Despite consistent cash conversion with an OCF/NI ratio of 1.85, free cash flow margins have declined to 8.3% as capital expenditure intensity climbed to 24.5% of revenue.
| Metric | 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 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 17.19B | 15.6B | 15.16B | 16.13B | 25.34B | 15.88B | 14.91B | 11.82B | 13.88B | 8.46B | 9.38B | 14.29B | 15.08B | 9.37B | 20.03B | 18.28B | 9.21B | 13.66B | 8.63B | 8.03B | 6.93B | 2.88B | 1.46B | 2.72B | 2.45B | 2.66B | 2.61B | 2.7B | 2.72B | 1.26B |
| Operating CF Margin % | 29.75% | 29.07% | 28.05% | 29.04% | 39.92% | 35.59% | 34.55% | 29.17% | 34.68% | 25.06% | 26.94% | 29.97% | 29.47% | 18.38% | 33.09% | 32.31% | 21.22% | 25.17% | 29.06% | 35.73% | 36.44% | 22.26% | 15.8% | 32.2% | 30.05% | 22.93% | 22.55% | 22.75% | 22.1% | 16.27% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 10.17% | 2.9% | -6.04% | -36.34% | 59.65% | 6.46% | 26.15% | -14.86% | 64.02% | -9.78% | -34.32% | -5.25% | 60.95% | -53.23% | 9.59% | 98.4% | -32.55% | 58.21% | 7.55% | 15.73% | 140.55% | 97.72% | -46.39% | 11.02% | -7.88% | 1.8% | -3.08% | -0.75% | 115.17% | -12.74% |
| Net Income | 9.99B | 11.55B | 9.95B | 13.08B | 22.57B | 10.4B | 6.97B | 13.93B | 8.85B | 4.78B | -1.72B | 6.5B | 1.08B | -3B | 13.94B | 15.28B | 5.78B | 10.19B | 8.57B | 8.97B | 6.92B | 3.24B | 1.5B | 831.41M | 1.56B | 3.13B | 2.54B | 1.99B | 2.55B | 1.33B |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 6.59B | 5.92B | 5.33B | 5.01B | 4.7B | 4.28B | 4.38B | 4.01B | 4.38B | 4.79B | 4.64B | 4.86B | 4.79B | 4.44B | 3.82B | 3.44B | 3.43B | 3.48B | 2.12B | 1.51B | 1.33B | 1.17B | 1.01B | 954.47M | 929M | 1.19B | 1.24B | 1.2B | 1.23B | 794.6M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 122M | 126M | 138M | 123M | 122M | 98M | 125M | 134M | 152M | 142M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 735M | 114M | -178M | -289M | 516M | 695M | -548M | -139M | -152M | -142M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 848.98M | -1.93B | 799M | -2.34B | -1.09B | 1.52B | 3.69B | -6.22B | 64M | -409M | 4.96B | 1.26B | 8.51B | 7.52B | 1.93B | 384M | -990M | -8.26B | -2.26B | -1.12B | -1.01B | -2.2B | -995.9M | 994.15M | 360M | -1.61B | -1.13B | -740.14M | -1.32B | -984.69M |
| Working Capital Changes | -244.57M | 57M | -926M | -465M | -1.08B | -285M | 28M | -532M | -199M | -273M | 1.5B | 1.52B | 557M | 401M | 347M | -825M | 991M | 8.25B | 203M | -1.34B | -312M | 670M | -48M | -60.03M | -401M | -49.09M | -39.11M | 248.56M | 251.81M | 125.01M |
| Change in Receivables | -461.07M | -202M | -418M | 20M | -367M | -562M | 163M | -421M | -138M | -794M | 1.4B | 962M | 84M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -377.88M | 205M | -422M | -1.19B | -1.4B | -281M | 28M | -587M | -482M | 292M | 526M | 937M | -330M | -326M | -1B | -492M | 653M | -1.18B | 130M | -454M | -249M | -217M | -43M | 85M | -227M | 44.62M | 65.18M | 138.09M | -132.67M | -265.44M |
| Change in Payables | 594.39M | 54.02M | -86M | 700M | 685M | 558M | -191M | 476M | 421M | 229M | -431M | -962M | -84M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -17.75B | -9.59B | -6.96B | -6.71B | -7.16B | -6.56B | -5.5B | 1.32B | -2.37B | -2.1B | -4.6B | -6.5B | -10.95B | -18.17B | -18.82B | -1.71B | -3.36B | -4.71B | -42.74B | -4.09B | -2.48B | -2.1B | -1.78B | -1.66B | -2.24B | -5.89B | -628.35M | -2.18B | -2.07B | -1.98B |
