DTE continues to face substantial capital intensity, with 2025Q4 capital expenditures of $4.4 billion far outpacing the $1.1 billion in operating cash flow generated during the same period.
| 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 | 3.31B | 3.43B | 3.64B | 3.22B | 1.98B | 3.07B | 3.7B | 2.65B | 2.68B | 2.12B | 2.08B | 1.92B | 1.84B | 2.15B | 2.21B | 2.01B | 1.82B | 1.82B | 1.56B | 1.13B | 1.46B | 1B | 995M | 950M | 996M | 811M | 1.02B | 1.1B | 868M | 1.01B | 1.08B |
| Operating CF Growth % | -35.85% | -5.93% | 13.14% | 62.87% | -35.54% | -17.04% | 39.56% | -1.16% | 26.59% | 1.58% | 8.77% | 4.19% | -14.62% | -2.49% | 10.01% | 10.03% | 0.33% | 16.68% | 38.58% | -22.73% | 45.45% | 0.6% | 4.74% | -4.62% | 22.81% | -20.33% | -7.2% | 26.38% | -13.72% | -6.73% | 18.15% |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 20.29% | 21.67% | 29.24% | 25.26% | 10.28% | 20.5% | 32.36% | 21.77% | 18.86% | 16.79% | 19.6% | 18.54% | 14.95% | 22.3% | 25.13% | 22.57% | 21.33% | 22.7% | 16.71% | 13.23% | 16.14% | 11.1% | 14.08% | 13.49% | 14.76% | 10.33% | 18.19% | 23.2% | 20.56% | 26.73% | 29.59% |
| Net Income | 1.26B | 1.46B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.08B | 907M | 1.37B | 1.17B | 1.12B | 1.11B | 834M | 720M | 911M | 668M | 618M | 720M | 639M | 535M | 526M | 971M | 433M | 537M | 431M | 521M | 632M | 332M | 468M | 483M | 443M | 417M | 309.3M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.94B | 1.91B | 1.33B | 1.25B | 1.47B | 1.46B | 1.44B | 1.26B | 1.12B | 1.03B | 976M | 852M | 1.15B | 1.09B | 1.02B | 0 | 1.03B | 1.02B | 0 | 0 | 1.01B | 0 | 744M | 0 | 759M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 324M | 358M | 194M | 181M | 44M | -32M | 407M | 329M | 114M | 196M | 265M | 237M | 356M | 164M | 47M | 220M | 457M | 205M | 348M | 144M | 28M | 147M | 129M | -220M | -208M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.9M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 164M | -79M | 385M | 323M | 133M | 335M | -32M | 99M | -57M | 40M | 45M | 130M | 24M | 17M | 300K | 974M | -5M | -10M | 772M | -186M | -27M | 428M | -318M | 576M | 9M | 875M | 511M | 645M | 536M | 631M | 741.7M |
| Working Capital Changes | -375M | -219M | 328M | 65M | -751M | 398M | 508M | -214M | 381M | -261M | -36M | -23M | -597M | 211M | 442M | 94M | -293M | 69M | -87M | 196M | 8M | -111M | 9M | 73M | -196M | -396M | 39M | -31M | -111M | -42M | 25.7M |
| Capital Expenditures | -3.56B | -4.43B | -4.47B | -3.93B | -3.38B | -3.77B | -3.86B | -5.73B | -2.71B | -2.25B | -3.39B | -2.02B | -2.05B | -1.88B | -1.82B | -1.48B | -1.1B | -1.03B | -1.37B | -1.3B | -1.4B | -1.06B | -904M | -751M | -984M | -2.29B | -587M | -739M | -1.04B | -667M | -530.5M |
| CapEx / Revenue % | 21.78% | 28.01% | 35.86% | 30.87% | 17.57% | 25.21% | 33.77% | 47.11% | 19.09% | 17.85% | 31.87% | 19.54% | 16.66% | 19.42% | 20.7% | 16.68% | 12.84% | 12.91% | 14.72% | 15.27% | 15.55% | 11.8% | 12.79% | 10.67% | 14.58% | 29.12% | 10.49% | 15.63% | 24.57% | 17.72% | 14.55% |
| CapEx / D&A | 1.83x | 2.32x | 3.35x | 3.14x | 2.30x | 2.59x | 2.67x | 4.54x | 2.41x | 2.18x | 3.47x | 2.37x | 1.79x | 1.71x | 1.79x | - | 1.07x | 1.01x | - | - | 1.38x | - | 1.22x | - | 1.30x | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CapEx Coverage (OCF/CapEx) | 0.93x | 0.77x | 0.82x | 0.82x | 0.59x | 0.81x | 0.96x | 0.46x | 0.99x | 0.94x | 0.62x | 0.95x | 0.90x | 1.15x | 1.21x | 1.35x | 1.66x | 1.76x | 1.14x | 0.87x | 1.04x | 0.94x | 1.10x | 1.26x | 1.01x | 0.35x | 1.73x | 1.48x | 0.84x | 1.51x | 2.03x |
| Cash from Investing | -5.67B | -5.32B | -4.95B | -4.09B | -3.43B | -3.86B | -4.07B | -5.73B | -3.35B | -2.56B | -3.39B | -2.2B | -2.06B | -1.91B | -1.77B | -1.56B | -1.23B | -1.06B | -1.52B | 330M | -1.19B | -802M | -681M | 10M | -1.11B | -2.29B | -587M | -768M | -1.04B | -741M | -616.8M |
