Cash conversion efficiency remains volatile, evidenced by a significant swing in working capital that contributed to an OCF/NI ratio of 1.39 in 2026Q1.
| 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 | Sep'09 | Sep'08 | Sep'07 | Sep'06 | Oct'05 | Oct'04 | Sep'03 | Sep'02 | Sep'01 | Sep'00 | Oct'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 | Sep'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 1.39B | 1.37B | 1.99B | 677.88M | 669.86M | 326.46M | 724.25M | 666.52M | 491.65M | 801.32M | 755.48M | 976.83M | 1.07B | 878.53M | 199.62M | -128.99M | 14.61M | 75.01M | -680.73M | 463.96M | 30.38M | 493.07M | 272.4M | 98.89M | 98.11M | 87.83M | 130.8M | 81.5M | 85M | 49.6M | 11.4M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 7.42% | 11.13% | 3.9% | 3.83% | 2.21% | 5.99% | 5.84% | 4.5% | 7.44% | 7.65% | 11.16% | 12.43% | 10.44% | 2.46% | -1.71% | 0.21% | 1.06% | -7.99% | 6.11% | 0.58% | 8.7% | 5.08% | 3.78% | 3.87% | 3.97% | 8.72% | 6% | 6.38% | 3.88% | 1% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -66.36% | -31.08% | 193.58% | 1.2% | 105.19% | -54.92% | 8.66% | 35.57% | -38.65% | 6.07% | -22.66% | -8.42% | 21.42% | 340.09% | 254.76% | -983.2% | -80.53% | 111.02% | -246.72% | 1427.1% | -93.84% | 81.01% | 175.46% | 0.79% | 11.7% | -32.85% | 60.49% | -4.12% | 71.37% | 335.09% | -65.14% |
| Net Income | 887.75M | 1.08B | 1.09B | 322.32M | 746.54M | 31.27M | 95.07M | 456.54M | 246.8M | 718.17M | 439.73M | 645.96M | 711.44M | 549.71M | 174.04M | -495.69M | 87.14M | -151.58M | -998.58M | 47.02M | -34.23M | 264.98M | 128.34M | 56.04M | 14.34M | 41.14M | 52.34M | 65.3M | 50M | 41M | -4.5M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 470.12M | 456.16M | 433.62M | 419.9M | 403.11M | 380.82M | 337.1M | 287.23M | 279.66M | 277.79M | 180.51M | 158.97M | 155.82M | 150.52M | 147.41M | 209.06M | 231.04M | 236M | 240.31M | 204.9M | 135.13M | 134.94M | 113.79M | 74.19M | 70.97M | 55.39M | 36.03M | 34.5M | 32.6M | 29.8M | 28M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 28.41M | 29.35M | 14.87M | 7.23M | 8.64M | 11.65M | -276K | 10.8M | 13.15M | 3.02M | 6.1M | 2.98M | 4.93M | 3.35M | 684K | 567K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 16.12M | 10.04M | 4.83M | 6.67M | 21.3M | -86.39M | 37.34M | 42.48M | 32.54M | -49.96M | -3.42M | 29.51M | 78.94M | -5M | -1.1M | -7.1M | -69.26M | -21.48M | -195.94M | 83.88M | 20.45M | 2.25M | 3.29M | -5.57M | -1.81M | 12.74M | 444K | -5.6M | 600K | 2.6M | -400K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 12.86M | 12.27M | 26.68M | 28.62M | -8.88M | 29.62M | -4.45M | -67.67M | 22.78M | 3.02M | -6.42M | -5.56M | 38.97M | 10.24M | 3.27M | 29.06M | 25.42M | -20.94M | 514.63M | 9.54M | 3.77M | 777K | -1.1M | 572K | -149K | 1.74M | 1.09M | 100K | 500K | -200K | 2.7M |
| Working Capital Changes | -30.39M | -219.51M | 422.9M | -106.86M | -499.18M | -40.52M | 259.46M | -62.18M | -103.28M | -150.72M | 138.98M | 144.96M | 76.59M | 169.71M | -124.69M | 135.11M | -285.82M | 33.01M | -226.29M | 119.06M | -96.52M | 85.8M | -22.9M | -26.33M | 14.77M | -23.17M | 40.9M | -16.6M | 1.3M | -24.4M | -14.4M |
