Cash conversion remains robust, highlighted by an OCF/NI ratio of 1397.26 in 2025Q2, which supports ongoing capital allocation strategies including significant historical share repurchases like the $380.1 million buyback in 2023Q4.
| 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 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 357.72M | 294.04M | 467.38M | 335.78M | 769.9M | 767.07M | 170.55M | 88.53M | 169.01M | 80.97M | -33.45M | -14.58M | 12.82M | 27.5M | 19M | 50.6M | 87.95M | 65.88M | 110.75M | 370K | 1.7M | -26.92K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 28.2% | 36.93% | 35.37% | 53.57% | 53.74% | 24.6% | 10.78% | 25.94% | 24.39% | -15.06% | -6.22% | 8.7% | 39.34% | 22.05% | 47.26% | 72.66% | 46.28% | 46.36% | 10.18% | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 65.89% | -37.09% | 39.19% | -56.39% | 0.37% | 349.76% | 92.66% | -47.62% | 108.73% | 342.08% | -129.44% | -213.72% | -53.38% | 44.72% | -62.46% | -42.46% | 33.5% | -40.52% | 29831.62% | -78.22% | 6410.76% | - |
| Net Income | 142.24M | 84.17M | 304.65M | 173.56M | 566M | 680.53M | 9.66M | -16.2M | 58.4M | -9.77M | -154.23M | -458.18M | -11.72M | 1.85M | -314.52M | -69.56M | -5.13M | -58.41M | 133.74M | 3.41M | 2.98M | 110.33K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 123.1M | 168.28M | 164.06M | 138.43M | 167.37M | 152.64M | 142.29M | 124.28M | 102.85M | 82.62M | 81.94M | 82.07M | 37.15M | 16.06M | 33.05M | 50.22M | 46.94M | 58.3M | 51.05M | 745K | 408 | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 4.81M | 0 | 0 | 20.88M | 28.48M | 10.34M | 4.62M | 7.94M | 8.07M | 9.27M | 4.17M | 2.68M | 5.83M | 1.49M | 1.55M | 1.36M | 6.51M | 1.83M | 3.99M | 184K | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.26M | 3.97M | 14.23M | 19.34M | -3.29M | 267K | 343.21M | -9.84M | -4K | 306.33M | 64.31M | 33.66M | 69.94M | 9K | 9K | 9K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 107.8M | 56.95M | -1.69M | -1.93M | 16.55M | 4.91M | 4.75M | 1.34M | 1.23M | 2.3M | 44.39M | 14.4M | 5.26M | 5.88M | 6.13M | 3.25M | 2.42M | -26K | -76.86M | -3.6M | 0 | 0 |
| Working Capital Changes | -20.23M | -15.37M | 354K | 4.85M | -8.5M | -83.61M | 5.26M | -43.07M | -20.89M | -154K | -9.98M | 1.24M | -13.86M | 2.22M | -13.52M | 1.01M | 3.55M | -5.76M | -1.18M | -370K | -1.29M | -137.25K |
| Change in Receivables | 2.52M | -165K | 22.32M | 7.91M | -3.65M | -43.6M | 20.32M | -20.38M | -22.27M | -5.95M | -1.68M | 13.88M | -16.06M | 2.77M | -1.21M | -3.25M | -1.33M | -2.07M | -3.38M | 522K | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 5.98M | 25.64M | 1.93M | -5.85M | -9.41M | -27.78M | 3.86M | -23.72M | -8.09M | -4.81M | -184K | 121K | -5.41M | 1.89M | 254K | -2.77M | -112K | 294K | -678K | -598K | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 7.8M | 6.69M | -6.62M | 7.31M | 11.56M | -8.04M | -3.05M | 3.63M | 10.29M | 4.71M | -4.24M | -5.28M | 2M | -1.63M | -237K | 5.27M | -744K | -31K | 93K | -31K | 429.47K | 174.05K |
| Cash from Investing | 90.2M | 101.16M | 356.18M | 235.52M | -20.87M | -121.26M | -66.33M | -279.84M | -325.33M | -126.85M | -13.22M | -397.53M | -437.07M | -108.12M | 25.49M | -122.34M | -60.15M | -1.43M | -423.31M | 12.96M | -3.66K | -188.68M |
