Free cash flow has deteriorated to a negative 10.8% margin in 2026Q1, indicating that internal operations are currently insufficient to fund the company's capital requirements.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 172.82K | 632K | 4.54M | 8.86M | 3.83M | 3.88M | 3.25M | 2.58M | -813K | -3.44M | 165K | 1.72M | 79K | 1.62M | 4.77M | 2.41M | 1.5M | 963K | 1.19M | 1.41M | 2.75M | 3.1M | 1.83M | 1.5M | 1.33M | 2.57M | 2.3M | 2.34M | -400K | 2.3M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 1.22% | 9.76% | 18.98% | 9.66% | 11.46% | 8.86% | 7.41% | -2.4% | -10.51% | 0.45% | 4.16% | 0.17% | 3.22% | 10.45% | 5.15% | 4.01% | 2.64% | 2.75% | 3.76% | 6.68% | 9.88% | 6.36% | 6.05% | 5.72% | 9.9% | 9.35% | 10.5% | -1.68% | 9.2% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 14359.9% | -86.08% | -48.77% | 131.44% | -1.19% | 19.16% | 26.14% | 417.1% | 76.39% | -2187.27% | -90.41% | 2077.22% | -95.12% | -66.09% | 97.68% | 60.51% | 56.18% | -18.87% | -15.82% | -48.73% | -11.29% | 69.03% | 22.59% | 12.57% | -48.35% | 11.77% | -1.75% | 685.75% | -117.39% | - |
| Net Income | -3.03M | 826K | 4.22M | 6.35M | 3.19M | 5.04M | 2.61M | 1.79M | -2.61M | -3.77M | -3.62M | 1.04M | -2.67M | 3.82M | 690K | 1.81M | -1.83M | -880K | -2.45M | -301K | 2.28M | 1.14M | -1.35M | -2.97M | -3.38M | 614K | -713K | 84K | -700K | 1.4M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.23M | 2.1M | 1.55M | 1.32M | 1.54M | 1.78M | 1.59M | 1.51M | 1.65M | 1.72M | 1.86M | 1.73M | 1.81M | 1.74M | 1.77M | 2.09M | 2.05M | 2.03M | 2.22M | 2.26M | 2.46M | 2.5M | 3.23M | 3.54M | 3.05M | 2.5M | 3.19M | 1.98M | 1.8M | 1.6M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 132K | 0 | 607K | 363K | 250K | 203K | 121K | 141K | 56K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -556.91K | 166K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169K | 0 | -174K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 383.08K | 1.26M | 1.55M | 2.29M | 2.2M | -4.01M | -416K | 136K | -692K | 22K | 410K | -1.18M | 94K | -2.37M | 2.31M | 58K | 31K | -30K | 456K | -251K | -123K | 89K | -1K | -248K | -147K | 41K | 44K | 29K | 0 | -200K |
| Working Capital Changes | 1.01M | -3.72M | -3.39M | -1.46M | -3.35M | 866K | -653K | -1M | 781K | -1.41M | 1.52M | 131K | 837K | -1.57M | 1.67M | -1.55M | 1.25M | -157K | 953K | -302K | -1.96M | -629K | 160K | 1.17M | 1.8M | -585K | -222K | 252K | -1.5M | -500K |
| Change in Receivables | 2.44M | -1.14M | -988K | -1.01M | -3.94M | 2.26M | -956K | -1.28M | 790K | -597K | 2.15M | 171K | -78K | -1.53M | 2.34M | -2.02M | -186K | 391K | 894K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 1.94M | -283K | -3.53M | -1.14M | -806K | -1.02M | 290K | 175K | -30K | 471K | 289K | 213K | 848K | -451K | -670K | -487K | -138K | 510K | -140K | -106K | 44K | -553K | -87K | -144K | 719K | -171K | -403K | 96K | -300K | 300K |
| Change in Payables | -3.63M | -2.95M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 621K | 1.15M | -763K | -885K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 4.48M | -4.82M | -15.87M | -2.96M | -3.03M | -1.65M | -1.14M | -806K | -619K | -275K | -479K | -866K | -2.64M | -950K | -1.23M | -882K | -451K | -600K | -797K | -3.25M | -2.27M | -2.71M | -296K | -798K | -3.1M | -4.34M | -2.5M | -592K | -3.5M | -2.2M |