| Capital Expenditures | -12.36B | -9.62B | -7.09B | -6.75B | -7.38B | -6.19B | -5.49B | -5.43B | -4.48B | -3.01B | -4.68B | -8.16B | -13B | -17.46B | -12.34B | -4.59B | -5.39B | -8.57B | -5B | -3.99B | -2.82B | -30M | -1.53B | -1.3B | -1.43B | -1.42B | -1.49B | -2.05B | -2.86B | -1.94B |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 21.4% | 17.93% | 13.11% | 12.15% | 11.63% | 13.87% | 12.71% | 13.4% | 11.2% | 8.92% | 13.45% | 17.12% | 25.41% | 34.25% | 20.38% | 8.11% | 12.41% | 15.8% | 16.84% | 17.77% | 14.8% | 0.23% | 16.61% | 15.35% | 17.54% | 12.27% | 12.85% | 17.34% | 23.24% | 24.99% |
| Acquisitions | -4.35B | -703M | -978M | -845M | 10M | -33M | -113M | 7.72B | 2.67B | 749M | -30M | 887M | 1.81B | -1.4B | -5.75B | -303M | 2.03B | 2.56B | -37.53B | -279M | 321M | 1.51B | 405.13M | -106M | -659M | -4.7B | -448.45M | -814.71M | 465.71M | -11.99M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -197.46M | 166M | 65M | 51M | 146M | -392M | 60M | 585M | 120M | 366M | 99M | 624M | 94M | 37M | -692M | 3.1B | -206M | 1.42B | 8M | 56M | 110M | -3.81B | -301M | -457.23M | -119M | 234.27M | 1.31B | 687.67M | 1.19B | 231.19M |
| Cash from Financing | 848.98M | -7.09B | -5.28B | -15.47B | -15.86B | -7.13B | -12.22B | -12.95B | -9.14B | -7.49B | -7.67B | -5.44B | -934M | 6.33B | -1.45B | -10.61B | -2.46B | -9.46B | 34.93B | -5.58B | -2.41B | -1.8B | -169M | -372.18M | -173M | 3.16B | -2.25B | -323.12M | -425.1M | 786.04M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 7.85B | -599M | 1.52B | -843M | -577M | -596M | -123M | -2.25B | -2.78B | -4.95B | -1.68B | -3.03B | 2.12B | 7.89B | 4.21B | -9.36B | -16.45B | -7.97B | 76.2B | -619M | -505M | -1.82B | -201.67M | -409M | 641M | 3.21B | -2.23B | 173M | -266M | 705M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -208M | -1.55B | -5.39B | -2.08B | 0 | -2.03B | 0 | 0 | -1.47B | -5.5B | 92M | 14.88B | 23M | -1.61B | -2.34B | -773M | 33M | 32.12M | 37M | 7M | -44.62M | -15.64M | -367M | 8M | 14M |
| Dividends Paid | -6.16B | -7.03B | -6.47B | -11.73B | -15.36B | -6.13B | -10.33B | -5.36B | -4.25B | -2.73B | -4.08B | -3.71B | -3.32B | -3.04B | -2.24B | -1.75B | -876M | -1.93B | -1.51B | -2.57B | -1.14B | -906M | -833M | -948.47M | -803M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -208M | -1.55B | -5.39B | -2.08B | 0 | -2.03B | 0 | 0 | -1.47B | -5.5B | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.65B | -2.37B | -877M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -49.09M | -28.68M | -372M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -839.96M | 530M | -330M | -2.9B | 72M | -194M | -210M | 37M | -31M | 182M | 115M | 1.31B | 266M | 2.95B | 1.81B | -45M | -19M | 772M | -38.15B | 142M | 8M | -7.71M | 833.55M | 213M | -18M | 0 | 0 | 346M | 542.9M | 172.04M |
| Net Change in Cash | 377M | -1.19B | 2.9B | -6.03B | 2.42B | 2.35B | -2.86B | 342M | 2.36B | -1.17B | -3.05B | 2.19B | 2.94B | -2.43B | -305M | 5.82B | 3.11B | -507M | 819M | -1.65B | 2.04B | 85M | 1.66B | -585.06M | 40M | -66.93M | -265.94M | 190.56M | 222.03M | 63.36M |
| Free Cash Flow | 4.82B | 5.98B | 8.07B | 9.38B | 17.96B | 9.69B | 9.42B | 6.39B | 9.4B | 5.45B | 4.7B | 6.12B | 2.08B | -8.09B | 7.7B | 13.69B | 3.82B | 5.08B | 3.63B | 4.03B | 4.12B | 2.85B | -74.9M | 1.42B | 1.02B | 1.24B | 1.12B | 640.72M | -140.8M | -676.44M |
| FCF Margin % | 8.35% | 11.14% | 14.94% | 16.89% | 28.29% | 21.71% | 21.83% | 15.77% | 23.49% | 16.14% | 13.49% | 12.85% | 4.06% | -15.87% | 12.71% | 24.19% | 8.81% | 9.37% | 12.23% | 17.96% | 21.64% | 22.02% | -0.81% | 16.85% | 12.51% | 10.66% | 9.7% | 5.41% | -1.15% | -8.72% |
| FCF Growth % | -19.33% | -25.96% | -13.96% | -47.75% | 85.43% | 2.78% | 47.46% | -32.03% | 72.42% | 16.07% | -23.29% | 194.85% | 125.67% | -205.13% | -43.77% | 257.9% | -24.77% | 39.95% | -9.97% | -2.06% | 44.37% | 3909.07% | -105.26% | 39.55% | -17.48% | 10% | 75.39% | 555.07% | 79.19% | -264.8% |
