Capital intensity has normalized significantly, with CapEx as a percentage of revenue declining from 15.8% in 2025Q1 to 4.1% in 2026Q1, facilitating superior cash conversion efficiency.
| 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 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 176.8M | 164.75M | 140.71M | 173.05M | 139.77M | 128.1M | 31.44M | 63.25M | 58.76M | 49.45M | 43.73M | 38.24M | 31.25M | 36.09M | 26.05M | 22.56M | 25.98M | 26.08M | 23M | 30.14M | 35.22M | 31.01M | 25.73M | 22.4M | 20M | 14.71M | 12.45M | 11.13M | 8.6M | 9.6M | 5.3M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 30.22% | 26.95% | 34.51% | 29.25% | 32.4% | 17.05% | 25.38% | 24.45% | 21.43% | 20.15% | 18.91% | 16.64% | 19.12% | 15.29% | 16.04% | 18.29% | 19.5% | 16.27% | 18.85% | 23.18% | 22.19% | 19.88% | 19.32% | 18.01% | 14.07% | 12.84% | 14.11% | 13.76% | 16.24% | 9.89% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 113.3% | 17.08% | -18.69% | 23.81% | 9.11% | 307.4% | -50.28% | 7.64% | 18.81% | 13.09% | 14.35% | 22.39% | -13.42% | 38.53% | 15.45% | -13.15% | -0.4% | 13.39% | -23.68% | -14.43% | 13.57% | 20.52% | 14.88% | 12.02% | 35.98% | 18.16% | 11.82% | 29.43% | -10.42% | 81.13% | -25.35% |
| Net Income | 109.12M | 101.39M | 72.77M | 82.45M | 87.48M | 68.49M | 23.68M | 31.82M | 34.1M | 25.54M | 24.57M | 20.66M | 14.19M | 17.96M | 8.91M | 5.68M | 8.24M | 4.84M | 9.54M | 24.48M | 22.08M | 21.04M | 16.53M | 9.61M | 8.6M | 4.6M | 960.08K | -584.87K | 3.8M | 3.7M | 800K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 51.27M | 54.02M | 51.36M | 47.29M | 43.43M | 38.43M | 17.32M | 14.88M | 14.62M | 15.13M | 14.84M | 15.93M | 17.82M | 16.64M | 16.65M | 13.38M | 13.28M | 12.5M | 9.91M | 8.29M | 8.6M | 8.52M | 9.8M | 10.98M | 10.5M | 10.26M | 10.28M | 7.92M | 4.6M | 4.3M | 4.1M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 8.22M | 8.4M | 7.86M | 7.48M | 5.17M | 4.06M | 3.85M | 8.2M | 5.47M | 7.09M | 1.68M | 1.54M | 1.23M | 1.22M | 1.37M | 1.62M | 1.74M | 2.05M | 2.31B | 2.27B | 3.27B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -1.72M | -1.72M | -9.74M | 68K | 3.4M | 6.53M | 15.77M | 1.34M | -483K | 3.81M | 798K | -241K | 336K | 795.04K | -240.3K | -2.38M | -731.95K | 1.92M | -55.08K | -1.54M | -1.34M | -766.82K | 1.08M | 277.84K | 189.52K | 1.31M | 1.05M | -324.28K | 0 | 400K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -69K | -5K | 89K | 699K | 1.64M | 1.35M | 1.08M | 727K | 643K | 645K | 424K | -296K | -380K | -162.5K | 291.12K | 3.77M | 1.17M | 1.32M | -2.31B | -2.27B | -3.27B | 508.88K | 566.96K | 609.11K | 600.29K | -24.85K | -138.69K | 184.21K | 900K | -200K | 1.3M |
| Working Capital Changes | 9.97M | 2.67M | 18.37M | 35.06M | -1.35M | 9.24M | -30.27M | 6.28M | 4.41M | -2.76M | 1.42M | 642K | -1.95M | -364.37K | -930.75K | 493.57K | 2.29M | 3.45M | 103.63K | -3.9M | 1.66M | 1.72M | -2.24M | 931.27K | 105.29K | -1.44M | 303.91K | 3.94M | -700K | 1.4M | -900K |
| Change in Receivables | 3.42M | -1.85M | 982K | 21.36M | 1.12M | -7.44M | -23.15M | 1.09M | 92K | -1.99M | -1.38M | -922K | -470K | 58.74M | -31.11M | 884.61M | -1.71B | 2.09M | 0 | -2.25B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -73K | 207K | -1.68M | -56K | -399K | 664K | -1.09M | -3.04M | -357K | -238K | -216K | -35K | -171K | -292.34K | -124.69K | -281.29K | -176.95K | -142.52K | -68.3K | -24.38K | -15.21K | -3.76K | -206.73K | -252.71K | -17.12K | 123.14K | 357.32K | -709.24K | 100K | -200K | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 6.6M | 3.68M | 18.15M | 8.67M | -4.16M | 6.92M | -5.38M | 5.86M | 3M | -431K | 1.97M | -1.19M | -733K | 604K | -898.47K | -1.52M | 1.23M | -1.23M | -626.9M | 2.25B | 1.26B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -28.64M | -37.17M | -43.79M | -51.23M | -47.97M | -37.79M | -46.39M | -134.92M | -125.75M | -46.69M | -24.89M | -38.02M | -19.84M | -12.35M | -77.06M | -17.39M | -6.8M | -21.17M | -64.41M | -15.31M | -5.76M | -6.07M | -9.11M | -7.84M | -4.9M | -3.21M | -2.79M | -38.26M | -26.1M | -1.7M | -1.5M |
