Liquidity remains constrained with cash reserves dwindling to $8.5 million, while capital allocation appears fragmented following a $298.2 million share repurchase in 2026Q4 despite significant debt-related pressures.
| Metric | Mar'26 | Mar'25 | Mar'24 | Mar'23 | Mar'22 | Mar'21 | Mar'20 | Mar'19 | Mar'18 | Mar'17 | Mar'16 | Mar'15 | Mar'14 | Mar'13 | Mar'12 | Mar'11 | Mar'10 | Mar'09 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 365.95M | 297.46M | 297.46M | 445.19M | 205.85M | 303.99M | 464.06M | 337.25M | 137.97M | -26.82M | 351.5M | 262.39M | 85.24M | 132.23M | 90.33M | -30.75M | 7.48M | 22.46M |
| Operating CF Margin % | 11.59% | 8.57% | 7.16% | 7.84% | 2.59% | 5.82% | 6.12% | 3.88% | 0.82% | -0.21% | 2.99% | 1.56% | 0.88% | 2.99% | 6.89% | -4.18% | 0.92% | 3.06% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 23.02% | 0% | -33.18% | 116.27% | -32.29% | -34.49% | 37.6% | 144.44% | 614.34% | -107.63% | 33.96% | 207.84% | -35.54% | 46.39% | 393.76% | -511.08% | -66.69% | - |
| Net Income | -139.16M | 43.16M | 43.16M | 52.49M | -184.1M | -639.19M | -398.78M | 339.39M | -69.61M | 143.87M | -187.1M | 29.88M | 48.76M | 48.19M | 7.86M | -2.56M | 8.04M | 4.87M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 268.73M | 267.25M | 267.25M | 290.88M | 306.21M | 331.2M | 276.85M | 221.67M | 225.74M | 237.79M | 249.21M | 210.47M | 132.65M | 77.51M | 17.19M | 1.82M | 3.75M | 3.29M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 11.21M | 0 | 0 | 2.72M | -1.05M | 6.73M | 26.51M | 41.37M | 35.24M | 53.1M | 51.56M | 32.77M | 14.05M | 8.67M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 587.61M | 0 | 216.23M | 225.44M | -154.96M | 195.92M | -173.96M | 47.53M | 11.65M | 324K | -1.42M | 2.19M | 3.17M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 296.48M | 96.55M | 96.55M | 100.94M | 221.31M | 7.18M | 519.79M | -405.03M | -156.82M | -21.24M | -82.72M | 127K | 312K | 375K | 79K | -28.6M | -4.01M | 5.17M |
| Working Capital Changes | -71.3M | -109.49M | -109.49M | -1.84M | -136.52M | 10.46M | 39.69M | -76.38M | -122.02M | -285.4M | 124.61M | 163.1M | -158.07M | -14.16M | 69.87M | -63.14M | -1.56M | 5.86M |
| Change in Receivables | -80.02M | 114.42M | 114.42M | 86.63M | -397.61M | -162.03M | 436.35M | -185.72M | -272.99M | -269.43M | 505.54M | 41.66M | 39.39M | 2.43M | -20.18M | 203K | -10.61M | 15.14M |
| Change in Inventory | -6.68M | 9.94M | 9.94M | 85.05M | -119.81M | -92.73M | 29.78M | -10.09M | -7.65M | -192.19M | 74.69M | 243.29M | -73.32M | 18.43M | 30.27M | -59.6M | 8.04M | -188K |
| Change in Payables | 30.58M | -145.99M | -145.99M | -155.88M | 405.42M | 207.5M | -375.26M | 87.74M | 195.34M | 239.05M | -439.71M | -53.09M | -78.79M | -17.28M | 35.75M | -3.74M | 4.35M | -11.85M |
| Cash from Investing | -12.91M | -122.81M | -122.81M | 64.19M | -212.41M | -221.49M | -1.44B | 453.47M | 270.58M | -363.13M | -445.33M | -1.37B | -1.46B | -546.22M | -296.9M | 333K | -2.83M | -3.28M |
| Capital Expenditures | -221.28M | -245.82M | -245.82M | -147.76M | -142.36M | -186.8M | -555.71M | -455.59M | -133.76M | -363.87M | -661.88M | -24.22M | -165.15M | -72.47M | -7.54M | 0 | -582K | -577K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 7.01% | 7.09% | 5.92% | 2.6% | 1.79% | 3.57% | 7.33% | 5.24% | 0.79% | 2.79% | 5.64% | 0.14% | 1.7% | 1.64% | 0.58% | - | 0.07% | 0.08% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 72.14M | 72.14M | 111.55M | 63.14M | -62K | -1.29B | 34.81M | 281.99M | 9.43M | 97.05M | -1.3B | -1.28B | -490.4M | -297.4M | -123K | -3.11M | -3.53M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 208.37M | 51.11M | 51.11M | 46.07M | 18.87M | -141.06M | 319.95M | 865.82M | 23.09M | 19.06M | -648.04M | -247.54M | -139.09M | -67.39M | 346K | 456K | 862K | 828K |
| Cash from Financing | -350.19M | -207.91M | -207.91M | -507.76M | 5.55M | -100.38M | 978.83M | -794.25M | -394.28M | 371.45M | 80.7M | 1.13B | 1.37B | 417.72M | 198.06M | 10.16M | -834K | -7.12M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 239.66M | 113.63M | 113.63M | -500.59M | 21.44M | 207.05M | 997.89M | -537.59M | -332.58M | 99.15M | 474.21M | 877.81M | 886.56M | 489.13M | 147.72M | 46.47M | -702K | -6.78M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -470.15M | -2.13M | -2.13M | -99K | -90K | -182K | 355.62M | -297K | 186.91M | 522.16M | -17.63M | 541.95M | 650.92M | -642K | 71.78M | -1.57M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -113.49M | -305.29M | -305.29M | 0 | 0 | -142.13M | -244.4M | -236.63M | -225.07M | -181.29M | -322.01M | -242.59M | -145.93M | -71.68M | -19.06M | -7M | -132K | -189K |
| Share Repurchases | -470.15M | -2.13M | -2.13M | -99K | -90K | -182K | -266.77M | -297K | -15.82M | 0 | -17.68M | 0 | 0 | -642K | -3.42M | -3M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -6.21M | -14.13M | -14.13M | -7.08M | -15.8M | -165.12M | -130.28M | -19.72M | -23.55M | -68.28M | -53.88M | -42.48M | -168.47M | -939K | -2.38M | 9.11M | 0 | -150K |
| Net Change in Cash | 2.86M | -33.26M | -33.26M | 1.61M | -1.01M | -17.88M | 4.13M | -3.52M | 14.27M | -15.91M | -13.13M | 30.86M | -1.12M | 3.73M | -8.51M | -20.25M | 3.27M | 12.43M |