| Acquisitions | -178M | -178M | -27M | -27M | -13M | -8M | -163M | -2.62B | -637M | -299M | -1.39B | -202M | 0 | 0 | 57M | 0 | 19M | 0 | -50M | 1.59B | -42M | 10M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.21B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Purchase of Investments | -578M | -720M | -1.61B | -678M | -878M | -1.05B | -2.35B | -794M | -1.19B | -1.52B | -1.46B | -898M | -1.16B | -1.13B | 0 | -100M | -459M | -330M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -66M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8.2M |
| Sale of Investments | 578M | 717M | 1.6B | 681M | 879M | 1.05B | 2.35B | 788M | 1.2B | 1.24B | 1.46B | 885M | 1.15B | 1.12B | 97M | 80M | 377M | 295M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 459M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Investing | -1.93B | -712M | -453M | -137M | -41M | -76M | -50M | -110M | -12M | 272M | 49M | 31M | -1M | -14M | -103M | -56M | -64M | 6M | -100M | 35M | 251M | -140M | 223M | 761M | -131M | 0 | 0 | -29M | -482M | -74M | -78.1M |
| Cash from Financing | 2.54B | 2.06B | 1.34B | 883M | 1.46B | 315M | 796M | 3.1B | 654M | 421M | 1.36B | 277M | 217M | -261M | -443M | -445M | -586M | -789M | -84M | -1.47B | -203M | -167M | -312M | -1.04B | 6M | 1.68B | -411M | -426M | 254M | -219M | -473.7M |
| Dividends Paid | -887M | -871M | -810M | -752M | -685M | -791M | -760M | -692M | -620M | -592M | -531M | -501M | -470M | -445M | -407M | -389M | -360M | -348M | -344M | -364M | -365M | -360M | -354M | -346M | -338M | -325M | -319M | -299M | -299M | -299M | -298.9M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio % | - | 59.58% | 55.39% | 53.83% | 63.25% | 87.21% | 55.56% | 59.2% | 55.36% | 52.2% | 61.18% | 68.91% | 51.93% | 67.32% | 66.72% | 54.71% | 57.14% | 65.41% | 63% | 37.49% | 84.3% | 67.04% | 81.57% | 66.41% | 53.48% | 97.89% | 68.16% | 61.9% | 67.49% | 71.7% | 96.64% |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | 3M | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3B | 0 | 2M | 2.29B | 0 | 0 | 654M | 9M | 0 | 39M | 39M | 0 | 36M | 35M | 0 | 0 | 17M | 172M | 41M | 44M | 445M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -55M | -66M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -51M | -33M | 1.06B | -52M | 0 | 0 | -18M | 0 | 0 | -16M | -708M | -61M | -13M | 0 | -3M | -189M | -438M | 0 | 0 | -150M | 0 | -185M |
| Other Financing | 651M | -25M | -23M | -37M | 1.21B | -483M | -466M | -400M | -41M | -71M | 100M | 7M | -27M | -19M | -16M | -31M | -36M | 0 | -10M | -6M | -10M | -6M | -9M | 0 | 22M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6M | -6M | -11M |
| Net Change in Cash | 188M | 162M | 37M | 8M | 8M | -481M | 423M | 17M | -13M | -24M | 76M | -11M | -4M | -13M | -3M | 3M | 13M | -34M | -48M | -13M | 59M | 32M | 2M | -79M | -135M | 204M | 20M | -97M | 85M | 46M | -11.9M |
| Exchange Rate Effect | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | 250M | 88M | 51M | 43M | 35M | 516M | 93M | 76M | 89M | 113M | 37M | 48M | 52M | 65M | 68M | 65M | 52M | 86M | 123M | 136M | 88M | 56M | 54M | 133M | 268M | 64M | 4M | 130M | 45M | 53M | 64.9M |
| Cash at End | 278M | 250M | 88M | 51M | 43M | 35M | 516M | 93M | 76M | 89M | 113M | 37M | 48M | 52M | 65M | 68M | 65M | 52M | 86M | 123M | 147M | 88M | 56M | 54M | 133M | 268M | 24M | 33M | 130M | 99M | 53M |
| Free Cash Flow | -243M | -1B | -824M | -714M | -1.4B | -705M | -160M | -3.08B | -33M | -133M | -1.3B | -104M | -210M | 278M | 389M | 524M | 726M | 784M | 186M | -174M | 53M | -64M | 91M | 199M | -10M | -1.48B | 431M | 358M | -169M | 339M | 548.1M |
| FCF Growth % | 84.17% | -21.6% | -15.41% | 49.04% | -98.72% | -340.63% | 94.81% | -9242.42% | 75.19% | 89.8% | -1153.85% | 50.48% | -175.54% | -28.53% | -25.76% | -27.82% | -7.4% | 321.51% | 206.9% | -428.3% | 182.81% | -170.33% | -54.27% | 2090% | 99.32% | -442.23% | 20.39% | 311.83% | -149.85% | -38.15% | 19.39% |
