Operational cash flow remains robust with an OCF/NI ratio of 1.30 in 2026Q1, though capital allocation heavily favors fleet expansion over shareholder returns.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Jul'11 | Jul'10 | Jul'09 | Jul'08 | Jul'07 | Jul'06 | Jul'05 | Jul'04 | Jul'03 | Jul'02 | Jul'01 | Jul'00 | Jul'99 | Jul'98 | Jul'97 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 97.45M | 80.78M | 77.7M | 79.53M | 40.9M | 5.24M | 8.87M | 8.57M | 3.45M | -427.81K | -2.05M | -1.99M | -2.49M | -655.32K | -1.34M | 526.91K | -136.55K | -77.7K | -112.87K | -84.28K | -85.04K | -539.44K | 18.16K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 50.17% | 52.68% | 43.29% | 42.15% | 30.17% | 43.68% | 64.32% | 3.13% | -7.56% | -191.48% | -107.15% | -217.49% | -19.08% | -45.08% | 27.27% | -145.26% | - | - | - | -73.79% | -899.06% | 113.83% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 194.82% | 3.97% | -2.31% | 94.46% | 680.62% | -40.92% | 3.43% | 148.76% | 905.62% | 79.1% | -2.98% | 20.04% | -279.34% | 50.96% | -353.59% | 485.87% | -75.73% | 31.16% | -33.92% | 0.89% | 84.23% | -3070.15% | - |
| Net Income | 66.71M | 49.98M | 50.16M | 71.13M | 29.51M | -3.64M | -393.76K | -375.18K | 6.07M | -17.82M | 10.79M | -2.59M | -3.24M | -3.43M | -2.7M | -1.17M | -312.21K | -820.24K | -376.2K | -638.6K | -1.01M | -496.6K | -6.73K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 28.86M | 25.93M | 16.99M | 15.63M | 12.29M | 8.67M | 8.64M | 8.61M | 880.01K | 0 | 383.19K | 624.12K | 984.63K | 1.79M | 1.47M | 467.69K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.78K | 0 | 6.86K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 1.47M | 0 | 3.4M | 2.43M | 117.26K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 348.6K | 486.51K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -880.01K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 2.74M | 2.3M | 3.64M | 519.69K | 94.01K | 32.59K | 0 | 0 | 1.19M | 16.47M | -13.08M | -79.52K | 242.65K | 57.5K | 125K | 395.56K | -72.32K | 546.54K | 74.03K | 150.41K | 739.34K | 303.38K | 63.02K |
| Working Capital Changes | -1.81M | 2.57M | 3.5M | -10.19M | -1.11M | 171.93K | 617.44K | 335.46K | -4.17M | 434.56K | -134.94K | 56.59K | -469.15K | 925.55K | -230.47K | 834.18K | 247.99K | 196K | 189.3K | 403.9K | 172.26K | -346.21K | -44.99K |
| Change in Receivables | -5.31M | -618.63K | 42.73K | -6.48M | -6.5M | -333.06K | 927.7K | 132.37K | -4.77M | 19.05K | 823.3K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -3.14M | 2.59M | -15.23K | -1.91M | -5.25M | 577.15K | -704.52K | -70.99K | -1.15M | -87.09K | 41.49K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -60.96K | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 3.73M | 716.05K | -2.17M | 118.52K | 6.69M | 289.09K | 618.06K | 176.24K | -1.09M | 149.07K | -710.01K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -44.2M | -35.07M | -106.65M | 12.29M | -186.68M | -142.6K | -728K | 0 | -1.06M | 44.56K | 14.84M | -608.81K | 13.01M | -2.23M | -1.22M | -11.77M | -42.02K | 0 | 33.72K | -4K | -5.17K | 0 | 9.48K |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.68M | -1.71M | -74.67M | -28.15M | -118.68M | -142.6K | -728K | 0 | -1.19M | -104.84K | -434.41K | -872.81K | -661.17K | -2.11M | -1.69M | -11.58M | -42.02K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5.17K | 0 | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.88% | 1.06% | 50.63% | 15.32% | 122.32% | 0.82% | 3.59% | - | 1.08% | 1.85% | 40.64% | 47.05% | 57.84% | 61.45% | 57.1% | 599.29% | 44.7% | - | - | - | 4.48% | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.87M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.9K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | -31.98M | 241.67K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 131.78K | 64K | 15.25M | 139.52K | 13.7M | 0 | 145.98K | 178.8K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4K | 0 | 0 | 9.48K |
| Cash from Financing | -111.93M | -107.72M | 4.81M | -57.4M | 196.95M | -6.37M | -9.33M | -4.17M | -1.52M | 394.62K | -12.96M | 2.19M | -9.93M | 2.89M | 2.56M | 11.25M | 175.7K | 79.5K | 80.05K | 87.05K | 79.5K | 550.46K | -35.58K |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -128M | 0 | 0 | -70.44M | 42.44M | 28M | 0 | 0 | -1.52M | 354.62K | -12.96M | 2.19M | -9.38M | 3.75M | 2.68M | 12.33M | 175.7K | 79.5K | 62.53K | 39.5K | 62.5K | 125K | -139.82K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 58.36M | 58.72M | -2.5M | 23.18M | 168.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140K | 0 | 240K | 210K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -1.86M | -1.74M | -1.74M | -2.13M | -1.74M | -25.88M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -2.2M | 0 | -2.5M | -5.89M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -40.43M | -164.71M | 9.05M | -8.01M | -11.95M | -8.49M | -9.33M | -4.17M | 0 | 40K | 0 | 0 | -694.5K | -860K | -360K | -1.3M | 0 | 0 | 17.52K | 47.55K | 17K | 425.46K | 104.24K |