| Change in Receivables | 52.66M | -113.13M | 88.34M | -19.01M | -149.6K | -259.38M | 29.15M | -40.49M | -22.53M | -97M | 53.76M | 81.13M | -47.54M | 3.04M | -14.95M | -63.99M | -9.04M | -173.91M | 0 | 247.22M | -70.94M | -70.94M | -70.94M | 10.45M | 10.45M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -145.31M | -193.52M | 134.52M | 12.6M | -472.22M | -177.86M | 26.04M | -111.75M | 83.17M | -207.4M | -11.9M | 57.08M | 10.64M | 142.68M | -65.87M | 122.83M | -285.84M | 284.68M | -103.94M | -129.65M | -58.61M | 82.67M | -73.44M | -14.09M | -12.39M | -26.95M | -13.2M | -26.4M | 4.5M | -9.3M | -24.8M |
| Change in Payables | -80.83M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 263.29K | 359.59M | 295.33M | 119.89M | 86.83M | -22.83M | 38.43M | 61.88M | 44.83M | 49.63M | -16.52M | -7.27M | -91.12M | -101.25M | 0 | -5.1M | 36.6M | 70.94M | 70.94M | -1.03M | -1.03M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -844.6M | -705.51M | -460.8M | -503.35M | -445.25M | -1.32B | -327M | -717.06M | -338.89M | -992.07M | -261.66M | -534.69M | -63.38M | -181.79M | -60.4M | -58.19M | -113.73M | -13.54M | -121.63M | -1.18B | 32.26M | -417.61M | -347.46M | -56.93M | -82.46M | -349.13M | -95.86M | -71.3M | -47.3M | -47.7M | -32.5M |
| Capital Expenditures | -451.78M | 0 | -476.15M | -543.82M | -487.11M | -381.67M | -354.76M | -348.12M | -348.67M | -339.87M | -272.47M | -175.76M | -171.44M | -116.22M | -90.33M | -135.97M | -179.33M | -88.19M | -152.5M | -172.32M | -143.88M | -116.59M | -79.64M | -53.57M | -80.39M | -112.63M | 0 | -69.6M | -53.5M | -50.2M | -34.3M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 2.43% | 3.84% | 2.66% | 3.13% | 2.79% | 2.58% | 2.93% | 3.05% | 3.19% | 3.16% | 2.76% | 2.01% | 2% | 1.38% | 1.11% | 1.8% | 2.61% | 1.24% | 1.79% | 2.27% | 2.75% | 2.06% | 1.48% | 2.05% | 3.17% | 5.09% | - | 5.13% | 4.02% | 3.93% | 3.01% |
| Acquisitions | -3.07M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9.69M | -966.77M | -4.22M | -384.69M | 11.2M | -658.52M | 13.38M | -373.53M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37.48M | 0 | 85.74M | 0 | -1.1B | -272.1M | -272.1M | -272.1M | -4.5M | -239.54M | -239.54M | -92.13M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -389.74M | -705.51M | 15.36M | 40.47M | 51.55M | 24.72M | 31.98M | 15.75M | 9.78M | 6.32M | 10.8M | 14.61M | 11.11M | 31.34M | 29.4M | 29.04M | 14.7M | -10.07M | 41.37M | 6.29M | 275.74M | -524K | 4.28M | 1.14M | 237.47M | 3.04M | -3.74M | -1.7M | 6.2M | 2.5M | 1.8M |
| Cash from Financing | -2.11B | -2.11B | -150.91M | 116.73M | -232.01M | 901.31M | -136.71M | -34.53M | -384.25M | 1.22B | -813.13M | -578.65M | -905.6M | -250.21M | -111.03M | 126.85M | -29.48M | 101.15M | 797.74M | 630.23M | -38.75M | 18.86M | 96.67M | -39.77M | -21.16M | 254.18M | -22.62M | -19.6M | -32.5M | 300K | 27.3M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -111.83M | -117.35M | -152.12M | 151.91M | -25.76M | 901.96M | -26.47M | -30.45M | -378.41M | 489.63M | -6.42M | 1.02B | -910.23M | -252.98M | -309.31M | 133.86M | -758.54M | 113.66M | 618.88M | 651.79M | 37.73M | -16.83M | 109.65M | -35M | -18.7M | 256.65M | -18.57M | -17.7M | -30.9M | 2M | 32.9M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -199.55M | 0 | -110.24M | -3.42M | -236K | -14.64M | -117.96M | -99.23M | 0 | 0 | 198.28M | 0 | 800M | 0 | 177.22M | 0 | 0 | 39.68M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.57M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | -1.99B | -1.99B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -699.91M | -1.5B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.33M | -5.99M | -72.55M | -3.99M | -3.99M | -2.47M | -2.47M | -2.47M | -2.48M | -1.9M | -1.7M | -1.7M | -1.7M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -199.55M | 0 | -110.24M | -2.9M | -236K | -14.64M | -117.96M | -99.23M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -482.25M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.57M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -3.41M | -1.29M | 1.21M | -35.19M | -6.7M | -650K | 0 | -652K | -5.6M | -8.59M | 10.94M | -5.89M | 4.64M | 2.76M | 0 | -7.01M | -70.94M | -12.51M | 7.97M | -15.56M | -3.94M | 0 | -8.99M | -2.3M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0 | -3.9M |
| Net Change in Cash | -1.54B | -1.4B | 1.31B | 296.46M | -15.36M | -98.28M | 267.83M | -81M | -227.95M | 1.05B | -319.31M | -136.5M | 67.94M | 440.03M | 26.57M | -64.47M | -130.22M | 158.48M | -4.62M | -90.24M | 23.84M | 94.4M | 21.56M | 1.69M | -6M | -7.14M | 12.36M | -9.4M | 4.8M | 2.2M | 6.2M |
| Free Cash Flow | 772.78M | 660.58M | 1.51B | 134.06M | 182.75M | -55.21M | 369.49M | 318.4M | 142.98M | 461.45M | 483.02M | 801.06M | 895.25M | 762.31M | 109.3M | -264.96M | -164.73M | -13.19M | -833.23M | 291.64M | -113.5M | 376.49M | 192.76M | 45.32M | 17.73M | -24.8M | 130.8M | 11.9M | 31.5M | -600K | -22.9M |
| FCF Margin % | 4.16% | 3.57% | 8.47% | 0.77% | 1.05% | -0.37% | 3.06% | 2.79% | 1.31% | 4.29% | 4.89% | 9.15% | 10.43% | 9.06% | 1.35% | -3.52% | -2.39% | -0.19% | -9.78% | 3.84% | -2.17% | 6.64% | 3.59% | 1.73% | 0.7% | -1.12% | 8.72% | 0.88% | 2.37% | -0.05% | -2.01% |
| FCF Growth % | -44% | -56.37% | 1029.32% | -26.64% | 431% | -114.94% | 16.04% | 122.68% | -69.01% | -4.47% | -39.7% | -10.52% | 17.44% | 597.47% | 141.25% | -60.85% | -1149.16% | 98.42% | -385.7% | 356.95% | -130.15% | 95.31% | 325.35% | 155.67% | 171.47% | -118.96% | 999.18% | -62.22% | 5350% | 97.38% | 28.44% |
| FCF per Share | 3.24 | 2.77 | 6.37 | 0.56 | 0.76 | -0.23 | 1.50 | 1.28 | 0.57 | 1.85 | 1.90 | 3.10 | 3.45 | 2.94 | 0.44 | -1.18 | -0.77 | -0.18 | -12.02 | 4.38 | -1.69 | 5.65 | 3.08 | 1.10 | 0.43 | -0.58 | 3.16 | 0.29 | 0.76 | -0.01 | -0.81 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.87x | 1.27x | 1.83x | 2.11x | 0.90x | 10.53x | 7.64x | 1.46x | 1.98x | 1.12x | 1.57x | 1.47x | 1.50x | 1.60x | 1.15x | 0.26x | 0.17x | -0.49x | 0.68x | 9.87x | -0.89x | 1.86x | 2.12x | 1.76x | 6.84x | 2.05x | 2.50x | 1.25x | 1.70x | 1.21x | -1.56x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 155.46M | 182.04M | 131.21M | 156.29M | 119.33M | 130.64M | 130.88M | 154.63M | 81.26M | 69.86M | 42.97M | 71.56M | 80.32M | 96.66M | 104.43M | 66.04M | 79.69M | 142.34M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 361.89M | 197.56M | 19.75M | 385.58M | 20.86M | 51.71M | 125.86M | 253.93M | 122.96M | 161.03M | -361.18M | 257.15M | 30.06M | 10.93M | 3.96M | -115.97M | 11.23M | 6.41M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Commodity Feed Cost Volatility
According to reported financial statements, PPC's OCF/NI ratio fluctuated significantly, reaching a low of 0.43 in 2025Q1 before rebounding to 1.39 in 2026Q1, which suggests that reported net income often fails to capture the underlying cash-generating volatility inherent in the company's protein processing operations.
