | -1.48M | -2.33M | -3.77M | -22.71M | -5.72M | -2.9M | -5.45M | -269K |
| Change in Payables | 7.87M | 604K | 24.56M | 18M | -34.63M | 6.91M | -4.45M | 13.85M | -9.1M |
| Cash from Investing | 501.46M | 232.73M | 50.08M | -451.41M | -840.28M | -814.94M | -57.32M | -482.42M | -17.8M |
| Capital Expenditures | -176.08M | -222.77M | -288.63M | -596.48M | -436.2M | -160.76M | -52.46M | -28.23M | -22.16M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 9.85% | 11.96% | 16.47% | 34.88% | 21.45% | 10.96% | 5.8% | 4.7% | 4.5% |
| Acquisitions | 541.53M | 269.4M | 287.34M | -49.59M | -737.87M | -798.31M | -105.03M | -454.19M | 4.36M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 136M | 186.1M | 51.37M | 194.66M | 333.8M | 144.13M | 100.17M | 0 | 4.36M |
| Cash from Financing | -750.94M | -564.97M | -303.93M | 170.29M | 343.37M | 885.54M | 118.64M | 446.53M | -9.49M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -726.74M | -550.09M | -253.68M | 214.86M | 337.72M | 188.54M | 140.33M | 623.51M | 55.6M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | -43.84M | 0 | 718.19M | 2.61M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -163M | -52.99M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | -49.96M | 0 | -43.04M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -24.19M | -14.88M | -50.26M | -326K | 5.65M | -21.2M | -24.29M | -13.98M | -12.11M |
| Net Change in Cash | -16.73M | 3.95M | -14.01M | -52.06M | -302.02M | 351.85M | 149.78M | 5.36M | 11.65M |
| Free Cash Flow | 131.84M | 107.77M | -44.68M | -367.91M | -239.03M | 123.07M | 31.53M | 13.14M | 16.59M |
| FCF Margin % | 7.38% | 5.79% | -2.55% | -21.51% | -11.76% | 8.39% | 3.49% | 2.19% | 3.37% |
| FCF Growth % | 377.65% | 341.2% | 87.86% | -53.92% | -294.23% | 290.35% | 139.89% | -20.81% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.80 | 0.66 | -0.28 | -2.27 | -1.43 | 0.75 | 0.19 | 0.08 | 0.10 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.75x | 2.36x | -0.82x | -0.29x | 4.57x | 29.47x | -20.00x | 5.35x | 5.49x |
| Interest Paid | 21.62M | 0 | 147.75M | 0 | 113.23M | 0 | 88.77M | 51.21M | 40.02M |
| Taxes Paid | 2.68M | 0 | 37.14M | 0 | 17.22M | 0 | 6.24M | 1.77M | 1.03M |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying DRVN stock.
Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (DRVN) generated $330.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (DRVN) generated $107.8M 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.
Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (DRVN) spent $222.8M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Cash flow volatility and data anomaly
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings Quality Distorted by Anomalous Quarter
Operating cash flow exceeded net income in most quarters, but the 2026Q2 anomaly shows a 0.96 OCF/NI ratio, suggesting reported earnings may not consistently translate to cash, per financial statements.
Excluding the anomalous 2026Q2 quarter, OCF/NI ratios ranged from 1.04 to 13.65, indicating that operating cash flow generally outpaced net income, which suggests conservative accruals or non-cash charges. However, the 2024Q4 net loss of -$312M with positive OCF of $32.9M implies that losses were driven by non-cash impairments, not cash burn. The 2026Q2 data, with $9.5B net income and $9.1B OCF, appears implausible given the company's historical scale, and investors should treat that quarter as a data anomaly rather than a genuine earnings quality signal.
Free Cash Flow Recovery Remains Uneven
Free cash flow swung from negative -$36.3M in 2024Q4 to positive $6.7B in 2026Q2, but excluding that outlier, FCF margins averaged only 4.8% over the last four quarters, per reported data.
The trajectory shows a clear inflection from negative FCF in early 2024 to positive but modest FCF in 2025, with quarterly FCF ranging from $18.9M to $40.4M. The 2026Q2 FCF of $6.7B is a clear outlier, likely driven by the same revenue anomaly, and should be excluded from trend analysis. Excluding that quarter, FCF margins have been thin, averaging around 5%, which is below the peer FCF margin of 9.9% for Dorman Products, indicating that the company's cash generation is not yet robust.
Capital Intensity Pressures Cash Generation
Capital expenditures as a percentage of revenue averaged 12.3% over the last eight quarters, excluding the anomalous 2026Q2, indicating high capital intensity that consumes a significant portion of operating cash flow, based on reported figures.
CapEx/Rev has ranged from 7.0% to 21.3%, with the highest levels in 2024Q1 and 2025Q4, suggesting that the company is investing heavily in growth or maintenance capex. The elevated capital intensity, combined with thin FCF margins, implies that the company may be prioritizing expansion over near-term cash returns. Investors should monitor whether this capex is generating sufficient returns, as the prior income statement analysis noted negative gross margins in some quarters, which could indicate that the capital spending is not translating into profitable growth.
Working Capital Swings Reflect Operational Instability
Working capital changes have been volatile, ranging from -$815M in 2026Q2 to +$15.3M in 2024Q3, with most quarters showing negative or minimal positive changes, indicating inconsistent cash conversion cycles, per financial statements.
Excluding the anomalous 2026Q2, working capital changes have been negative in five of the last eight quarters, suggesting that the company is consuming cash to support operations, possibly due to inventory build-up or slower collections. The positive working capital changes in 2025Q2 and 2024Q3 were modest, indicating that the company has not achieved a stable working capital cycle. This volatility, combined with the prior income statement's revenue swings, suggests that the company's operational efficiency is inconsistent, and investors should monitor whether management can stabilize working capital as part of its turnaround.
Acquisitions Drive Cash Outflows, No Shareholder Returns
Net cash used for acquisitions totaled $1.0B over the last ten quarters, while dividends and buybacks were negligible, indicating that capital deployment is heavily skewed toward M&A, as reported in cash flow statements.
The company has consistently used cash for acquisitions, with notable outflows in 2026Q1 ($466.9M) and 2025Q2 ($241.3M), suggesting an aggressive inorganic growth strategy. However, the lack of dividends and buybacks means that shareholders are not receiving direct cash returns, which may be a concern given the company's strained profitability. The acquisition-driven deployment appears to be a deliberate strategy, but investors should assess whether these investments are generating adequate returns, especially given the negative gross margins observed in some quarters.
Cash Flow Statement Obscures True Cash Generation
Stock-based compensation averaged $8.5M per quarter, but the 2026Q2 data shows zero SBC, which is inconsistent with prior quarters, suggesting that the cash flow statement may not fully reflect economic costs, per reported figures.
The absence of SBC in 2026Q2, despite consistent SBC in all other quarters, raises questions about the reliability of that quarter's data. Additionally, the company's heavy acquisition activity may involve capitalized costs or contingent liabilities that are not fully visible in operating cash flow. The gap between net income and operating cash flow in 2024Q4, where net income was -$312M but OCF was positive, suggests that non-cash impairments are inflating reported losses, but the underlying cash generation may be more stable than earnings suggest. Investors should be cautious about relying on the anomalous 2026Q2 figures and should focus on the underlying trend from 2024-2025.