| Capital Expenditures | -87.35M | -83.99M | -55.09M | -18.09M | -25.4M | -130.15M | -72.06M | -347.14M | -328.63M | -143.68M | -396.15M | -473.92M | -523.3M | -127.81M | -91K | 0 | -44.09M | -49K | -413.46M | -179.15M | -3.66K | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 7.99% | 8.06% | 4.35% | 1.91% | 1.77% | 9.12% | 10.39% | 42.26% | 50.44% | 43.28% | 178.36% | 202.28% | 355.05% | 182.87% | 0.11% | - | 36.43% | 0.03% | 173.08% | 4931.21% | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 51.6M | 174.4M | 303.23M | 250.97M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.63M | 0 | 15.15M | -16M | -404M | 96.27M | -120M | 8M | -119M | -67M | 19M | -14.42M | -85M | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 125.84M | 12.16M | 108.04M | 2.64M | 4.53M | 8.88M | 5.72M | 10.67M | 3.31M | 16.83M | 398.94M | 480.38M | 90.18M | 139.7M | 17.58M | -3.34M | 50.94M | -20.38M | 4.57M | 277.11M | 0 | -188.68M |
| Cash from Financing | -474.17M | -334.14M | -644.42M | -595.89M | -935.95M | -368.07M | -34.95M | 103.7M | 96.69M | 122.03M | 20.37M | 534.17M | 456.71M | 111.97M | -46.61M | 73.98M | -55.12M | -53.78M | 323.05M | 3.53M | -170.59K | 189.3M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -294.23M | -203.53M | -342.01M | -51.16M | -261.02M | -122.53M | -21.12M | 144.39M | 112.94M | 74.52M | -29.44M | 129.46M | 463.22M | -33.78M | -42.03M | 61.31M | -42.42M | -49.25M | 294.88M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -116.88M | -98.13M | -25.3M | -380.08M | -20.07M | -10.28M | 0 | -20.52M | -3.15M | 0 | 50.59M | 418.77M | 0 | 150.91M | -861K | 28.79M | 0 | 0 | -13.45M | 0 | 0 | 200.03M |
| Dividends Paid | -65.79M | -34.38M | -277.01M | -158.05M | -668.7M | -230.24M | -4.8M | -4.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.63M | -14.39M | -12.38M | -6.18M | -52.61M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -116.88M | -98.13M | -25.3M | -393.11M | -20.07M | -10.28M | 0 | -20.52M | -3.15M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -861K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -13.45M | 0 | -170.59K | 0 |
| Other Financing | 2.73M | 1.9M | -96K | -6.59M | 13.84M | -5.02M | -9.03M | -15.37M | -13.1M | 47.52M | -785K | -14.07M | -6.51M | -5.15M | -91K | -1.73M | -310K | 1.66M | 94.24M | 3.53M | -170K | -10.73M |
| Net Change in Cash | -24.41M | 64.03M | 179.13M | -24.59M | -186.93M | 277.74M | 69.27M | -87.61M | -59.62M | 76.15M | -26.3M | 122.06M | 32.45M | 31.35M | -2.12M | 2.25M | -27.32M | 10.67M | 10.49M | 16.87M | 1.52M | 593.28K |
| Free Cash Flow | 259.65M | 210.05M | 412.28M | 317.69M | 744.5M | 636.92M | 98.49M | -258.62M | -159.63M | -62.71M | -429.6M | -488.5M | -510.48M | -100.32M | 18.91M | 50.6M | 43.86M | 65.83M | -302.71M | -178.78M | 1.7M | -26.92K |
| FCF Margin % | 23.76% | 20.15% | 32.58% | 33.47% | 51.8% | 44.62% | 14.21% | -31.49% | -24.5% | -18.89% | -193.42% | -208.5% | -346.36% | -143.53% | 21.94% | 47.26% | 36.23% | 46.24% | -126.72% | -4921.03% | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | -28.01% | -49.05% | 29.78% | -57.33% | 16.89% | 546.67% | 138.08% | -62.01% | -154.53% | 85.4% | 12.06% | 4.31% | -408.86% | -630.56% | -62.64% | 15.38% | -33.37% | 121.75% | -69.32% | -10644.78% | 6397.15% | - |
| FCF per Share | 2.32 | 1.82 | 3.79 | 3.21 | 7.26 | 6.28 | 1.02 | -2.76 | -2.06 | -0.99 | -9.03 | -12.49 | -43.68 | -35.53 | 17.53 | 53.42 | 51.89 | 81.10 | -416.97 | -364.19 | 4.27 | -0.00 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.83x | 3.49x | 1.53x | 1.93x | 1.36x | 1.13x | 17.66x | -5.46x | 2.89x | -8.29x | 0.22x | 0.03x | -1.09x | 14.86x | -0.06x | -0.73x | -17.14x | -1.13x | 0.83x | 0.11x | 0.57x | -0.24x |
| Interest Paid | 17.71M | 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 | 216K | 0 | 0 |
Cyclical charter rate volatility
