Free cash flow ranged from negative $113.6M in 2025Q4 to $569.2M in 2026Q2 as net acquisition outflows of $835.8M in 2026Q3 absorbed most excess cash, indicating M&A rather than shareholder returns is the primary capital use.
Matador Resources Company (MTDR) cash flow statement — 17-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 2.48B | 2.43B | 2.25B | 1.87B | 1.98B | 1.05B | 477.58M | 552.04M | 608.52M | 299.13M | 134.09M | 208.53M | 251.48M | 179.47M | 124.23M | 61.87M | 27.27M | 1.79M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 66.32% | 64.59% | 66.29% | 64.71% | 63.34% | 55.84% | 53.71% | 67.64% | 54.96% | 50.71% | 65.96% | 58.34% | 68.79% | 75.22% | 92.34% | 80.12% | 9.41% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 16.58% | 7.93% | 20.29% | -5.61% | 87.85% | 120.56% | -13.49% | -9.28% | 103.43% | 123.08% | -35.7% | -17.08% | 40.12% | 44.47% | 100.79% | 126.85% | 1422.74% | - |
| Net Income | 719.45M | 860.77M | 971.34M | 910.36M | 1.29B | 640.64M | -553.56M | 122.98M | 299.76M | 138.01M | -97.06M | -679.52M | 110.75M | 45.09M | -33.26M | -10.31M | 6.38M | -14.43M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.26B | 1.2B | 974.3M | 716.69M | 466.35M | 344.9M | 363.78M | 352.36M | 266.67M | 178.79M | 122.05M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 21.21M | 18.33M | 14.98M | 13.66M | 15.12M | 9.04M | 13.63M | 18.5M | 17.2M | 16.65M | 12.36M | 9.45M | 5.52M | 3.9M | 140K | 2.41M | 898K | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 160.71M | 165.59M | 265.31M | 172.1M | 344.48M | 74.71M | -45.6M | 35.53M | -7.24M | 0 | 0 | -150.33M | 64.24M | 9.29M | -1.43M | -5.47M | 4.93M | -7.6M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 280.79M | 8.79M | 7.88M | 4.99M | -15.59M | -14.95M | 722.41M | 57.18M | -32.31M | -9.27M | 94.92M | 1.02B | 76.94M | 127.4M | 149.47M | 62.65M | 12.84M | 39.53M |
| Working Capital Changes | -27.96M | 176.19M | 13.08M | 50.03M | -117.94M | -982K | -23.08M | -34.52M | 64.43M | -25.06M | 1.81M | 8.98M | -5.98M | -6.21M | 9.31M | 12.59M | 2.23M | -15.72M |
| Change in Receivables | -294.88M | 114.28M | -138.14M | 48.14M | -228.38M | -98.46M | 53M | -43.26M | -4.93M | -82.55M | -14.26M | 3.63M | -13.32M | -2.16M | -16.34M | -1.52M | -386K | 408.71K |
| Change in Inventory | -7.65M | -35.31M | -10.93M | -3.03M | -2.85M | -1.54M | -655K | 4.78M | -12.18M | -3.62M | -700K | -180K | -211K | 243K | 50K | 21K | -8K | -799.84K |
| Change in Payables | 192.11M | -8.93M | 33.75M | 2.81M | 63.45M | 76.89M | -43.84M | -19M | 68.65M | 33.56M | 6.61M | 1.38M | 607K | -3.64M | 19.74M | 13.5M | 2.49M | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -3.97B | -2.16B | -3.67B | -3.21B | -1.04B | -729.26M | -775.67M | -903.98M | -1.52B | -819.28M | -448.74M | -425.15M | -570.53M | -366.94M | -306.92M | -160.09M | -147.33M | -49.42M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.51B | -339.13M | -454.44M | -187.66M | -230.89M | -238.61M | -72.81M | -50.77M | -652.86M | -5.69M | -74.84M | -64.5M | -9.15M | -3.98M | -7.33M | -161.1M | -160.66M | -54.55M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 36.92% | 9.27% | 13.06% | 6.66% | 7.55% | 14.35% | 8.51% | 4.94% | 72.57% | 1.05% | 28.31% | 20.4% | 2.12% | 1.52% | 4.44% | 240.45% | 471.95% | 286.53% |
| Acquisitions | -2.04B | 3.26M | -1.72B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -24.03M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -420.56M | -1.82B | -1.5B | -3.02B | -806.59M | -490.66M | -702.86M | -853.21M | -862.4M | -813.6M | -373.89M | -336.63M | -561.38M | -363.13M | -300.69M | 104 | -52 | 28.73K |
| Cash from Financing | 1.47B | -282.6M | 1.41B | 902.33M | -480.85M | -328.55M | 324.34M | 333.08M | 888.23M | 408.5M | 467.71M | 224.94M | 321.17M | 191.66M | 174.5M | 87.44M | 36.89M | 1.09M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 1.73B | 68.09M | 1.14B | 1.05B | -364.3M | -289M | 231M | 283M | 705.72M | 0 | 184.63M | 48.02M | 140M | 50M | 37M | 88M | 25M | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -29.34M | -55.85M | 344.66M | -22.91M | -19.24M | -8.21M | -1.56M | -3.69M | -6.47M | -5.76M | -1.95M | -1.61M | -308K | -18K | 0 | -281K | 12.17M | 79.08K |
| Dividends Paid | -185.75M | -163.1M | -104.88M | -77.17M | -35.25M | -14.58M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -96K | -274.85K | -274.85K | -274.85K |
| Share Repurchases | -29.34M | -55.85M | 0 | -22.91M | -19.24M | -8.21M | -1.56M | -3.69M | -6.47M | -5.76M | -1.95M | -1.61M | -308K | -18K | 0 | 0 | -10.29M | -32.07M |
| Other Financing | -43.9M | -131.75M | 34.58M | -49.38M | -62.06M | -16.76M | 94.89M | 53.77M | 188.98M | 414.26M | 285.03M | 178.54M | 181.48M | 141.68M | 174.59M | 0 | 0 | 1.28M |
| Net Change in Cash | -26.27M | -15.27M | -11.56M | -441.03M | 460.41M | -4.46M | 26.25M | -18.86M | -18.5M | -116.38M | 196.15M | 8.32M | 2.12M | 4.19M | -8.19M | -10.78M | -83.17M | -46.54M |
| Free Cash Flow | 570.43M | 241.64M | 280.04M | 318.02M | 894.75M | 319.88M | -302.87M | -373.86M | -915.06M | -521.14M | -319.83M | -288.68M | -318.52M | -187.7M | -183.79M | -99.23M | -133.39M | -52.76M |
| FCF Margin % | 13.96% | 6.61% | 8.05% | 11.29% | 29.26% | 19.23% | -35.42% | -36.37% | -101.72% | -95.75% | -120.95% | -91.31% | -73.9% | -71.95% | -111.28% | -148.11% | -391.83% | -277.12% |
