Free cash flow remains highly erratic, swinging from a negative $213.0 million in 2024Q3 to a positive $106.6 million in 2026Q1, reflecting the lumpy nature of cargo-based revenue.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 241.46M | 134.01M | 678.25M | 765.17M | 1.13B | 374.34M | 196.15M | 628.15M | 260.49M | 236.62M | 52.08M | 440.78M | 443.59M | 522.4M | 371.53M | 364.91M | -191.8M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 10.33% | 40.48% | 44.97% | 50.35% | 28.1% | 24.4% | 41.89% | 29.38% | 40.93% | 16.78% | 98.68% | 51.83% | 61.37% | 55.62% | 54.65% | -3754.16% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 11437.65% | -80.24% | -11.36% | -32.31% | 201.99% | 90.85% | -68.77% | 141.14% | 10.09% | 354.36% | -88.19% | -0.63% | -15.09% | 40.61% | 1.81% | 290.25% | - |
| Net Income | -814.75M | -699.79M | 189.85M | 213.52M | 226.55M | -77.84M | -411.59M | -55.78M | -93.99M | -222.79M | -283.78M | -69.84M | 279.37M | -91.04M | -67.03M | 22.36M | -245.67M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 564.57M | 564.66M | 502.68M | 444.93M | 508.66M | 773.57M | 495.21M | 573.12M | 339.21M | 265.41M | 150.61M | 166.29M | 208.63M | 233.6M | 194.69M | 140.47M | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 25.54M | 27.95M | 37.95M | 42.69M | 34.55M | 31.65M | 32.71M | 32.37M | 35.23M | 39.91M | 40.08M | 75.06M | 79.54M | 69.03M | 83.42M | 50.97M | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -57.56M | -6.74M | -52.17M | -107.56M | -197.49M | -69.17M | 0 | 0 | 9.14M | 9.51M | -23.56M | 110.79M | 216.41M | 82.38M | 80.04M | 56.46M | -77.61M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 454.14M | 247.92M | 43.82M | 237.54M | 407.53M | -216.49M | 144.99M | -27.16M | -45.23M | 153.12M | 254.89M | 92.08M | -290.48M | 102.16M | 35.33M | 132.07M | 179.49M |
| Working Capital Changes | 69.51M | 0 | -43.88M | -65.95M | 150.68M | -67.38M | -65.18M | 105.6M | 16.12M | -8.53M | -86.16M | 66.4M | -49.88M | 126.28M | 45.08M | -37.41M | -48M |
| Change in Receivables | 33.4M | 0 | -63.33M | -966.88M | 68.83M | -34.25M | 92.09M | -29.73M | -125.56M | -20.62M | -111.73M | -292.44M | -693.72M | -337.91M | -381M | -903.68M | -178.97M |
| Change in Inventory | 31.99M | 0 | 4.99M | -45.67M | 10.34M | -14.58M | -23.17M | -28.97M | 8.85M | 1.65M | -4.11M | -29.86M | -8.1M | -16.76M | -7.38M | 4.18M | -12.7M |
| Change in Payables | 0 | 0 | 14.46M | -4.06M | 3.72M | -33.36M | 0 | 0 | 7.44M | -94.43M | -75.49M | 111.29M | 90.23M | -34.68M | -126.4M | 89.21M | 65.8M |
| Cash from Investing | -365.55M | -401.2M | -966.06M | -994.85M | -703.86M | -973.38M | -345.59M | -363.93M | -985.14M | -152.56M | -537.76M | -800.24M | -347.68M | -324.13M | -402.66M | -385.14M | -589.98M |
| Capital Expenditures | -82.52M | 0 | -933.66M | -932.6M | -809.38M | -938M | -379.59M | -352.01M | -1.18B | -143.35M | -537.97M | -825.13M | -426.92M | -322.38M | -378.98M | -483.25M | -446.16M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 6.01% | 24.23% | 55.73% | 54.81% | 36.05% | 70.42% | 47.21% | 23.48% | 133.48% | 24.8% | 173.33% | 184.72% | 49.88% | 37.87% | 56.74% | 72.38% | 8732.9% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.7M | 6.35M | 0 | 0 | -961.76M | -231.28M | 210K | 28.69M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -283.03M | -401.2M | -32.4M | -62.25M | -63.18M | -41.73M | 34.01M | -11.92M | 13.7M | 222.07M | 210K | 24.89M | 79.24M | -1.75M | -23.68M | 98.11M | -143.81M |
| Cash from Financing | 242.55M | 299.65M | 274.32M | 141.62M | -414.7M | 624.16M | 69.86M | -220.49M | 605.28M | -52.26M | 448.02M | 79.63M | -139.18M | -115.33M | -126.8M | 592.91M | 742.68M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 100M | 0 | 360.77M | 155M | -405M | 514.38M | 100M | -143.46M | 850M | -50M | 450M | 106.77M | -106M | -100M | -110M | 65M | 760M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 136.01M | -4.95M | -1.98M | -206.05M | -2.19M | -1.98M | -18.11M | -11.1M | -13.1M | -8.38M | 580.37M | -17.32M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | -166K | -655K | -512K | -19.27M | -72.6M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4.95M | -1.98M | -206.05M | -2.19M | -1.98M | -18.11M | -11.1M | -13.1M | -8.38M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 142.55M | 299.65M | -86.45M | -13.21M | -9.04M | -25.7M | -5.92M | -2.44M | -38.67M | -67K | 0 | -9.03M | -22.09M | -2.23M | -8.42M | -52.47M | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 118.45M | 32.47M | -13.48M | -88.06M | 11.93M | 25.13M | -79.58M | 43.73M | -119.37M | 31.79M | -37.67M | -279.83M | -43.28M | 82.94M | -157.93M | 572.68M | -39.09M |
