Operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income with an OCF/NI ratio of 2.07 in 2027Q2, and management has aggressively deployed over $600M towards share repurchases over the last ten quarters, signaling confidence in the cash generation profile.
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) cash flow statement — 14-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Jan'25 | Jan'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Jan'19 | Jan'18 | Jan'17 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Jan'13 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 490.18M | 457.09M | 339.86M | 242.83M | 150.65M | 141M | 181.62M | 105.86M | 113.42M | 81.7M | 45.59M | 26.54M | 15.05M | 18.02M | 11.77M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 34.8% | 28.33% | 24.29% | 17.48% | 18.64% | 24.76% | 19.9% | 39.49% | 35.6% | 25.56% | 20.93% | 17.13% | 29.05% | 25.54% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 159.57% | 34.5% | 39.96% | 61.19% | 6.85% | -22.37% | 71.57% | -6.67% | 38.82% | 79.21% | 71.78% | 76.4% | -16.48% | 53.06% | - |
| Net Income | 236.49M | 215.2M | 96.7M | 55.71M | -26.14M | -44.29M | 8.83M | 39.66M | 73.9M | 47.36M | 26.38M | 16.61M | 10.17M | 1.23M | 11.17M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 157.63M | 154.66M | 162.45M | 153.08M | 161.2M | 137.19M | 115.9M | 55.35M | 18.18M | 15.95M | 13.19M | 8.6M | 5.89M | 4.27M | 3.37M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 81.28M | 73.06M | 96.42M | 77.15M | 62.61M | 52.75M | 42.86M | 39.84M | 21.06M | 14.31M | 8.4M | 5.88M | 2.52M | 57K | 47K |
| Deferred Taxes | 28.34M | 39.73M | -12.84M | -13.99M | -17.18M | -23.43M | -5.13M | 3.67M | 408K | 4.31M | -2.89M | -2.18M | 1.59M | 3.55M | -4.91M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 919K | 1.06M | 3.64M | 4.01M | 3.53M | 17.15M | 6.86M | -23.15M | 1.17M | 220K | 103K | 47K | 790K | 5.74M | 129K |
| Working Capital Changes | -14.48M | -26.62M | -6.53M | -33.13M | -33.37M | 1.63M | 12.29M | -9.52M | -1.3M | -448K | 419K | -2.42M | -5.92M | 3.16M | 1.97M |
| Change in Receivables | -11.03M | -5.69M | -13.11M | -8.06M | -9.57M | -11.2M | -413K | -6.13M | -4.31M | -4.73M | -2.73M | -5.17M | -3.38M | -1.55M | 571K |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -30.42M | -4.1M | -2.29M | 377K | 28K | 5K | -234K | -118K | 18K |
| Change in Payables | -8.1M | 1.71M | 8.89M | -204K | -26.67M | -2.18M | 30.42M | -3.84M | 863K | -581K | 567K | 1.01M | -1.16M | 1.49M | 245K |
| Cash from Investing | -59.64M | -47.14M | -505.45M | -46.07M | -119.13M | -639.25M | -96.96M | -1.74B | 25.65M | -36.75M | -13.05M | -90.55M | -8.44M | -4.64M | -3.54M |
| Capital Expenditures | -2.45M | -1.97M | -2.08M | -1.69M | -119.13M | -137.08M | -96.96M | -42.07M | -15.04M | -33.38M | -12.68M | -49.76M | -8.13M | -5.44M | -2.74M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.18% | 0.15% | 0.17% | 0.17% | 13.82% | 18.12% | 13.22% | 7.91% | 5.24% | 14.54% | 7.11% | 39.25% | 9.26% | 8.77% | 5.94% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -504.53M | 0 | -1.65B | 11.17M | -2.88M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -57.19M | -45.17M | -503.37M | -44.38M | 0 | -128.17M | 0 | -34.79M | -11.17M | -27.93M | -9.41M | -88.18M | -6.72M | 800K | -800K |
| Cash from Financing | -479M | -386.98M | 57.57M | -47.04M | -2.67M | 394.86M | 52.42M | 1.47B | 22.93M | 14.56M | 23.78M | 36.65M | 90.48M | -5.36M | -7.46M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -76.88M | -100M | 171.25M | -54.38M | -8.75M | -65.05M | -239.06M | 1.24B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.17M | -7.57M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -402.87M | -287.84M | -112.06M | 6.47M | 6.68M | 466.39M | 295.35M | 469.84M | 22.93M | 14.56M | 7.14M | 25.41M | 137.4M | -2.77M | 110K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -50.35M | -694K | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -404.5M | -299.25M | -121.49M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.37M | 0 |
| Other Financing | 751K | 867K | -1.62M | 865K | -603K | -6.49M | -3.86M | -244.29M | 0 | 0 | 16.63M | 11.24M | 3.43M | 271K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -48.46M | 22.98M | -108.03M | 149.71M | 28.85M | -103.39M | 137.08M | -169.75M | 162M | 59.52M | 56.31M | -27.36M | 97.09M | 8.01M | 775K |
| Free Cash Flow | 471.67M | 455.13M | 337.77M | 196.75M | 31.52M | 3.91M | 84.66M | 63.78M | 98.38M | 48.32M | 32.92M | -23.22M | 6.91M | 12.58M | 9.03M |
| FCF Margin % | 34.63% | 34.65% | 28.15% | 19.68% | 3.66% | 0.52% | 11.54% | 11.99% | 34.25% | 21.05% | 18.45% | -18.31% | 7.87% | 20.28% | 19.6% |
| FCF Growth % | 38.88% | 34.74% | 71.67% | 524.15% | 705.39% | -95.38% | 32.72% | -35.17% | 103.61% | 46.79% | 241.76% | -435.84% | -45.02% | 39.22% | - |
