Cash flow generation remains volatile, as evidenced by the OCF/NI ratio reaching 1.75 in 2026Q1, largely driven by the cyclical nature of working capital inflows.
| 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 | 892.42M | 842.57M | 534.61M | 113.71M | 240.07M | 416.93M | 278.83M | -53.32M | 191.66M | 100.89M | 208M | 434.83M | 177.84M | 166.97M | 198.38M | 190.91M | 186.03M | 209.72M | 209.43M | 261.71M | 200.97M | 187.62M | 81.48M | 91.36M | 115.99M | 43.71M | -14.44M | 47.81M | 18M | 5M | -100K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 10.61% | 7.83% | 1.9% | 4.36% | 7.9% | 5.98% | -1.18% | 5.2% | 2.99% | 6.38% | 13.99% | 6.01% | 5.71% | 6.87% | 6.78% | 6.97% | 7.4% | 7.94% | 13.21% | 13.19% | 17.54% | 8.67% | 10.17% | 14.02% | 5.72% | -2.44% | 10.97% | 4.34% | 1.34% | -0.03% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 476.54% | 57.6% | 370.16% | -52.63% | -42.42% | 49.53% | 622.96% | -127.82% | 89.96% | -51.49% | -52.16% | 144.51% | 6.51% | -15.83% | 3.91% | 2.63% | -11.3% | 0.14% | -19.98% | 30.22% | 7.12% | 130.25% | -10.81% | -21.24% | 165.35% | 402.71% | -130.2% | 165.62% | 260% | 5100% | - |
| Net Income | 588.05M | 578.41M | 321.86M | 215.86M | 275.47M | 274.66M | 237.99M | 228.66M | 208.66M | 240.62M | 238.81M | 206.86M | 179.41M | 191.42M | 170.49M | 89.78M | 195.04M | 228.51M | 266.55M | 76.71M | 72.24M | 32.49M | 51.87M | 45.95M | 45.11M | 40.8M | -20.53M | 31.04M | 27.8M | 22.2M | 18M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 176.25M | 185.57M | 158.39M | 164.8M | 161.29M | 153.09M | 144.42M | 137.15M | 118.2M | 114.02M | 122.89M | 122.35M | 122.41M | 129.35M | 138.8M | 150.62M | 132.14M | 123.47M | 129.44M | 99.41M | 58.5M | 57.72M | 42.26M | 42.63M | 32.01M | 41.38M | 20.82M | 16.63M | 8.7M | 8.5M | 7.6M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 18.68M | 0 | 15.76M | 12.14M | 10.46M | 5.31M | 4.09M | 3.99M | 1.39M | 13K | 70K | 139K | 322K | 440K | 3.03M | 2M | 5.21M | 5.13M | 5.07M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -23.02M | -15.9M | 1.65M | -13.16M | -2.22M | 39.09M | -5.34M | -15.06M | 13.72M | 28.77M | 2.68M | 15.93M | -47.46M | 221K | 6.58M | -8.78M | -28.16M | 7.61M | -8.49M | -33.14M | -4.66M | 6.55M | 153K | 35K | -5.62M | -2.69M | -6.48M | -5.6M | 1.5M | -1.2M | -100K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 762.45K | 17.59M | 9.82M | 14.96M | -14.21M | -21.49M | -58.47M | -29.96M | -8.57M | -3.16M | -21.82M | 21.68M | -865K | 1.36M | -465K | 16.67M | -28.34M | -2.26M | -57.29M | 37.93M | -15.06M | 14.74M | 2.86M | -6.95M | 8.17M | 1.91M | 50.11M | 1.82M | 3M | 1.1M | -600K |
| Working Capital Changes | 127.55M | 76.9M | 27.13M | -280.89M | -190.72M | -33.74M | -43.85M | -378.1M | -141.74M | -279.37M | -134.63M | 67.86M | -75.98M | -155.81M | -120.04M | -59.38M | -89.86M | -152.74M | -125.85M | 80.79M | 89.95M | 76.12M | -15.67M | 9.69M | 36.32M | -37.67M | -58.35M | 3.92M | -23M | -25.6M | -25M |
| Change in Receivables | -869.2M | -714.38M | -473.93M | -96.59M | 97.15M | -430.3M | -508.06M | -267.92M | -89.1M | -315.24M | -297.44M | 31.86M | -67.18M | -108.34M | -91.99M | -65.06M | -84.71M | -136.22M | -39.7M | -69.09M | -58.79M | -43.42M | -16.87M | 45.3M | 58.55M | -10.01M | -18.98M | -65.47M | -51.6M | -44.3M | -15.6M |
| Change in Inventory | -368.78M | -387.44M | -480.31M | -351.59M | -305.06M | -336.22M | -69.76M | -55.84M | -117.22M | -59.7M | -8.04M | 39.8M | -112.75M | -4.79M | 10.02M | -95.36M | -49.72M | 75.43M | -169.48M | -124.38M | -69.97M | -43.68M | 2.93M | -38.65M | -55.11M | -72.17M | -25.23M | 14.11M | 24.3M | -20.1M | -7.3M |
| Change in Payables | 116.32M | 502.17M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -75.72M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -648.22M | -422.94M | -178.83M | -210.6M | -151.98M | -587.72M | -22.87M | -106.79M | -592.87M | -115.57M | -117.82M | -181.56M | -80.12M | -73.29M | -117.64M | -55.07M | -255.59M | -197.3M | -171.71M | -262.62M | -87M | -241.71M | -70.9M | -53.8M | -50.98M | -44.7M | -15.82M | -52.65M | -12.8M | 5.4M | 0 |