As reported in recent financial statements, Star Bulk consistently generates operating cash flow significantly higher than net income, with the OCF/NI ratio reaching an extreme 1397.26 in 2025Q2, suggesting that non-cash charges and accounting adjustments play a dominant role in the company's reported bottom-line profitability metrics.
The persistent divergence between net income and operating cash flow indicates that reported earnings are heavily influenced by depreciation and other non-cash items inherent to a capital-intensive shipping fleet. Investors should interpret this as a signal that cash-generating capacity remains more resilient than the volatile net income figures suggest, though it also highlights the difficulty of using GAAP earnings to gauge true operational performance.
Based on quarterly data, Star Bulk's free cash flow margins have fluctuated significantly, ranging from a low of 13.2% in 2025Q4 to a peak of 36.5% in 2024Q3, illustrating the company's high sensitivity to the cyclical nature of global dry bulk shipping demand and charter rate environments.
While the company maintains a positive free cash flow trajectory, the volatility in margins suggests that operational leverage is a double-edged sword during market downturns. The ability to maintain positive FCF even during periods of lower net income appears to be supported by the company's fleet-wide scrubber integration, which provides a structural cost advantage that helps preserve cash flow during weaker charter cycles.
According to reported figures, Star Bulk's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue has remained relatively contained, peaking at 19.8% in 2025Q4, which suggests that the company is successfully balancing necessary fleet maintenance with the capital requirements of its ongoing vessel acquisition and modernization strategy.
The moderate capital intensity indicates that management is not over-investing in fleet expansion at the expense of liquidity. However, the periodic spikes in capex warrant further investigation to determine if these outlays represent essential dry-docking and regulatory compliance costs or discretionary growth investments that could pressure future cash availability if charter rates remain depressed.
As evidenced by recent financial filings, Star Bulk has utilized its cash reserves to fund both significant dividend payments and share repurchases, including a notable $380.1 million buyback in 2023Q4, reflecting a management strategy that prioritizes returning excess capital to shareholders during periods of strong cash generation.
The company's variable dividend policy appears to act as a shock absorber, allowing for capital preservation when market conditions soften. While the aggressive buyback activity suggests confidence in the company's long-term valuation, investors should monitor whether these distributions remain sustainable if the current cooling in global commodity demand persists and impacts future operating cash flows.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying SBLK stock.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) generated $294.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) generated $210.0M 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.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) spent $84.0M 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, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) returned $34.4M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $98.1M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.