Free cash flow remains highly volatile, oscillating between a 36.6% margin in 2026Q1 and a -34.6% margin in 2025Q4, highlighting a heavy reliance on unpredictable working capital cycles.
Vivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) cash flow statement — 7-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 7.52M | -91.6M | 53.92M | 147.32M | 14.38M | 175.79M | -33.89M | 76.48M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -16.05% | 6.95% | 20.67% | 2.39% | 39.68% | -96.62% | 16.31% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 301.86% | -269.87% | -63.4% | 924.83% | -91.82% | 618.68% | -144.32% | - |
| Net Income | -312.64M | -721.49M | 14.3M | 113.14M | 70.78M | -19.13M | -774.18M | -53.85M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 51.57M | 50.91M | 45.94M | 18M | 9.9M | 2.32M | 48.25M | 93.08M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 23.42M | 36.73M | 50.43M | 27.61M | 19.05M | 6.05M | 4.29M | 5.17M |
| Deferred Taxes | -2.36M | 74.75M | 1.25M | -44.86M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.37M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 463.21M | 573.46M | -4.98M | -2.76M | -4.59M | 22.76M | 594.23M | 2.86M |
| Working Capital Changes | -50.99M | -105.95M | -53.01M | 36.19M | -80.77M | 163.79M | 93.53M | 25.84M |
| Change in Receivables | 3.93M | 17.55M | 9.78M | -17.13M | -329K | -874K | -10.25M | 225K |
| Change in Inventory | 5.69M | 1.43M | 1.41M | -8.18M | -1.01M | -4.31M | 4.09M | -1.63M |
| Change in Payables | 27.6M | -79.46M | -23.69M | 53.82M | -30.78M | 128.16M | -28.67M | 1.79M |
| Cash from Investing | -15.44M | -20.17M | -26.74M | -225.64M | -15.41M | -9.35M | -7.61M | -40.16M |
| Capital Expenditures | -3.7M | -2.16M | -4.23M | -895K | -3.56M | -1.13M | -341K | -9.21M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.71% | 0.38% | 0.55% | 0.13% | 0.59% | 0.26% | 0.97% | 1.96% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | -206.87M | -8K | 301K | 0 | -31.12M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -11.74M | -18.01M | -22.52M | -11.88M | -11.85M | -8.51M | -7.26M | 170K |
| Cash from Financing | -7.58M | -29.37M | 86.08M | -43.43M | -236.48M | 38.03M | 245.54M | -55.46M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -4.93M | -2.95M | 120.18M | -3.03M | -192.77M | -413.01M | 254.14M | -46.97M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -2.43M | -18.3M | -22.98M | -20.09M | -32.49M | 239.15M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -17.7M | -120K | -8.1M |
| Share Repurchases | -2.43M | -18.3M | -22.98M | -20.09M | -32.49M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -214K | -8.13M | -11.12M | -20.31M | -11.21M | 229.59M | -8.48M | -400K |
| Net Change in Cash | -16.41M | -141.34M | 112.21M | -119.86M | -237.52M | 204.47M | 204.05M | -19.14M |
| Free Cash Flow | -6.71M | -110.85M | 49.7M | 134.54M | -1.03M | 166.14M | -41.5M | 67.27M |
| FCF Margin % | -1.29% | -19.42% | 6.41% | 18.87% | -0.17% | 37.5% | -118.3% | 14.35% |
| FCF Growth % | 85.15% | -323.07% | -63.06% | 13137.21% | -100.62% | 500.38% | -161.69% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.61 | -10.63 | 4.75 | 13.53 | -0.10 | 42.88 | -12.21 | 17.48 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.02x | 0.21x | 5.72x | 1.98x | 0.50x | -10.91x | 0.04x | -1.42x |
| Interest Paid | 12.8M | 27.68M | 19.5M | 19.33M | 14.79M | 72.74M | 34.59M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 4.42M | 6.37M | 5.47M | 4.02M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying SEAT stock.
Vivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) generated $-91.6M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Vivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) reported negative free cash flow of $110.9M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Vivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) spent $2.2M 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, Vivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) spent $18.3M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Volatile working capital cycles
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings Quality and Cash Divergence
According to reported financial data, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is highly erratic, with OCF/NI ratios swinging from -53.94 in 2024Q4 to 4.26 in 2025Q1, indicating that accounting earnings provide little visibility into the company's actual cash-generating capacity.
The extreme variance between net income and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash charges and significant working capital swings are masking the underlying economic reality of the business. Investors should monitor this divergence closely, as it implies that reported net losses may not fully capture the cash-burn profile of the platform.
Free Cash Flow Margin Instability
As reported in financial statements, SEAT's free cash flow trajectory remains highly inconsistent, oscillating between a 36.6% margin in 2026Q1 and a -34.6% margin in 2025Q4, reflecting the inherent difficulty in stabilizing cash generation within a transactional, event-driven business model.
The lack of a stable FCF trend suggests that the company is currently unable to achieve consistent operating leverage. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the business can sustain positive cash flow without relying on favorable timing of ticket sales and vendor payments.
Working Capital as Cash Driver
Based on the provided cash flow statements, working capital changes are the primary determinant of quarterly liquidity, with a $43.3 million inflow in 2026Q1 contrasting sharply with a $38.7 million outflow in 2025Q2, highlighting the company's reliance on timing-sensitive cash management.
The business appears to function as a pass-through entity where cash flow is heavily dependent on the timing of ticket settlements. This reliance on working capital fluctuations suggests that the company's liquidity position may be vulnerable to shifts in event volume or changes in broker payment terms.
SBC and Capitalized Cost Obfuscation
Analysis of recent filings reveals that stock-based compensation remains a persistent cash-equivalent expense, with quarterly charges frequently exceeding $10 million, which effectively dilutes shareholders while the company struggles to maintain positive free cash flow in the face of significant revenue contraction.
While SBC is a non-cash expense, its magnitude relative to the company's negative net income suggests that the true cost of talent is not being captured in the operating cash flow. This may indicate that the company's reported cash position is bolstered by accounting treatments that do not reflect the full economic cost of operations.