| Free Cash Flow | 17.29M | -180.4M | -255.41M | -167.43M | 321.1M | -563.65M | -183.45M | 276.14M | -923.01M | 93.26M | -485.9M | -384.35M | 16.67M | 200.02M | -7.45M | -118.34M | -637.96M |
| FCF Margin % | 1.26% | -13.9% | -15.25% | -9.84% | 14.3% | -42.32% | -22.82% | 18.42% | -104.1% | 16.13% | -156.55% | -86.04% | 1.95% | 23.5% | -1.12% | -17.72% | -12487.06% |
| FCF Growth % | 105.68% | 29.37% | -52.54% | -152.14% | 156.97% | -207.26% | -166.43% | 129.92% | -1089.68% | 119.19% | -26.42% | -2405.89% | -91.67% | 2783.4% | 93.7% | 81.45% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.03 | -0.38 | -0.54 | -0.35 | 0.68 | -1.35 | -0.45 | 0.69 | -2.28 | 0.24 | -1.26 | -1.00 | 0.04 | 0.53 | -0.02 | -0.30 | -1.70 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.02x | -0.19x | 3.57x | 3.58x | 4.99x | -4.81x | -0.48x | -11.26x | -2.77x | -1.06x | -0.18x | -6.31x | 1.59x | -5.74x | -5.54x | 16.32x | 0.78x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74.64M | 85.79M | 91.03M | 103.67M | 99.93M | 83.83M | 55.38M | 27.86M | 33.31M | 23.18M | 36.31M | 41.23M | 56.84M | 52.47M |
| Taxes Paid | 23.79M | 0 | 281M | 281.87M | 247.89M | 137.42M | 0 | 0 | 45.98M | 48.81M | 14M | 35.86M | 108.07M | 68.44M | 22.02M | 15.55M | 762K |
Liquidity and project execution
As reported in recent financial filings, the persistent gap between net losses and operating cash flow, exemplified by the 2026Q1 OCF/NI ratio of -0.47, indicates that reported earnings are heavily distorted by non-cash charges and the immediate expensing of exploration costs under successful efforts accounting.
The lack of correlation between net income and operating cash flow suggests that headline earnings provide little insight into the company's actual ability to generate liquidity. Investors should monitor whether this divergence persists as the company attempts to transition toward more stable LNG-based cash flows.
Based on the company's reported figures, free cash flow remains highly erratic, swinging from a negative $213.0 million in 2024Q3 to a positive $106.6 million in 2026Q1, reflecting the lumpy nature of cargo-based revenue recognition and the heavy burden of ongoing capital development projects.
The inability to maintain consistent positive free cash flow suggests that the company's current operational scale is insufficient to cover both its debt service and the capital intensity of its frontier assets. This trajectory warrants caution until the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project reaches a sustained production phase.
According to historical data, capital expenditures have remained a significant drain on liquidity, with the CapEx/Revenue ratio peaking at 75.1% in 2024Q1, underscoring the company's reliance on heavy reinvestment to sustain production levels across its deepwater portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico and Africa.
The high capital intensity suggests that the company is in a perpetual state of asset replacement and development, which limits the potential for near-term shareholder returns. The reduction in reported CapEx in 2026Q1 may indicate a strategic pivot or a temporary pause in development that requires further investigation.
As evidenced by the significant working capital swings, such as the $69.5 million inflow in 2025Q2 followed by a $27.4 million outflow in 2025Q1, the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of cargo liftings and the settlement of production sharing contract obligations.
These fluctuations imply that the company's cash flow is subject to operational timing risks that can mask underlying liquidity constraints. Investors should monitor whether these working capital movements are indicative of structural inefficiencies in the collection process or merely the standard volatility of international oil cargo sales.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying KOS stock.
Kosmos Energy Ltd. (KOS) generated $134.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Kosmos Energy Ltd. (KOS) reported negative free cash flow of $180.4M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Kosmos Energy Ltd. (KOS) 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.