| Capital Expenditures | -279.4M | -244.17M | -215.05M | -187.04M | -205.11M | -188.62M | -132.21M | -137.6M | -102.3M | -107.88M | -124.22M | -99.17M | -71.21M | -63.02M | -81.64M | -121.98M | -138.64M | -107.89M | -129.24M | -104.2M | -64.81M | -58.73M | -53.01M | -61.29M | -46M | -45.3M | -40.37M | -28.67M | -18.3M | -14.2M | -9.2M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.39% | 3.08% | 3.15% | 3.13% | 3.72% | 3.57% | 2.84% | 3.05% | 2.78% | 3.19% | 3.81% | 3.19% | 2.41% | 2.15% | 2.83% | 4.33% | 5.19% | 3.81% | 4.9% | 5.26% | 4.25% | 5.49% | 5.64% | 6.83% | 5.56% | 5.92% | 6.83% | 6.58% | 4.41% | 3.81% | 2.99% |
| Acquisitions | -1.78M | 1.66M | 3.77M | -15.8M | 13.84M | -447.4M | -7.99M | -365.75M | -514.86M | -30.4M | -20.82M | -165.29M | -3.83M | -6.22M | -4.24M | -25.73M | -234.51M | -48.23M | -20.64M | -353.18M | 0 | -28.33M | -2.31M | -2.46M | -5.28M | -3.34M | 0 | -23.99M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -234.69M | 0 | 4.11M | 1.47M | 24.88M | 26.18M | 72.62M | 381.58M | 4.39M | 6.27M | 15.74M | 11.56M | 24.97M | 3.75M | 7.33M | 15.06M | 10.67M | 9.05M | 8.78M | 3.45M | 4.74M | 3.12M | 294K | 9.94M | 308K | 3.94M | 24.56M | 3K | 3M | 18M | 9.2M |
| Cash from Financing | -159.45M | -19.35M | -287.85M | 83.21M | -135.97M | 150.99M | -198.23M | 172.69M | 453.62M | -52.06M | -166.7M | -154.35M | -89.05M | -101.19M | -84.08M | -84.33M | 79.91M | -76.38M | -195.85M | 280.23M | -123.3M | 113.87M | -52.63M | -37.68M | -29.32M | -6.66M | 45.48M | -8.73M | -6.3M | 26.2M | 9.2M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -268.09M | -192.3M | -198.92M | 172.43M | -49.18M | 230.14M | -120.04M | 50.43M | 528.87M | 23.12M | -98.75M | -86.17M | -24.31M | -44M | -6.94M | 54.4M | 141.28M | 100.17M | -163.39M | 307.17M | -103.67M | 131.99M | 22.8M | -28.06M | -20.75M | 2.88M | 54.12M | 630K | -1.7M | -8.6M | 10.2M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 234.66M | 293.86M | 0 | 0 | 24K | 0 | 0 | 184.84M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -26.01M | -10.1M | 0 | 0 | 188K | 427K | 8.25M | 3.51M | 11.26M | 5.27M | 4.14M | 2.59M | 787K | 1.36M | 400K | 38.3M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -126.02M | -120.9M | -88.96M | -89.25M | -86.81M | -79.17M | -78.19M | -62.58M | -75.31M | -75.3M | -68.45M | -69.79M | -68.28M | -75.55M | -50.62M | -61.63M | -63.14M | -76.17M | -32.77M | -27.41M | -24.32M | -21.63M | -86.69M | -14.88M | -12.72M | -12.13M | -9.43M | -8.99M | -4.9M | -3.4M | -1M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -26.01M | -10.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -708K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 0 | 0 | 26K | 30K | 0 | 20K | 0 | 0 | 48K | 119K | 505K | 1.62M | 3.54M | 18.36M | -522K | -67M | 1.77M | -100.38M | 116K | 46K | -3.55M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.73M | -100K | -100K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 42.15M | 369.92M | 67.92M | -13.68M | -47.88M | -19.8M | 57.73M | 12.58M | 52.41M | -66.74M | -76.51M | 98.92M | 8.67M | -7.5M | -3.34M | 51.52M | 10.35M | -63.96M | -158.13M | 279.32M | -9.32M | 59.78M | -42.05M | -124K | 35.7M | -7.65M | 15.22M | -13.57M | -1M | 36.6M | -5.4M |
| Free Cash Flow | 613.02M | 598.4M | 319.56M | -73.33M | 34.96M | 228.31M | 146.62M | -190.92M | 89.36M | -6.99M | 83.78M | 335.65M | 106.63M | 103.96M | 116.75M | 68.94M | 47.38M | 101.83M | 80.19M | 157.5M | 136.16M | 128.88M | 28.48M | 30.07M | 69.99M | -1.58M | -54.81M | 19.14M | -300K | -9.2M | -9.3M |
| FCF Margin % | 7.45% | 7.54% | 4.68% | -1.23% | 0.63% | 4.33% | 3.14% | -4.23% | 2.43% | -0.21% | 2.57% | 10.8% | 3.6% | 3.55% | 4.04% | 2.45% | 1.77% | 3.6% | 3.04% | 7.95% | 8.94% | 12.05% | 3.03% | 3.35% | 8.46% | -0.21% | -9.27% | 4.39% | -0.07% | -2.47% | -3.02% |
| FCF Growth % | 8.14% | 87.26% | 535.79% | -309.76% | -84.69% | 55.71% | 176.8% | -313.66% | 1378.92% | -108.34% | -75.04% | 214.79% | 2.57% | -10.96% | 69.35% | 45.49% | -53.47% | 26.99% | -49.09% | 15.68% | 5.65% | 352.61% | -5.3% | -57.04% | 4524.21% | 97.11% | -386.36% | 6480.67% | 96.74% | 1.08% | - |