| Capital Expenditures | -22.06M | -36.32M | -47.43M | -49.01M | -39.48M | -46.93M | -88.67M | -125.37M | -137.07M | -49.99M | -26.12M | -37.68M | -21.72M | -12.4M | -10.33M | -13.59M | -6.81M | -15.85M | -67.88M | -17.29M | -5.8M | -6.11M | -9.15M | -8M | -4.8M | -3.38M | -2.26M | 0 | -26.1M | -1.9M | -1.6M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.96% | 6.66% | 9.08% | 9.77% | 8.26% | 11.87% | 48.08% | 50.31% | 57.04% | 21.67% | 12.04% | 18.63% | 11.57% | 6.57% | 6.06% | 9.66% | 4.8% | 11.85% | 48.02% | 10.81% | 3.81% | 4.37% | 7.07% | 6.9% | 4.33% | 3.24% | 2.34% | - | 41.76% | 3.21% | 2.99% |
| Acquisitions | 16K | 41K | 0 | 0 | 440K | 22K | 31K | 72K | 0 | 86K | 29K | 34K | 0 | 0 | -66.75M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -31.96M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -6.6M | -892K | 3.65M | -2.22M | -8.93M | 9.12M | 42.24M | -9.62M | 11.33M | 3.3M | 1.23M | -349K | 1.87M | 48.19K | 13.6K | -3.8M | 16K | -5.32M | 3.48M | 1.98M | 38.28K | 41.64K | 38.95K | 154.87K | -98.5K | 171.95K | -521.06K | -6.29M | 0 | 200K | 100K |
| Cash from Financing | -103.13M | -89.87M | -81.53M | -117.24M | -86.54M | -85.1M | -17.28M | 101.75M | 68.3M | -13.62M | -13.62M | -635K | -9.15M | -23.45M | 56.47M | -5.39M | -19.8M | -2.25M | 14.33M | -12.98M | -5.37M | -23.87M | -14.52M | -14.81M | -13.52M | -9.89M | -9.25M | 28.58M | 16.9M | -6.3M | -3.5M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | -5.5M | -1.5M | -83M | -92.5M | -16.61M | 101.75M | 68.3M | 0 | -14.7M | -5.4M | -7.5M | -27.3M | 56.42M | -3.92M | -19.9M | -2.27M | 50M | 0 | -8.1M | -24.3M | -14.78M | -13.5M | -13.65M | -9.89M | -9.25M | 28.58M | 17M | -6.3M | -3.2M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -79.35M | -65.67M | -51.75M | -5.03M | 3.34M | 8.13M | 3.76M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52.99K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -35.67M | -13.27M | 2.21M | 429.86K | 265.75K | -1.31M | 126.12K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100K | -300K |
| Dividends Paid | -21.72M | -21.89M | -22.27M | -112.82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -90.46M | -72.72M | -59.97M | -5.03M | -6.5M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -35.67M | -13.87M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.43M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100K | -300K |
| Other Financing | -2.06M | -2.3M | -2.01M | 2.11M | -6.88M | -730K | -4.43M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.08M | 4.76M | -1.65M | 3.85M | 0 | -1.47M | 99.84K | 19.68K | 0 | 292.76K | 519.75K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100K | 100K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 45.03M | 37.71M | 15.4M | 4.58M | 5.25M | 5.22M | -32.23M | 30.08M | 1.31M | 2.77M | 5.22M | -419K | 2.25M | 286.33K | 5.46M | -217.94K | -619.72K | 2.66M | -27.08M | 1.85M | 24.1M | 1.07M | 2.1M | -250.17K | 1.58M | 1.6M | 416.49K | 1.45M | -5.5M | -4M | -3.6M |
| Free Cash Flow | 154.74M | 128.43M | 93.28M | 124.04M | 100.29M | 81.17M | -57.22M | -62.12M | -78.32M | -536K | 17.61M | 565K | 9.53M | 23.69M | 15.72M | 8.97M | 19.16M | 10.24M | -44.88M | 12.85M | 29.43M | 24.9M | 16.58M | 14.4M | 15.2M | 11.32M | 10.18M | 11.13M | -17.5M | 7.7M | 3.7M |
| FCF Margin % | 27.82% | 23.56% | 17.86% | 24.74% | 20.99% | 20.53% | -31.03% | -24.93% | -32.59% | -0.23% | 8.11% | 0.28% | 5.07% | 12.55% | 9.23% | 6.38% | 13.49% | 7.66% | -31.75% | 8.04% | 19.36% | 17.81% | 12.81% | 12.42% | 13.69% | 10.83% | 10.5% | 14.11% | -28% | 13.03% | 6.9% |
| FCF Growth % | 73.37% | 37.68% | -24.8% | 23.68% | 23.55% | 241.86% | 7.88% | 20.68% | -14511.57% | -103.04% | 3016.28% | -94.07% | -59.78% | 50.67% | 75.23% | -53.19% | 87.2% | 122.81% | -449.23% | -56.33% | 18.18% | 50.15% | 15.13% | -5.21% | 34.2% | 11.2% | -8.52% | 163.61% | -327.27% | 108.11% | -31.48% |
