Free cash flow remains highly erratic, swinging from a positive 33.8% margin in 2025Q3 to a negative 29.4% margin in 2026Q1, indicating a lack of predictable cash generation.
| Cash from Operations | -625K | 18K | -19.14M | -43.29M | -59.43M | -36.74M | 813K | 5.09M | 3.12M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 0.01% | -16.48% | -30.28% | -32.03% | -14.9% | 0.55% | 6.51% | 3.09% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 552.53% | 100.09% | 55.79% | 27.16% | -61.76% | -4619.31% | -84.02% | 63.29% | - |
| Net Income | -7.59M | -12.67M | -79.4M | -186.45M | -250.69M | -77.68M | -5.27M | -23.58M | 1.68M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 8.5M | 8.35M | 14.04M | 12.84M | 18.16M | 13.76M | 2.26M | 3.09M | 4.04M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 2.88M | 4.71M | 7.31M | 9.6M | 20.54M | 58.45M | 2.99M | 7.37M | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -5.4M | -3.88M | 968K | -18.04M | -62.82M | -6.69M | 2.62M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.31M | -60K | 35.95M | 153.91M | 248.31M | 4.7M | -279K | 20.49M | -1.73M |
| Working Capital Changes | -318K | 3.57M | 1.98M | -15.15M | -32.93M | -29.29M | -1.5M | -2.29M | -876K |
| Change in Receivables | -2.28M | 2.11M | 1.88M | 5.34M | 228K | -10.8M | -779K | 2.58M | -338K |
| Change in Inventory | -2.83M | -2.98M | 4.59M | -469K | -1.07M | -5.1M | -209K | -71K | -97K |
| Change in Payables | 1.9M | 1.01M | -3.34M | 512K | -801K | 7.64M | 423K | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 14.96M | 550K | -318K | 12.95M | 8.75M | -273.18M | -5.47M | -16.99M | -2.97M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.62M | -1.02M | -2.26M | -3.55M | -7.42M | -17.5M | -884K | -4.22M | -2.97M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.33% | 0.85% | 1.95% | 2.48% | 4% | 7.1% | 0.6% | 5.41% | 2.94% |
| Acquisitions | 755K | 0 | 0 | 15.32M | 0 | -255.55M | 0 | -12.79M | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 819K | 1.57M | 1.94M | 1.18M | 16.18M | -122K | -4.59M | 24K | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -5.67M | 8.59M | 21.59M | 26.18M | 11.56M | 370.47M | -8.49M | 6.06M | 15.01M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -15.38M | -381K | -228K | -33.8M | -35.96M | 75.56M | -8.13M | 6.13M | 30.59M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 12.81M | 10.27M | 22.25M | 60.49M | 48.25M | 202.9M | 0 | 0 | -35.18M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -35.18M |
| Other Financing | -3.1M | -1.3M | -426K | -508K | -727K | 92.02M | -359K | -72K | 19.6M |
| Net Change in Cash | 6.74M | 9.5M | 1.65M | -3.95M | -39.86M | 59.93M | -13.15M | -5.84M | 15.15M |
| Free Cash Flow | -2.25M | -1.01M | -21.4M | -46.84M | -66.86M | -54.25M | -71K | 863K | 146K |
| FCF Margin % | -1.84% | -0.83% | -18.43% | -32.77% | -36.04% | -22% | -0.05% | 1.1% | 0.14% |
| FCF Growth % | 87.99% | 95.3% | 54.31% | 29.95% | -23.25% | -76304.23% | -108.23% | 491.1% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.02 | -0.01 | -0.28 | -0.66 | -1.41 | -1.42 | -0.00 | 0.11 | 0.04 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.30x | -0.00x | 0.24x | 0.24x | 0.21x | 0.47x | -0.15x | -0.22x | 1.85x |
| Interest Paid | 3.57M | 0 | 13.03M | 17.26M | 15.55M | 15.02M | 13.56M | 11.83M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | -38K | 0 | 2.05M | 0 | 5.33M | 5.81M | 4.9M | 0 | 0 |
High debt leverage exposure
As reported in financial statements, PLBY exhibits a chronic inability to convert net income into operating cash flow, with the OCF/NI ratio frequently displaying erratic, non-meaningful figures that underscore the company's struggle to generate sustainable cash from its core licensing and retail operations.
The wide variance between net income and operating cash flow suggests that accounting accruals and non-cash charges are significantly distorting the company's true economic performance. Investors should monitor whether this gap is driven by aggressive revenue recognition on licensing minimum guarantees or the operational drag of inventory-heavy retail segments.
Based on recent SEC filings, PLBY's free cash flow trajectory is characterized by extreme volatility, with margins swinging from a positive 33.8% in 2025Q3 to a deeply negative 51.6% in 2024Q3, indicating a lack of predictable cash generation to support the company's capital structure.
The inability to maintain positive free cash flow suggests that the business model is currently consuming rather than creating capital. This trend warrants further investigation into whether the company can achieve a sustainable cash-positive state without further dilutive financing or asset divestitures.
According to historical data, working capital fluctuations have become a primary driver of cash flow instability, with quarterly changes ranging from a $7.2 million inflow in 2025Q3 to a $6.5 million outflow in 2026Q1, reflecting significant friction in managing inventory and receivables.
These erratic working capital movements suggest that the company's retail operations are struggling to align inventory levels with actual consumer demand. Such volatility may indicate that the business is forced to rely on aggressive promotional activity to clear stock, which further pressures cash margins.
As indicated by the provided data, PLBY's capital expenditure relative to revenue has remained relatively low, peaking at 2.6% in 2024Q2, which may suggest that the company is under-investing in its digital platforms or retail infrastructure to preserve dwindling cash reserves.
While low capital intensity is often a hallmark of a licensing-heavy model, it may also imply that the company is deferring necessary maintenance or growth investments. Analysts should consider whether this capital-light approach is a strategic choice or a forced response to the company's constrained liquidity position.
Based on reported figures, the cash flow statement appears to be heavily influenced by non-cash adjustments and divestiture proceeds, which may mask the underlying cash burn occurring within the core DTC and digital creator segments of the business.
The presence of acquisition-related cash inflows and fluctuating stock-based compensation suggests that the headline cash flow numbers may not reflect the true operational health of the firm. Investors should be wary of relying on these figures without adjusting for one-time items that temporarily inflate the cash balance.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying PLBY stock.
Playboy, Inc. (PLBY) generated $0.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Playboy, Inc. (PLBY) reported negative free cash flow of $1.0M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Playboy, Inc. (PLBY) spent $1.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.