| FCF Margin % | -1.49% | -6.34% | -6.61% | -5.6% | -7.29% | -4.71% | -1.4% | -25.34% | -0.23% | -1.05% | -12.27% | -1.01% | -1.71% | 2.88% | 4.42% | 5.89% | 8.48% | 9.78% | 1.99% | -2.05% | 0.59% | -0.71% | 1.29% | 2.83% | -0.15% | -18.79% | 7.7% | 7.57% | -4% | 9.01% | 15.04% |
| FCF / Net Income % | -19.21% | -68.54% | -58.82% | -51.11% | -129.36% | -77.73% | -11.7% | -263.73% | -2.95% | -11.73% | -150.23% | -14.31% | -23.2% | 42.06% | 63.77% | 73.7% | 115.24% | 147.37% | 34.07% | -17.92% | 12.24% | -11.92% | 20.97% | 38.2% | -1.58% | -444.28% | 92.09% | 74.12% | -38.15% | 81.29% | 177.21% |
Regulatory recovery lag risk
As reported in recent financial statements, DTE's operating cash flow exhibits significant quarterly variance, ranging from $633 million in 2025Q3 to $1.1 billion in 2025Q4, suggesting that the underlying cash generation is heavily influenced by seasonal working capital swings rather than consistent, predictable utility earnings.
The fluctuation in operating cash flow may indicate that the company's regulated segments are sensitive to weather-driven demand and the timing of fuel cost recovery. Investors should monitor whether these swings represent temporary timing differences or a more structural degradation in the cash-conversion efficiency of the core electric and gas businesses.
Based on the provided data, DTE's capital expenditure reached a peak of $4.4 billion in 2025Q4, which, when compared to the $1.1 billion in operating cash flow for the same period, highlights a massive funding gap that is typical for aggressive utility infrastructure investment cycles.
The high CapEx-to-OCF ratio suggests that the company is heavily reliant on external capital markets to fund its CleanVision transition. This level of investment appears to be a deliberate strategy to expand the rate base, though it necessitates a constructive regulatory environment to ensure these capital outlays are eventually recovered through rate adjustments.
According to recent SEC filings, DTE has consistently reported negative free cash flow over the last ten quarters, with a deficit reaching $1.1 billion in 2024Q2, necessitating ongoing reliance on debt markets to bridge the gap between massive infrastructure spending and internal cash generation.
The persistent free cash flow deficit is a standard feature of DTE's current growth phase, but it places a premium on the company's ability to access debt markets on favorable terms. The reliance on external financing warrants further investigation into whether current interest rate environments are pressuring the cost of capital beyond what is recoverable in future rate cases.
As evidenced by the OCF-to-dividend coverage ratio, which fluctuated between 2.9x and 5.3x over the last ten quarters, DTE appears to maintain sufficient cash flow to support its dividend payments despite the substantial capital expenditure requirements currently weighing on the company's overall free cash flow position.
While the dividend appears well-covered by operating cash flow, the sustainability of this payout depends on the MPSC's willingness to allow timely recovery of the massive capital investments currently being deployed. Investors should monitor whether the dividend growth trajectory remains aligned with the company's ability to manage its leverage profile during this period of high capital intensity.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying DTE stock.
DTE Energy Company (DTE) generated $3.43B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
DTE Energy Company (DTE) reported negative free cash flow of $1.00B in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
DTE Energy Company (DTE) spent $4.43B 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, DTE Energy Company (DTE) returned $871.0M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.