| FCF per Share | 8.50 | 6.85 | 4.92 | 6.32 | 5.12 | 4.18 | -3.03 | -3.32 | -4.22 | -0.03 | 1.00 | 0.03 | 0.56 | 1.40 | 0.97 | 0.55 | 1.18 | 0.63 | -2.64 | 0.66 | 1.53 | 1.30 | 0.88 | 0.77 | 0.80 | 0.60 | 0.54 | 0.59 | -0.92 | 0.41 | 0.19 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.42x | 1.62x | 1.93x | 2.10x | 1.60x | 1.87x | 1.33x | 1.99x | 1.72x | 1.94x | 1.78x | 1.85x | 2.20x | 2.01x | 2.92x | 3.98x | 3.15x | 5.39x | 2.41x | 1.23x | 1.60x | 1.47x | 1.56x | 2.33x | 2.32x | 3.20x | 12.96x | -19.03x | 2.26x | 2.74x | 6.63x |
| Interest Paid | 125K | 0 | 986K | 1.97M | 1.45M | 3.07M | 0 | 0 | 186K | 426K | 206K | 374K | 853K | 1.47M | 1.66M | 532.79K | 1.14M | 1.95M | 398.12K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 4.2M | 0 | 29.76M | 25.63M | 15.62M | 12.41M | 0 | 6.32M | 7.3M | 11.95M | 12.38M | 10.93M | 7.3M | 10.69M | 6.5M | 3.65M | 5M | 2.24M | 3.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Regional gaming tax volatility
As reported in recent financial statements, Monarch Casino & Resort consistently generates operating cash flow significantly exceeding net income, with an OCF/NI ratio reaching as high as 8.98 in 2024Q4, suggesting that non-cash depreciation charges are masking the company's true underlying cash-generating capacity for investors.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow indicates that the company's accounting earnings are conservative relative to its actual liquidity generation. This suggests that the heavy depreciation burden from the Black Hawk expansion is a non-cash drag that obscures the firm's ability to fund operations and capital returns internally.
Based on the provided quarterly data, Monarch's free cash flow margins have demonstrated a clear upward trend, peaking at 37.5% in 2025Q3, which reflects the successful transition from a capital-intensive construction phase to a period of optimized operational cash flow generation across its resort portfolio.
The trajectory of free cash flow suggests that the company has successfully moved past the peak investment cycle, allowing a greater portion of operating cash to be converted into discretionary capital. Investors should monitor whether this margin expansion remains sustainable as competitive pressures in the regional gaming market potentially necessitate higher reinvestment.
According to historical quarterly filings, Monarch's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue has declined from a peak of 15.8% in 2025Q1 to 4.1% in 2026Q1, indicating a shift toward maintenance-focused spending rather than the aggressive growth-oriented outlays that characterized the recent Black Hawk resort development.
The reduction in capital intensity suggests that the company is now in a harvest phase where the existing asset base requires less incremental funding to maintain its competitive position. This shift appears to be a primary driver of the company's improved free cash flow profile and its ability to sustain shareholder returns.
As indicated by the company's reported figures, Monarch has utilized its robust free cash flow to aggressively return capital to shareholders, with buybacks totaling $41.4M in 2025Q4, while simultaneously maintaining a consistent dividend policy that underscores management's commitment to fiscal discipline and shareholder value creation.
The combination of share repurchases and steady dividends suggests that management views the current equity valuation as attractive relative to the company's long-term cash generation. This capital deployment strategy appears to be supported by a fortress balance sheet, allowing for flexibility even during periods of market volatility.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying MCRI stock.
Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (MCRI) generated $164.7M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (MCRI) generated $128.4M 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.
Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (MCRI) spent $36.3M 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, Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (MCRI) returned $21.9M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $72.7M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.