| Free Cash Flow | 144.68M | 51.65M | 51.65M | 297.42M | 63.49M | 117.19M | -91.66M | -118.34M | 4.21M | -390.69M | -310.39M | 238.18M | -79.91M | 59.76M | 82.78M | -30.75M | 6.9M | 21.88M |
| FCF Margin % | 4.58% | 1.49% | 1.24% | 5.24% | 0.8% | 2.24% | -1.21% | -1.36% | 0.02% | -3% | -2.64% | 1.42% | -0.82% | 1.35% | 6.32% | -4.18% | 0.85% | 2.98% |
| FCF Growth % | 180.12% | 0% | -82.64% | 368.48% | -45.83% | 227.86% | 22.54% | -2913.5% | 101.08% | -25.87% | -230.32% | 398.05% | -233.73% | -27.82% | 369.23% | -545.77% | -68.48% | - |
| FCF per Share | 1.14 | 0.39 | 0.39 | 2.27 | 0.49 | 0.91 | -0.72 | -0.96 | 0.03 | -3.49 | -2.96 | 2.76 | -1.29 | 1.45 | 5.46 | -1.55 | 0.63 | 2.00 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -2.03x | 7.56x | -2.07x | 8.66x | -1.11x | -0.48x | -1.17x | 0.94x | -1.95x | -0.20x | -1.74x | 15.75x | 1.79x | 2.76x | 11.47x | -8.46x | 0.93x | 4.54x |
| Interest Paid | 244.21M | 298.98M | 298.98M | 265.42M | 254.81M | 168.64M | 155.44M | 170.63M | 192.94M | 117.91M | 117.19M | 90.56M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 3.25M | 6.17M | 6.17M | 3.35M | 2.48M | 2.59M | 4.93M | 2.42M | 1.84M | 2.02M | 2.3M | 22.82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
High leverage and regulatory exposure
As reported in recent financial filings, NGL's operating cash flow frequently decouples from net income, evidenced by a 2026Q4 OCF/NI ratio of -0.34, which suggests that non-cash charges and working capital fluctuations significantly distort the company's ability to convert accounting profits into actual liquidity.
The extreme volatility in the OCF/NI ratio, ranging from -1.87 to 62.67 over the last ten quarters, indicates that net income is a poor proxy for the company's underlying cash-generating capacity. Investors should monitor this divergence, as it suggests that reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-operating items rather than core operational performance.
Based on NGL's reported quarterly figures, free cash flow trajectory remains highly inconsistent, swinging from a deficit of $82.9 million in 2025Q2 to a peak of $117.2 million in 2026Q2, which complicates the partnership's stated objective of sustained debt reduction and capital stability.
The erratic nature of FCF margins, which have fluctuated between -10.3% and 17.4%, reflects the sensitivity of the business to commodity-linked logistics rather than just the stable water disposal segment. This inconsistency suggests that the company may struggle to maintain consistent distribution coverage without relying on external financing or asset divestitures.
According to quarterly data, NGL's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue has reached as high as 15.0% in 2026Q3, indicating that the maintenance of its extensive water infrastructure requires significant, ongoing reinvestment that may limit the cash available for debt service or unit holder distributions.
The variability in CapEx/Revenue suggests that the company is balancing necessary maintenance of its disposal wells with opportunistic growth projects in the Delaware Basin. Analysts should investigate whether this capital intensity is a permanent feature of the water business or if it reflects temporary, high-cost regulatory compliance requirements.
As indicated by recent financial statements, NGL experiences significant working capital volatility, with quarterly changes ranging from a $101.0 million outflow in 2025Q1 to a $70.8 million inflow in 2026Q3, highlighting the operational challenges of managing inventory and receivables across diverse logistics and water segments.
These large swings in working capital suggest that the company's cash flow is highly sensitive to the timing of commodity payments and the cyclical nature of its logistics business. This volatility warrants further investigation into the efficiency of the company's collection cycles and its ability to manage payables during periods of commodity price stress.
Based on reported figures, NGL's capital deployment strategy appears fragmented, characterized by a $298.2 million share repurchase in 2026Q4 occurring simultaneously with significant debt-related pressures, which may indicate a lack of alignment between cash availability and the long-term goal of balance sheet strengthening.
The decision to prioritize large-scale repurchases while maintaining a high debt burden suggests a complex approach to capital allocation that may not prioritize the most efficient use of cash. Investors should monitor whether these deployment choices are sustainable or if they represent a temporary strategy to manage unit price volatility.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying NGL stock.
NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) generated $366.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) generated $144.7M 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.
NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) spent $221.3M 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, NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) returned $113.5M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $470.2M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.