Despite GAAP net income volatility, the business maintains lean operations with a CapEx/Revenue ratio consistently below 4.0%, supporting a resilient FCF margin of 15.8% as of 2025Q4.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 225.09M | 195.13M | 28.2M | 162.82M | 212.77M | 148.68M | 52.24M | 71.58M | 66.3M | 134.6M | 93.3M | 72.31M | 23.96M | 1.79M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 12.39% | 3.28% | 21.32% | 26.27% | 20.87% | 10.26% | 14.86% | 8.5% | 15.97% | 11.41% | 11.23% | 8.99% | 1.08% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 413.79% | 592.03% | -82.68% | -23.48% | 43.11% | 184.61% | -27.02% | 7.97% | -50.74% | 44.26% | 29.04% | 201.73% | 1238.02% | - |
| Net Income | 8.54M | 41.19M | -110.27M | 37.29M | 64.6M | 16.05M | -84.02M | 34.25M | 39.1M | 138.11M | 66.16M | 58.43M | 10.68M | 2.8M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 124.7M | 0 | 145.92M | 129.47M | 138.25M | 142.81M | 137.16M | 25.95M | 42.59M | 42.12M | 39.15M | 27.61M | 12.54M | 8.43M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 3.5M | 0 | 31.76M | 15.27M | 7.86M | 9.53M | 5.85M | 1.22M | 9.12M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -22.46M | 0 | -31.42M | -19.5M | 4.6M | -2.92M | 0 | 2.08M | 2.63M | -5M | 6.19M | -1.84M | -59M | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 108.13M | 181.07M | -7.63M | 3.48M | -9.06M | 17.07M | -815K | 3.13M | 25.32M | -97.83M | 16.51M | -10.41M | 59M | 1.74M |
| Working Capital Changes | -35.05M | -27.14M | -168K | -3.2M | 6.53M | -33.87M | -5.94M | 4.95M | -52.46M | 57.2M | -28.73M | -1.48M | 741K | -11.18M |
| Change in Receivables | -23.26M | -29.67M | 20.77M | 2.34M | 9.15M | -40.84M | -19.16M | -10.96M | 18.93M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10.59M | 0 | 11.16M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -11.84M | -16.02M | -25.45M | -8.5M | 2.98M | 7.52M | 7.66M | 12.76M | -6.43M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -57.07M | -54.13M | -1.65B | -66.85M | -48.6M | -72.43M | -17.61M | -17.79M | -92.6M | 78.26M | -64.13M | -154.08M | -62.96M | -12.99M |
| Capital Expenditures | -29.44M | 0 | -1.72M | -2.08M | -28.53M | -23.8M | -17.71M | -16.7M | -35.28M | -40.35M | -33.23M | -19.1M | -6.75M | -1.87M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.83% | 3.45% | 0.2% | 0.27% | 3.52% | 3.34% | 3.48% | 3.47% | 4.52% | 4.79% | 4.06% | 2.97% | 2.53% | 1.12% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | -1.62B | -41.12M | -19.05M | -48.93M | 11.36M | 34K | -59.04M | -33.77M | -30.9M | -153.6M | -58.45M | -10.93M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -27.63M | -54.13M | -30.46M | -23.64M | -1.02M | 305K | -11.36M | -1.09M | 1.72M | 24.32M | 0 | 18.63M | 2.24M | -189K |
| Cash from Financing | -109.03M | -70.76M | 1.58B | -273.56M | -59.15M | 63.85M | 36.68M | -3.18M | 3.05M | -167.88M | -25.6M | 100.16M | 40.94M | 10.32M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -90M | -70.46M | 1.62B | -104K | -884K | -250.7M | -40.06M | -3.18M | -2.74M | -171.8M | -25.45M | 73.21M | 35.78M | 11.18M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -18.66M | 3.75M | 14.65M | -58.99M | -57.01M | 320.8M | 100.57M | 0 | 0 | 3.76M | 2.46M | 7.6M | 3.7M | 348K |
| Dividends Paid | -132K | -133K | -255K | -217.74M | 0 | -313K | -23.82M | 0 | 0 | -3.93M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -19.49M | 0 | 0 | -58.99M | -60.53M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -236K | -3.91M | -53.22M | 3.28M | -1.26M | -5.94M | 0 | 0 | 5.79M | 4.08M | -2.61M | 19.34M | 1.46M | -1.21M |
| Net Change in Cash | 53.23M | 70.6M | -44.43M | -177.88M | 99.01M | 139.82M | 72.22M | 50.49M | -23.7M | 45.04M | 3.56M | 18.38M | 2M | -877K |
| Free Cash Flow | 218.67M | 140.87M | 26.48M | 135.12M | 184.24M | 124.88M | 34.53M | 54.88M | 31.02M | 94.25M | 60.07M | 53.2M | 17.21M | -76K |
| FCF Margin % | 13.62% | 8.95% | 3.08% | 17.69% | 22.75% | 17.53% | 6.78% | 11.39% | 3.98% | 11.18% | 7.35% | 8.26% | 6.46% | -0.05% |
