Free cash flow generation remains highly volatile, with margins dropping to a marginal 0.9% in 2025Q3, further strained by $43.2 million in quarterly depreciation and amortization charges.
| Metric | TTM | 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 80.02M | 100.31M | 94.57M | 40.78M | 127.45M | 57.77M | 25.54M | 109.56M | 110.81M | 98.36M | 115.32M | 41.45M | 10.19M | 23.5M | 22.44M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 4% | 3.55% | 1.38% | 3.97% | 1.7% | 1.37% | 7.18% | 8.26% | 7.84% | 9.64% | 6.35% | 1.97% | 4.81% | 4.36% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -116.08% | 6.07% | 131.94% | -68.01% | 120.62% | 126.24% | -76.69% | -1.13% | 12.65% | -14.71% | 178.24% | 306.81% | -56.65% | 4.72% | - |
| Net Income | 96.13M | -26.39M | -27.79M | -78.25M | -136.17M | -672.4M | -121.19M | 18.11M | -915K | 31.64M | 67.61M | -3.21M | 794.62M | -29.8M | -21.65M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 167.82M | 156.29M | 155.92M | 182.02M | 203.96M | 263.82M | 111.88M | 84.79M | 74.39M | 67.77M | 67.75M | 41.45M | 40.05M | 40.63M | 43.39M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 10.12M | 12.52M | 16.57M | 16.75M | 18.44M | 26.35M | 11.32M | 3.16M | 3.13M | 2.44M | 1.32M | 59K | 25K | 95K | 462K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | -44.76M | 11.51M | 2.55M | 44.97M | -30.18M | -87.77M | 202K | 294K | -2.86M | 1.17M | 2.82M | -95K | 1.04M | 470K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -127.35M | -14.26M | -29.38M | -64.94M | 71.17M | 427.08M | 44.49M | 379K | 35.91M | 6.84M | -44.47M | 7.67M | -835.22M | 1.25M | 1.36M |
| Working Capital Changes | -66.71M | 16.9M | -32.26M | -17.36M | -74.92M | 43.1M | 66.79M | 2.92M | -2.01M | -7.47M | 21.94M | -7.34M | 10.7M | 10.29M | -1.6M |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | 25.84M | 34.13M | 44.94M | -33.25M | 111.51M | 12.61M | 15K | 4.98M | 14.88M | -4.25M | 1.78M | -2.87M | 3.45M | 2.48M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 4.62M | 18.51M | -7.43M | -2.82M | 19.96M | 5.15M | -4.34M | 1.07M | -999K | 2.7M | 1.23M | -142K | -2K | 1.71M |
| Change in Payables | 0 | -1.93M | -65.09M | -23.65M | -27.88M | -62.3M | 3.96M | -2.53M | -4M | 6.01M | -14.67M | -4.29M | -1.6M | 1.32M | 2.31M |
| Cash from Investing | 6.73M | -27.95M | 46.98M | 22.12M | 70.65M | 160.14M | -785.06M | -201.48M | -160.27M | -144.83M | -298.7M | -81.6M | -4.18M | -1.04M | -731K |
| Capital Expenditures | -51.73M | -49.53M | -38.12M | -45.38M | -39.56M | -36.98M | -13.98M | -11.64M | -11.09M | -10.63M | -10.15M | -5.01M | -5.17M | -4.69M | -3.33M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 2.21% | 1.97% | 1.43% | 1.54% | 1.23% | 1.09% | 0.75% | 0.76% | 0.83% | 0.85% | 0.85% | 0.77% | 1% | 0.96% | 0.65% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15.43M | -125K | 196.34M | -796.5M | -204.88M | -164.16M | -137.49M | -431.13M | -77.62M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 52.3M | 21.58M | 85.09M | 82.93M | 110.33M | 767K | 25.42M | 15.04M | 14.97M | 3.28M | 142.58M | 1.03M | 992K | 3.64M | 2.6M |
| Cash from Financing | -117.05M | -68.85M | -135.51M | -102.87M | -261.17M | -201.34M | 898.91M | 98.53M | -79.72M | 72.08M | 206.31M | 132.06M | -8.73M | -7.14M | -11.25M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -112.02M | -55.16M | -133.82M | -90.99M | -257.19M | -186.26M | 1.11B | 76.58M | 5.56M | -3.51M | 114.74M | 39.21M | 142.35M | -7.14M | -11.25M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -1.3M | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -91.94M | -87.19M | -75.61M | -59.76M | -57.36M | -18.21M | -149M | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -3.06M | -3.14M | -2.64M | -6.55M | -3.24M | -2.02M | -1M | -792K | -5.67M | -417K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -1.97M | -10.55M | 952K | -5.32M | -739K | -13.06M | -121.14M | -1.96M | -4.01M | -83K | -1.94M | -5.68M | -2.08M | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -28.86M | 5.57M | 5.81M | -38.81M | -63.11M | 18.06M | 135.89M | 6.61M | -129.19M | 25.61M | 22.93M | 91.9M | 18.03M | 15.31M | 10.46M |
| Free Cash Flow | 28.29M | 50.78M | 56.46M | -4.6M | 87.89M | 20.8M | 11.56M | 97.92M | 99.72M | 87.73M | 105.16M | 36.43M | 5.02M | 18.81M | 19.11M |
| FCF Margin % | 1.21% | 2.02% | 2.12% | -0.16% | 2.74% | 0.61% | 0.62% | 6.42% | 7.43% | 6.99% | 8.79% | 5.59% | 0.97% | 3.85% | 3.71% |