| FCF per Share | 12.74 | 12.75 | 7.15 | -1.64 | 0.78 | 5.16 | 3.32 | -4.35 | 2.09 | -0.16 | 1.96 | 7.85 | 2.50 | 2.46 | 2.76 | 1.60 | 1.10 | 2.37 | 1.88 | 3.72 | 3.25 | 3.10 | 0.69 | 0.75 | 1.75 | -0.04 | -1.74 | 0.72 | -0.01 | -0.38 | -0.43 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.04x | 1.58x | 1.66x | 0.53x | 0.87x | 1.52x | 1.17x | -0.23x | 0.93x | 0.42x | 0.88x | 2.15x | 1.04x | 0.91x | 1.18x | 2.11x | 1.01x | 0.98x | 1.03x | 3.41x | 2.78x | 5.78x | 1.57x | 1.99x | 2.57x | 1.07x | 0.70x | 1.54x | 0.65x | 0.23x | -0.01x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 76.33M | 66.77M | 25.58M | 18.99M | 20.08M | 35.3M | 30.3M | 9.38M | 6.25M | 3.63M | 5.08M | 6.05M | 19.17M | 10.26M | 13.52M | 11.66M | 21.36M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 34.89M | 30.71M | 75.59M | 38.17M | 44.21M | 12.85M | 26.46M | 47.71M | 28.6M | 37.41M | 17.35M | 33.22M | 5.73M | 18.95M | 60.76M | 47.95M | 30.83M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Geopolitical export license dependency
According to the provided financial data, Elbit Systems' OCF/NI ratio has fluctuated significantly, reaching 1.75 in 2026Q1, which suggests that reported net income is frequently supplemented by substantial working capital inflows rather than purely reflecting the cash-generative capacity of the underlying core defense operations.
The wide variance in the OCF/NI ratio indicates that earnings quality is highly sensitive to the timing of milestone payments and contract-related accruals. Investors should monitor whether this reliance on working capital swings masks underlying volatility in the cash-conversion cycle of long-term defense projects.
As reported in recent financial statements, Elbit Systems' free cash flow trajectory has been inconsistent, ranging from a deficit of $86.4 million in 2024Q1 to a peak of $404.0 million in 2024Q4, highlighting the inherent lumpiness of cash generation in a project-based defense business model.
The erratic FCF margins suggest that the company's cash flow is heavily dependent on the timing of large government contract payments. This volatility warrants caution, as it may obscure the true underlying cash-generating efficiency of the firm's diverse product segments.
Based on the reported figures, Elbit Systems maintains a disciplined capital expenditure profile, with CapEx/Revenue ratios generally hovering between 1.2% and 5.1%, indicating that the firm is successfully balancing necessary infrastructure investment with the need to preserve cash for operational flexibility in a high-demand environment.
The relatively low capital intensity suggests that the company's growth is not overly burdened by massive physical asset requirements, allowing for better scalability. However, the periodic spikes in CapEx may indicate targeted investments in manufacturing capacity to meet the current surge in global defense orders.
Data from recent quarterly filings reveals that working capital changes are the primary driver of cash flow volatility, with a notable $315.5 million inflow in 2024Q4 contrasting sharply with the $122.9 million outflow observed in 2024Q1, reflecting the complex nature of defense contract billing cycles.
These significant swings suggest that the company's cash position is highly susceptible to the timing of government procurement cycles and inventory build-ups. Analysts should interpret these movements as a reflection of project execution phases rather than a fundamental shift in the company's ability to manage its receivables.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ESLT stock.
Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT) generated $842.6M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT) generated $598.4M 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.
Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT) spent $244.2M 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, Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT) returned $120.9M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.