| Capital Expenditures | -5.26M | -5.35M | -9.51M | -2.43M | -3.03M | -1.53M | -1.08M | -931K | -619K | -275K | -708K | -797K | -2.43M | -950K | -1.23M | -882K | -489K | -600K | -797K | -3.26M | -2.28M | -2.74M | -339K | -867K | -1.71M | -4.34M | -2.53M | -2.12M | -2M | -2.2M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 10.64% | 10.33% | 20.43% | 5.21% | 7.63% | 4.54% | 2.95% | 2.68% | 1.82% | 0.84% | 1.91% | 1.93% | 5.21% | 1.89% | 2.7% | 1.88% | 1.3% | 1.65% | 1.85% | 8.69% | 5.54% | 8.74% | 1.18% | 3.51% | 7.37% | 16.72% | 10.28% | 9.5% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -916K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 566.36K | 534K | -6.37M | -527K | -2K | -112K | -58K | 125K | 0 | 0 | 229K | -69K | -212K | 0 | 0 | -882K | 38K | 0 | 0 | 3K | 8K | 36K | 43K | 69K | -471K | 2K | 26K | 28K | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -1.31M | -1.24M | 9.61M | -3.81M | -1.64M | 2.12M | 814K | -1.13M | 1.53M | 3.24M | 473K | -1.07M | 1.25M | -113K | -2.39M | -2M | -815K | -619K | -1.47M | 2.31M | -169K | 289K | -1.59M | -1.22M | 1.63M | 2.18M | 423K | -1.6M | 200K | 3.9M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.35M | -669K | 2.5M | 481K | -810K | -849K | -942K | -1.12M | 995K | -104K | -1.08M | 0 | -1.46M | -415K | -1.82M | -1.47M | 2.31M | -600K | -177K | -1.59M | -1.22M | -802K | 2.07M | 0 | 423K | -1.6M | 200K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 30.14K | 36K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 94K | 472K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -1.35M | -1.28M | 0 | -1.32M | -994K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -134K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 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 |
| Other Financing | 8K | 0 | 9.61M | 863K | 25K | -377K | 333K | -322K | 2.38M | 4.19M | 1.59M | -2.06M | 1.35M | 966K | -2.39M | -539K | -400K | 1.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57M | 0 | 423K | -2.02M | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 4.59M | -5.09M | -1.7M | 1.91M | -1.92M | 4.55M | 3.11M | 636K | 105K | -347K | 196K | -91K | -1.39M | 579K | 1.04M | -621K | 255K | -298K | -911K | 437K | 312K | 648K | -22K | -426K | -72K | 410K | 221K | 150K | -3.8M | 4M |
| Free Cash Flow | -5.09M | -4.72M | -4.97M | 6.43M | 802K | 2.34M | 2.17M | 1.65M | -1.43M | -3.72M | -543K | 923K | -2.35M | 668K | 3.54M | 1.53M | 1.01M | 363K | 390K | -1.85M | 468K | 357K | 1.5M | 629K | -385K | -1.77M | -228K | 223K | -2.4M | 100K |
| FCF Margin % | -10.29% | -9.11% | -10.67% | 13.77% | 2.02% | 6.92% | 5.91% | 4.73% | -4.22% | -11.35% | -1.47% | 2.23% | -5.04% | 1.33% | 7.75% | 3.27% | 2.71% | 1% | 0.9% | -4.93% | 1.14% | 1.14% | 5.18% | 2.54% | -1.66% | -6.82% | -0.93% | 1% | -10.08% | 0.4% |
| FCF Growth % | -11.98% | 4.97% | -177.23% | 701.75% | -65.73% | 7.83% | 31.75% | 215.01% | 61.49% | -584.9% | -158.83% | 139.24% | -452.1% | -81.12% | 130.94% | 50.94% | 179.61% | -6.92% | 121.12% | -494.66% | 31.09% | -76.12% | 137.68% | 263.38% | 78.27% | -677.19% | -202.24% | 109.29% | -2500% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.76 | -0.70 | -0.74 | 1.08 | 0.14 | 0.40 | 0.48 | 0.44 | -0.71 | -1.83 | -0.27 | 0.46 | -1.16 | 0.46 | 2.68 | 1.16 | 0.77 | 0.27 | 0.30 | -1.48 | 0.34 | 0.26 | 1.81 | 0.94 | -0.39 | -1.81 | -0.23 | 0.23 | -2.57 | 0.14 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.68x | 0.77x | 1.07x | 1.39x | 1.20x | 0.77x | 1.25x | 1.44x | 0.31x | 0.91x | -0.05x | 1.65x | -0.03x | 0.42x | 6.92x | 1.31x | -0.87x | -1.09x | -0.49x | -4.68x | 1.67x | 2.11x | -1.36x | -0.50x | -0.39x | 4.19x | -3.23x | -3.29x | -4.76x | -3.29x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84K | 129K | 29K | 163K | 232K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175K | 146K | 356K | 386K | 480K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 61K | 37K | 38K | 57K | 37K | 43K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43K | 40K | 110K | 43K | 55K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Operational and liquidity volatility