| FCF Growth % | 37.87% | -13.71% | -11.94% | -64.46% | 179.72% | 205.61% | 18.99% | 59.14% | -75.59% | -62.94% | -10.79% | 9.37% | -69.7% | -2.13% | -85.21% | 25.6% | -152.82% | - |
| FCF per Share | 4.60 | 1.94 | 2.26 | 2.65 | 7.45 | 2.68 | -2.61 | -3.19 | -8.05 | -5.08 | -3.50 | -3.54 | -4.49 | -3.19 | -3.41 | -2.14 | -3.14 | -1.31 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.79x | 3.19x | 2.54x | 2.21x | 1.63x | 1.80x | -0.81x | 6.29x | 2.22x | 2.38x | -1.38x | -0.31x | 2.27x | 3.98x | -3.73x | -6.00x | 4.28x | -0.12x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 160.27M | 111.74M | 72.56M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 30M | 4.6M | 63.5M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying MTDR stock.
Matador Resources Company (MTDR) generated $2.43B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Matador Resources Company (MTDR) generated $241.6M 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.
Matador Resources Company (MTDR) spent $339.1M 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, Matador Resources Company (MTDR) returned $163.1M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $55.8M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Acquisition-driven capex and volatile FCF
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Operating Cash Conversion Diverges From Earnings
According to reported quarterly figures, MTDR's operating cash flow exceeded net income in most recent quarters, with OCF/NI ratios ranging from 2.40 to 4.09 outside of the 2026Q1 loss quarter, suggesting large non-cash charges are depressing reported earnings.
The consistently high OCF-to-net-income multiples are driven largely by depletion, depreciation and amortization of roughly $280M to $340M per quarter, which the data indicates is the dominant reconciling item. This pattern suggests the reported earnings base understates cash generation from the Delaware Basin assets. Investors should monitor whether the ratio persists as DD&A evolves with acquired asset bases, since a sustained gap of this size warrants scrutiny of how impairments and tax items are being recognized.
Free Cash Flow Lumpy Across Acquisition Quarters
Based on reported quarterly data, MTDR's free cash flow swung from $569.2M in 2026Q2 to negative $113.6M in 2025Q4, with FCF margins ranging from -13.4% to 48.0%, indicating that cash generation is highly sensitive to the timing of capital deployment.
The volatility in FCF appears to reflect the interaction between operating cash generation and lumpy capex rather than a deterioration in underlying operations. Over the ten-quarter window, the average FCF margin is far below the peak quarters, which suggests that headline single-quarter figures may overstate the repeatable cash yield. The reported figures alone do not establish whether the 2026 spike reflects structural improvement or timing benefits from working capital.
Capex Intensity Tracks Acquisition Timing
As reported in financial statements, MTDR's capex-to-revenue ratio ranged from 4.7% to 69.3% across recent quarters, with the 2025Q4 and 2026Q2 peaks of 69.3% and 31.0% coinciding with heavy development and acquisition spending.
The wide range in capital intensity indicates that the company's reinvestment cycle is episodic and tied to acquisition closings and drilling pace, rather than a steady maintenance run-rate. Because the data does not separate maintenance from growth capex, it is difficult to judge how much of the spending is required simply to hold production flat. This limitation suggests investors should treat peak-quarter capex as a poor proxy for steady-state reinvestment needs.
Acquisitions Absorb Most Excess Cash Flow
According to recent SEC filings, MTDR's net acquisition outflows reached roughly $835.8M in 2026Q3 and $1.2B in 2026Q2, while dividends remained a steady near $40M to $47M per quarter, indicating that M&A rather than shareholder returns is the primary use of capital.
The scale of acquisition spending relative to the stable dividend and modest buyback levels suggests management is prioritizing acreage and infrastructure growth over immediate capital returns. This allocation may be sensible if acquired assets generate returns above the cost of capital, but the reported figures do not allow that return to be verified. Investors should monitor post-acquisition free cash flow to confirm that deployment is accretive.
Bear Case Rests on Cash Flow Dependence
Based on reported quarterly figures, MTDR's FCF turned negative in 2025Q4 despite positive operating cash flow of $474.4M, a pattern that suggests the equity story depends on capex discipline staying aligned with commodity-driven cash generation.
A bearish reading holds that the strong operating cash flow is partly a function of commodity prices and working capital timing, and that capex spikes can quickly erase free cash flow when prices soften. The data does not confirm whether the acquisition-related outflows will generate the forecast returns, so the cash deployment case remains unproven on reported figures. Investors should monitor whether operating cash flow holds up if oil and gas prices decline.