| FCF per Share | 2.94 | 3.66 | 4.95 | 5.76 | 11.03 | 5.95 | 5.74 | 3.69 | 5.22 | 3.02 | 2.57 | 3.29 | 1.12 | -4.38 | 3.98 | 6.94 | 2.16 | 2.67 | 2.32 | 2.50 | 2.49 | 1.71 | -0.04 | 0.85 | 0.61 | 0.74 | 0.68 | 0.38 | -0.08 | -0.41 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.72x | 1.35x | 1.51x | 1.30x | 1.20x | 1.63x | 1.86x | 0.87x | 1.58x | 1.83x | -10.83x | 2.19x | 4.11x | -3.13x | 3.44x | 1.28x | 1.89x | 3.72x | 1.18x | 1.08x | 1.33x | 0.87x | 0.97x | 4.18x | 2.27x | 1.20x | 1.27x | 2.31x | 1.35x | 1.05x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Commodity price volatility exposure
According to recent financial filings, Rio Tinto consistently maintains an OCF/NI ratio above 1.0, with a peak of 1.86 in 2022Q4, suggesting that the company's reported net income is reliably supported by actual cash generation despite the inherent volatility of global commodity price cycles.
The consistent premium of operating cash flow over net income indicates that non-cash charges, primarily depreciation and amortization, remain a significant component of the company's accounting profile. Investors should monitor whether this conversion efficiency persists as the company increases capital intensity for long-term projects like Simandou.
As reported in financial statements, Rio Tinto's FCF margin has trended downward from a high of 32.4% in 2021Q2 to 8.3% by 2025Q4, reflecting the combined impact of softening commodity price realizations and the company's aggressive ramp-up in capital expenditure for strategic growth initiatives.
The contraction in free cash flow margins suggests that the company is entering a more capital-intensive phase of its lifecycle. This trend warrants further investigation into whether these investments will yield sufficient returns to offset the dilution of cash flow margins observed over the last ten quarters.
Based on reported figures, Rio Tinto's CapEx/Revenue ratio has climbed from 10.1% in 2021Q2 to 24.5% in 2025Q4, indicating a significant shift toward higher capital intensity as the firm prioritizes long-term asset development over immediate cash preservation in a volatile pricing environment.
This rising capital intensity appears to be driven by the execution of major projects like the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine and Simandou. While these investments are intended to secure future production, they currently place a meaningful burden on the company's ability to generate surplus free cash flow.
Data from recent filings shows that Rio Tinto continues to prioritize shareholder returns, with dividend payments totaling $2.3B in 2025Q4, even as the company faces increased capital requirements and a more challenging commodity price environment compared to the peak earnings period of 2021.
The company's commitment to dividends appears to be a core pillar of its capital allocation strategy, yet the narrowing gap between free cash flow and dividend outflows suggests less flexibility for future buybacks. Investors should monitor whether this payout policy remains sustainable if commodity prices face further downward pressure.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying RIO stock.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO) generated $17.19B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO) generated $4.82B 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.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO) spent $12.36B 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, Rio Tinto Group (RIO) returned $6.16B to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.