The wide variance in the OCF/NI ratio indicates that accounting earnings are frequently decoupled from cash reality, likely due to the impact of biological asset fair value adjustments and hedging gains. Investors should monitor this divergence, as it implies that net income may provide a misleading picture of the company's actual ability to fund operations during cyclical downturns.
As indicated by recent quarterly filings, PPC's FCF margin has experienced extreme volatility, collapsing from a peak of 13.5% in 2024Q2 to a mere 0.5% by 2025Q4, reflecting the company's sensitivity to the protein cycle and the resulting pressure on discretionary cash flow generation.
The sharp contraction in FCF margins suggests that the company's cash flow profile is highly susceptible to external commodity shocks that impair operating cash flow. This trend warrants further investigation into whether the current capital expenditure requirements are becoming increasingly difficult to cover during periods of margin compression.
Based on the provided data, PPC's CapEx/Rev ratio has trended upward from 2.3% in 2024Q3 to 6.0% in 2025Q4, suggesting that the company is committing a larger portion of its revenue to maintain or expand its processing infrastructure despite the current cyclical headwinds in the poultry market.
This increase in capital intensity may indicate that the company is forced to reinvest heavily to maintain operational efficiency or meet biosecurity standards. If this trend persists, it may continue to constrain free cash flow, limiting the company's flexibility to navigate future commodity price volatility.
Analysis of recent quarterly reports shows that working capital changes have been highly erratic, swinging from a $283.6M inflow in 2024Q2 to a $273.3M outflow in 2025Q1, which highlights the significant impact of inventory and receivable management on the company's short-term cash position.
These dramatic swings suggest that PPC's cash flow is heavily dependent on the timing of inventory build-ups and the efficiency of its collection cycles. The inconsistency in working capital management appears to be a primary driver of the company's unpredictable quarterly cash flow performance.
As reported in financial statements, PPC utilized $1.5B for dividends in 2025Q2, a move that appears aggressive given the subsequent decline in FCF margins, suggesting that capital allocation decisions may prioritize shareholder returns even when operational cash flow generation is showing signs of significant cyclical strain.
The substantial cash outflow for dividends in 2025Q2 raises questions about the sustainability of such distributions if the current margin compression persists. Investors should monitor whether future capital allocation remains focused on these large-scale returns or shifts toward preserving liquidity in a more challenging commodity environment.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying PPC stock.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) generated $1.37B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) generated $660.6M 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.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) spent $0.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) returned $1.99B to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.