As reported in recent financial statements, Eltek's OCF/NI ratio has exhibited extreme volatility, with the 2025Q4 figure of -4.88 highlighting a profound disconnect between accounting net income and actual cash generation that warrants significant investor caution regarding the underlying quality of reported earnings.
The erratic relationship between net income and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash items and working capital swings are heavily distorting the firm's true economic performance. Investors should interpret this divergence as a signal that reported profitability may not be translating into tangible liquidity, particularly during periods of operational contraction.
Based on Eltek's reported figures, the FCF margin has trended into negative territory, reaching -10.8% in 2026Q1, which indicates that the company is currently unable to fund its capital requirements through internal operations alone, thereby pressuring its existing cash reserves.
The consistent inability to generate positive free cash flow over the last several quarters suggests that the company's business model is currently capital-intensive relative to its revenue-generating capacity. This trajectory implies that the firm may face liquidity constraints if the current trend of negative cash flow persists without a recovery in production efficiency.
According to historical data, Eltek's CapEx/Rev ratio has remained elevated, peaking at 30.7% in 2024Q2, which suggests that the company continues to commit significant capital to infrastructure despite the recent downturn in top-line growth and overall profitability.
The persistence of high capital expenditure relative to revenue may indicate a commitment to maintaining specialized manufacturing capabilities, yet this strategy appears to be straining cash flow in the current environment. Analysts should monitor whether these investments are yielding the necessary technological edge or merely increasing the fixed-cost burden.
As evidenced by the quarterly cash flow data, working capital changes have been highly inconsistent, swinging from a $2.4 million inflow in 2026Q1 to a $3.5 million outflow in 2025Q2, reflecting the inherent difficulty in managing inventory and receivables within a project-based defense manufacturing model.
These sharp fluctuations in working capital suggest that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of project milestones and customer payments. Such volatility complicates cash flow forecasting and may indicate that the firm is struggling to optimize its cash conversion cycle during periods of operational instability.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ELTK stock.
Eltek Ltd. (ELTK) generated $0.6M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Eltek Ltd. (ELTK) reported negative free cash flow of $4.7M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Eltek Ltd. (ELTK) spent $5.4M 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, Eltek Ltd. (ELTK) returned $1.3M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.