| FCF Growth % | 6278.91% | 432.08% | -80.41% | -26.66% | 47.54% | 261.63% | -37.08% | 76.93% | -67.09% | 56.88% | 12.91% | 209.09% | 22748.68% | - |
| FCF per Share | 1.25 | 0.81 | 0.18 | 0.92 | 1.21 | 0.82 | 0.23 | 0.36 | 0.52 | 1.59 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.34 | -0.00 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 25.61x | -5.60x | -0.26x | 4.37x | 3.29x | 9.26x | -0.62x | 2.09x | 1.90x | 0.97x | 1.41x | 1.24x | 2.24x | 0.64x |
| Interest Paid | 82.61M | 0 | 65.77M | 45.7M | 27.04M | 23.03M | 0 | 55.78M | 2.54M | 11.31M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 24.88M | 0 | 23.39M | 31.62M | 17.48M | 10.36M | 0 | 5.25M | 84.81M | 30M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Acquisition Integration and Amortization
As reported in financial statements, the persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow, highlighted by an OCF/NI ratio of 22.80 in 2026Q1, suggests that non-cash charges, primarily amortization of intangibles from recent acquisitions, are significantly obscuring the company's true underlying cash-generating capacity.
The wide divergence between GAAP net income and operating cash flow indicates that the company's reported profitability is heavily impacted by non-cash accounting entries rather than operational failure. Investors should monitor whether this cash-generative strength persists as the integration of acquired assets matures and amortization schedules evolve.
Based on reported figures, First Advantage has maintained positive free cash flow in nine of the last ten quarters, with FCF margins reaching 15.8% in 2025Q4, demonstrating that the core business model remains cash-generative despite the significant volatility introduced by recent large-scale inorganic expansion efforts.
The ability to generate consistent free cash flow while undergoing massive structural changes suggests a robust underlying business model. However, the fluctuation in FCF margins warrants further investigation into whether this is driven by sustainable operational efficiencies or temporary timing differences in working capital management.
According to recent SEC filings, the company maintains a lean capital expenditure profile, with CapEx/Revenue ratios frequently remaining below 4.0%, which suggests that the business model does not require heavy reinvestment in physical assets to support its current scale or service delivery capabilities.
This low capital intensity is a critical component of the company's cash flow profile, allowing for the conversion of a high percentage of operating cash flow into free cash flow. The minimal reliance on heavy infrastructure suggests that future growth can be pursued without significant capital-related margin dilution.
Data from the latest cash flow statements reveals significant swings in working capital, including a $37.6M outflow in 2024Q4, which appears to reflect the complexities of integrating large-scale acquisitions and the inherent timing differences in collecting receivables from enterprise-level clients across diverse jurisdictions.
The volatility in working capital suggests that management faces challenges in standardizing cash collection cycles across newly acquired entities. Investors should monitor whether these fluctuations stabilize as the integration process concludes and operational workflows become more uniform across the consolidated organization.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying FA stock.
First Advantage Corporation (FA) generated $195.1M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
First Advantage Corporation (FA) generated $140.9M 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.
First Advantage Corporation (FA) spent $0.0M 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, First Advantage Corporation (FA) returned $0.1M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.