| Net Change in Cash | -54.65M | -62.01M | -24.14M | 34.42M | 51.17M | -1.28M | -1.19M | 4.41M | 872.36K | 11.37K | -168.72K | -402.79K | 588.66K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.87K | 1.79K | 894 | -1.24K | -10.71K | 11.02K | -7.94K |
| Free Cash Flow | 95.69M | 79.07M | 3.02M | 51.39M | -77.78M | 5.1M | 8.14M | 8.57M | 2.26M | -532.65K | -2.48M | -2.86M | -3.15M | -2.77M | -3.03M | -11.05M | -178.57K | -77.7K | -112.87K | -84.28K | -90.21K | -539.44K | 18.16K |
| FCF Margin % | 50.2% | 49.11% | 2.05% | 27.97% | -80.17% | 29.35% | 40.09% | 64.32% | 2.05% | -9.41% | -232.11% | -154.2% | -275.33% | -80.52% | -102.18% | -572.01% | -189.97% | - | - | - | -78.28% | -899.06% | 113.83% |
| FCF Growth % | 23.78% | 2515.61% | -94.12% | 166.06% | -1626.12% | -37.39% | -5.06% | 280.05% | 523.52% | 78.53% | 13.26% | 9.11% | -13.78% | 8.67% | 72.59% | -6088.8% | -129.8% | 31.16% | -33.92% | 6.57% | 83.28% | -3070.15% | - |
| FCF per Share | 2.01 | 2.18 | 0.09 | 2.24 | -9.06 | 16.01 | 25.57 | 3.26 | 1.19 | -0.44 | -2.03 | -2.63 | -4.11 | -3.79 | -4.34 | -4.65 | -0.11 | -0.07 | -0.13 | -0.09 | -0.14 | -1.32 | 0.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.43x | 1.62x | 1.55x | 1.12x | 1.39x | -1.44x | -22.51x | -22.86x | 0.57x | 0.02x | -0.19x | 0.77x | 0.77x | 0.19x | 0.50x | -0.45x | 0.44x | 0.09x | 0.30x | 0.13x | 0.08x | 1.09x | -2.70x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
High spot market volatility
As reported in financial statements, Imperial Petroleum's operating cash flow consistently exceeded net income over the last ten quarters, with an OCF/NI ratio reaching 1.30 in 2026Q1, suggesting that reported earnings are supported by strong cash generation rather than aggressive accounting accruals.
The persistent premium of operating cash flow over net income indicates that the company's earnings are not inflated by non-cash accounting entries. Investors should monitor whether this conversion quality remains sustainable if the company shifts toward more complex charter structures or if non-operating income components begin to dominate the bottom line.
Based on the provided cash flow data, free cash flow margins have demonstrated significant volatility, peaking at 83.5% in 2024Q3 before settling at 59.0% in 2026Q1, reflecting the company's high sensitivity to spot market rate fluctuations and the timing of vessel-related cash outflows.
The trajectory of free cash flow suggests that while the company is capable of generating substantial liquidity during favorable rate environments, the lack of consistency poses a challenge for long-term valuation. The sharp swings in FCF margins appear to be a direct consequence of the firm's spot-market exposure, which warrants caution regarding future cash flow predictability.
According to recent SEC filings, Imperial Petroleum's capital expenditure profile is characterized by extreme lumpy investments, highlighted by a 175.4% CapEx-to-revenue ratio in 2024Q1, which contrasts sharply with the near-zero maintenance spending observed in subsequent periods as the company prioritized fleet expansion.
The erratic nature of capital spending suggests that the company does not follow a predictable maintenance cycle, but rather engages in opportunistic asset acquisition. This strategy implies that future cash flows may be periodically suppressed by large, non-recurring outlays, making it difficult to forecast normalized free cash flow.
As evidenced by historical cash flow statements, the company has utilized its cash primarily for fleet expansion and minor share repurchases, with dividends remaining negligible at $441,000 in 2026Q1, indicating a clear management preference for asset accumulation over direct shareholder capital returns.
The deployment of capital appears heavily skewed toward scaling the fleet, which may be intended to capture greater market share in the tanker segment. Investors should consider whether this growth-at-all-costs approach will eventually yield a sustainable return on invested capital or if it will continue to necessitate dilutive equity financing.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying IMPP stock.
Imperial Petroleum Inc. (IMPP) generated $80.8M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Imperial Petroleum Inc. (IMPP) generated $79.1M 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.
Imperial Petroleum Inc. (IMPP) spent $1.7M 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, Imperial Petroleum Inc. (IMPP) returned $1.7M to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.