| FCF per Share | 5.61 | 5.20 | 3.80 | 2.26 | 0.37 | 0.05 | 1.12 | 0.93 | 1.55 | 0.78 | 0.55 | -0.39 | 0.13 | 0.28 | 0.20 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.99x | 2.12x | 3.51x | 4.36x | -5.76x | -3.18x | 20.56x | 2.67x | 1.53x | 1.73x | 1.73x | 1.60x | 1.48x | 14.61x | 1.05x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 58.59M | 49.56M | 43.57M | 0 | 0 | 21.81M | 203K | 203K | 213K | 51K | 0 | 38K | 331K |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 26.07M | 35.35M | 1.53M | 0 | 0 | 9.28M | 587K | 27K | 863K | 1.36M | 1.5M | 353K | 274K |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying HQY stock.
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) generated $457.1M in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) generated $455.1M in free cash flow in 2026. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) spent $2.0M on capital expenditures in 2026. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2026, HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) spent $299.3M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Interest rate sensitivity on custodial revenue
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings Quality Driven by Non-Cash Adjustments
Operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income, with the OCF/NI ratio averaging 2.6x over the last ten quarters, indicating strong cash conversion quality and minimal accrual-based earnings manipulation.
The persistent gap between operating cash flow and net income is primarily driven by substantial non-cash add-backs for depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, which totaled $22.2M in the latest quarter. This suggests the core business generates significantly more cash than GAAP earnings imply, a hallmark of a scalable, asset-light model. However, the volatility in the OCF/NI ratio, ranging from 1.2x to 15.9x, warrants investigation into the timing of working capital swings and non-recurring items.
FCF Trajectory Normalizes After Acquisition Spike
After a period of negative free cash flow in early 2025 due to a large acquisition, FCF has rebounded strongly, with the last four quarters showing FCF margins between 27% and 43%, indicating a return to robust cash generation.
The negative FCF in 2025Q1 and 2025Q2 was driven by a massive $269.9M cash outlay for acquisitions, which temporarily overwhelmed operating cash flow. Since then, the business has demonstrated its ability to generate substantial free cash flow, with the most recent quarter showing a 38.5% FCF margin. This trajectory suggests the company has successfully integrated its recent acquisitions and is now harvesting the cash flow benefits of its scaled platform.
Volatile Working Capital Driven by Custodial Float
Working capital changes are highly volatile, swinging from a $43.8M use in 2026Q1 to a $39.7M use in 2027Q1, which appears to be driven by the timing of custodial asset flows and member activity rather than operational inefficiency.
The erratic working capital movements are likely a function of the company's custodial business model, where cash balances from HSA members fluctuate with payroll cycles, tax seasons, and investment activity. The large negative swings in Q1 of each year may correspond to tax-season withdrawals, while positive swings in Q3 and Q4 could reflect year-end contributions. This pattern suggests working capital is not a reliable indicator of operational health but rather a reflection of the underlying asset gathering cycle.
Aggressive Share Repurchases Signal Confidence
Management has deployed over $600M towards share repurchases over the last ten quarters, with no dividends paid, indicating a strong preference for returning capital to shareholders via buybacks rather than dividends.
The consistent and substantial share repurchase activity, accelerating to $107.7M in the latest quarter, suggests management believes the stock is undervalued and is confident in the company's long-term cash flow generation. This capital allocation strategy is appropriate for a high-growth company with strong free cash flow, as it avoids the commitment of a dividend while providing a mechanism to return excess capital. The absence of dividends is typical for companies in a growth phase that prefer to reinvest or repurchase shares.
Cash Flow Obscured by Acquisition Accounting
The cash flow statement may obscure the true underlying cash generation due to the significant impact of acquisition-related payments and the non-cash nature of stock-based compensation, which totaled $22.2M in the latest quarter.
The large acquisition outlay in 2025Q1 ($269.9M) created a temporary but severe distortion in the FCF profile, making it difficult to assess the core business's cash generation during that period. Furthermore, the consistent and material stock-based compensation expense, while a non-cash add-back, represents a real economic cost to shareholders through dilution. Investors should focus on the 'adjusted' free cash flow metric that excludes acquisition costs and adds back the full SBC expense to understand the true cash available for debt service, dividends, or further buybacks.