Free cash flow generation has been volatile, with TTM FCF margin averaging just 5.6%, and shareholder returns (dividends and buybacks) have consumed nearly all available cash, limiting strategic flexibility.
Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) cash flow statement — 12-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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 284.1M | 330.7M | 435.4M | 430.8M | 303.8M | 306.3M | 457M | 315.4M | 321.3M | 193.8M | 282.1M | -596K | -406K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 10.91% | 14.05% | 14.15% | 10.33% | 11.75% | 18.16% | 13.57% | 14.79% | 9.9% | 14.63% | -0.05% | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | -154.48% | -24.05% | 1.07% | 41.8% | -0.82% | -32.98% | 44.9% | -1.84% | 65.79% | -31.3% | 47432.21% | -46.8% | - |
| Net Income | 124.78M | 136.7M | 227.1M | 192.7M | 249.8M | 181M | 225.1M | 153.6M | 170.5M | 136.5M | 36.4M | -188.77M | -167.5M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 110.13M | 109.4M | 96.9M | 95M | 88.6M | 71.6M | 67.6M | 68.3M | 46.3M | 42.4M | 51.1M | 29.67M | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 5.9M | 8.4M | 8.8M | 24.1M | 8.1M | 5.1M | 9M | 14.9M | 13M | 2.6M | 1.2M | 100K | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -5.5M | 8.6M | 50.8M | 60.9M | 71.2M | 55.7M | 70.4M | 56.7M | 56.6M | 32M | 39.6M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 84.39M | 115.1M | 63.4M | 100K | -17.1M | 16.4M | -9.8M | 66.8M | 3.4M | -52.6M | 123.2M | 187.42M | 166.3M |
| Working Capital Changes | -36.39M | -47.5M | -11.6M | 58M | -96.8M | -23.5M | 94.7M | -44.9M | 31.5M | 32.9M | 30.6M | 719K | 700K |
| Change in Receivables | -3.22M | -18.2M | -75M | 300K | -38.3M | 24.1M | -1.8M | -34.4M | -10.8M | -1.6M | -8.8M | 65.64M | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -11.92M | -14.2M | -1.2M | 18.8M | -61.7M | -23.8M | -12.7M | 23.5M | -20.2M | 16.7M | -18.1M | -16.23M | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 52.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -44.92M | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -77.83M | -74.6M | -64.4M | -76.8M | -78.7M | -660M | -171.4M | -73.8M | -513.2M | -42.6M | -50.4M | -349.99M | 48K |
| Capital Expenditures | -79.33M | -78.5M | -80.3M | -82.4M | -79.1M | -79.2M | -58.7M | -47.3M | -41.6M | -42.6M | -42.4M | -21.85M | -26.3M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 2.67% | 2.59% | 2.59% | 2.71% | 2.69% | 3.04% | 2.33% | 2.04% | 1.91% | 2.18% | 2.2% | 1.8% | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400K | -597.3M | -112.9M | -1.5M | -471.6M | 0 | -8M | -1.28B | -2M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 1.5M | 3.9M | 10.2M | 5.3M | 1 | 16.5M | 200K | -1.5M | -6.5M | -4.6M | -8.39M | -10.6M | 28.3M |
| Cash from Financing | -191.52M | -332.1M | -366.4M | -321.5M | -108.1M | 214.4M | -714.8M | 251.4M | 302.7M | -241.8M | -67.7M | 489.05M | 489.05M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -91.9M | 101.9M | -37.8M | -36.7M | -143.4M | 371.9M | -32M | -42M | 349.7M | -600K | -700K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -119.37M | -202.5M | -124.5M | -178M | -29.7M | -100.2M | -627.8M | 354.1M | 100K | -177.6M | 0 | 0 | 361.5M |
| Dividends Paid | -84.39M | -91.3M | -89.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -119.37M | -202.5M | -124.5M | -178M | -29.7M | -100.2M | -627.8M | 0 | 0 | -177.6M | 0 | 181M | 0 |
| Other Financing | 104.14M | -140.2M | -114.9M | -106.8M | 65M | -57.3M | -55M | -60.7M | -47.1M | -63.6M | -67M | 353.5M | -8M |
| Net Change in Cash | -1.72M | -78.5M | 3.6M | 32.9M | 112.6M | -128.3M | -442.3M | 497.2M | 108.4M | -110.3M | 143.4M | 202.46M | 493.89M |
| Free Cash Flow | 204.77M | 252.2M | 355.1M | 348.4M | 224.7M | 227.1M | 398.3M | 268.1M | 279.7M | 151.2M | 239.7M | -22.44M | -26.71M |
| FCF Margin % | 6.88% | 8.32% | 11.46% | 11.44% | 7.64% | 8.71% | 15.83% | 11.53% | 12.87% | 7.73% | 12.43% | -1.85% | - |
| FCF Growth % | -44.17% | -28.98% | 1.92% | 55.05% | -1.06% | -42.98% | 48.56% | -4.15% | 84.99% | -36.92% | 1168.1% | 15.97% | - |
| FCF per Share | 1.46 | 1.68 | 2.18 | 2.03 | 1.29 | 1.28 | 2.01 | 1.35 | 1.59 | 0.82 | 1.31 | -0.18 | -0.18 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.64x | 2.42x | 1.92x | 2.24x | 1.22x | 1.69x | 2.03x | 2.05x | 1.88x | 1.42x | 7.75x | 0.00x | 0.01x |
| Interest Paid | 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 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying NOMD stock.
Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) generated $330.7M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) generated $252.2M 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.
Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) spent $78.5M 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, Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) returned $91.3M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $202.5M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Leverage constrains strategic flexibility
Earnings Quality Deteriorates with Cash Lag
The conversion of net income to operating cash flow has weakened significantly, with the OCF/NI ratio falling to 0.93 in 2026Q2 from 1.55 in 2025Q1, suggesting that recent profitability is increasingly reliant on non-cash accruals or less efficient working capital management.
The persistent gap between operating and net margins, noted in prior analysis, is now mirrored in cash conversion, where operating cash flow has failed to keep pace with reported earnings. This trend implies that the quality of earnings is declining, as the company's ability to translate accounting profits into spendable cash is becoming less reliable. Investors should monitor whether this is a temporary working capital timing issue or a more structural deterioration in the cash generation profile of the business.
FCF Volatility Masks Underlying Weakness
Free cash flow has been highly erratic, swinging from a negative $8.8M in 2024Q2 to a positive $202.1M in 2024Q4, with the most recent TTM FCF margin averaging a modest 5.6%, indicating that cash generation is not keeping pace with the scale of the business.
The extreme volatility in FCF, particularly the massive swings in Q4 periods, appears driven by large, non-recurring working capital releases rather than sustainable operational performance. When normalized for these seasonal distortions, the underlying FCF trajectory appears weak and inconsistent, failing to provide a reliable funding source for debt service or growth investments. This instability in core cash generation heightens the importance of the company's leverage position and its ability to access external financing.
Working Capital Swings Dominate Cash Flow
Working capital changes have been the primary driver of operating cash flow volatility, with a massive $121.0M release in 2024Q4 followed by a $99.4M use in 2024Q2, suggesting that cash flow is being managed through inventory and receivables cycles rather than underlying profitability.
The pattern of large Q4 working capital releases, likely tied to seasonal inventory reduction after peak demand, creates a misleading picture of annual cash generation. The significant cash outflows in other quarters, particularly the $50.4M use in 2025Q3, indicate that the business requires substantial ongoing investment in working capital to operate, which consumes a large portion of operating cash flow. This dynamic suggests that the company's cash conversion cycle is long and capital-intensive, limiting its financial flexibility.
Shareholder Returns Consume All Free Cash Flow
Nomad Foods has consistently deployed nearly all available free cash flow toward shareholder returns, with dividends and share repurchases totaling over $200M in the last four quarters alone, leaving minimal cash for debt reduction or organic reinvestment.
The commitment to returning capital appears rigid, with quarterly dividends maintained at approximately $21-23M despite volatile earnings and cash flow. Combined with periodic share buybacks, this policy has resulted in a net cash outflow to shareholders that often exceeds the company's free cash flow, forcing reliance on balance sheet cash or external financing. This aggressive return policy, in the context of a declining revenue base and strained margins, suggests a potential misalignment between capital allocation and the company's need for strategic reinvestment.
Cash Flow Obscures True Capital Intensity
The reported operating cash flow includes depreciation & amortization of approximately $25-30M per quarter, which may significantly overstate the cash available for growth as a substantial portion is likely required for maintenance capital expenditures to sustain the cold-chain network.
While the company reports CapEx of only 2-3% of revenue, this figure may understate the true capital intensity of maintaining a temperature-controlled logistics platform across Europe. The D&A figures suggest that a large portion of operating cash flow is merely compensating for asset consumption, not generating true economic profit. Furthermore, the minimal SBC expense indicates that management's compensation is not heavily tied to cash flow metrics, potentially reducing alignment with long-term cash generation goals.