| FCF Growth % | -58.01% | -10.06% | 1327.35% | -105.23% | 322.66% | 79.93% | -88.2% | -1.8% | 13.66% | -16.58% | 188.64% | 625.78% | -73.31% | -1.55% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.20 | 0.36 | 0.40 | -0.03 | 0.65 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 1.68 | 1.88 | 1.94 | 2.38 | 1.14 | 0.17 | 0.63 | 0.64 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.29x | -3.81x | -3.40x | -0.52x | -0.94x | -0.09x | -0.21x | 6.02x | -121.10x | 3.11x | 1.71x | -12.93x | 0.01x | -0.79x | -1.04x |
| Interest Paid | 35.94M | 86.32M | 89.33M | 86.48M | 0 | 0 | 40.21M | 31.18M | 33.63M | 26.91M | 21.73M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 1.09M | 10.12M | 8.22M | 3.41M | 0 | 0 | 1.19M | 1.27M | 52K | 2.6M | 1.39M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unsustainable debt service burden
According to the provided cash flow data, GCI consistently reports negative net income while maintaining positive operating cash flow, with the OCF/NI ratio frequently reaching extreme negative values, such as -8.04 in 2023Q3, indicating that accounting losses are heavily influenced by non-cash depreciation and amortization charges.
The recurring gap between net income and operating cash flow suggests that the company's reported earnings are heavily distorted by legacy asset write-downs and restructuring costs. Investors should monitor whether this cash flow generation remains sufficient to cover interest obligations as the underlying print business continues to shrink.
As reported in financial statements, GCI's free cash flow margins have fluctuated significantly over the last ten quarters, peaking at 5.7% in 2023Q2 before compressing to a marginal 0.9% by 2025Q3, reflecting the inherent difficulty in sustaining positive cash generation amidst a secular revenue decline.
The erratic nature of FCF suggests that management's cost-cutting initiatives are often offset by the rapid erosion of high-margin print advertising. The inability to maintain a consistent FCF margin trajectory implies that the company remains highly sensitive to seasonal advertising cycles and unexpected operational disruptions.
Based on GCI's reported figures, capital expenditures have remained relatively stable, averaging roughly 2% of revenue over the last ten quarters, which suggests that maintenance spending is being prioritized over growth-oriented investments to preserve the remaining physical distribution infrastructure and legacy newsroom technology platforms.
The low capital intensity may indicate that the company is under-investing in the digital transformation required to pivot away from print. This strategy appears to prioritize short-term cash preservation at the potential expense of long-term competitive relevance in the digital marketing solutions market.
Data from recent filings reveals that working capital changes are a primary driver of quarterly cash flow volatility, with a massive $87.2 million outflow in 2025Q2 followed by an $11.9 million inflow in 2025Q3, highlighting the company's reliance on aggressive payables management to bridge liquidity gaps.
These significant swings in working capital suggest that GCI is actively managing its cash conversion cycle to offset operational cash burn. Such tactics may provide temporary relief but do not address the underlying structural decline in the core publishing business's ability to generate organic cash.
Analysis of the cash flow statement suggests that stock-based compensation and substantial depreciation charges consistently obscure the true cash cost of maintaining the company's legacy footprint, as evidenced by the $43.2 million in D&A reported in 2025Q3 alone, which dwarfs the company's net income.
The reliance on non-cash adjustments to reconcile net income to operating cash flow warrants further investigation into the actual economic value of the company's remaining intangible assets. Investors should be wary that these accounting adjustments may be masking a more severe deterioration in the company's core operational health.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying GCI stock.
Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI) generated $100.3M in net cash from operating activities in 2024. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI) generated $50.8M in free cash flow in 2024. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI) spent $49.5M on capital expenditures in 2024. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2024, Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI) spent $3.1M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.