Free cash flow remains highly erratic, swinging from a negative $35.1M in 2024Q2 to a positive $19.5M in 2025Q4, largely driven by volatile working capital changes.
| Cash from Operations | 16.1M | 15.01M | 14.13M | 6.93M | 16.59M | 2.33M | -722K |
| Operating CF Margin % | 2.81% | 2.98% | 3.5% | 1.87% | 4.79% | 0.81% | -0.31% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 7.26% | 6.19% | 103.97% | -58.23% | 611.49% | 422.99% | - |
| Net Income | 11.93M | 10.83M | 10.29M | 7.83M | 6.64M | 6.04M | 1.91M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 11.17M | 13.59M | 15.2M | 18.29M | 16.02M | 13.81M | 11.85M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 341K | 589K | 1.52M | 1.24M | 1.48M | 1.3M | 19K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 483K | 380K | 3.57M | 1.19M | 769K | 697K | 1.51M |
| Working Capital Changes | -7.82M | -10.37M | -16.45M | -21.62M | -8.32M | -19.52M | -16.01M |
| Change in Receivables | -10.3M | -32.59M | -11.46M | -16.98M | -3.15M | -18.72M | -7.36M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 777K | -808K | -51K |
| Change in Payables | -1.09M | 29.31M | 4.51M | 7.9M | 2.47M | 13.98M | 2.21M |
| Cash from Investing | -37.19M | -32.63M | -18.82M | -6.71M | -23.87M | -7.82M | -17.01M |
| Capital Expenditures | -18.98M | -29.46M | -28.71M | -7.25M | -25.68M | -7.94M | -3.78M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.32% | 5.84% | 7.1% | 1.96% | 7.41% | 2.76% | 1.62% |
| Acquisitions | 493K | 9.66M | 0 | 533K | 480K | 395K | 1.26M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -14.15M | -10.57M | 4.21M | 193K | 1.33M | -277K | -14.97M |
| Cash from Financing | 18.58M | 29.07M | 11.17M | 6.05M | -2.13M | 13.14M | 15.77M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 19.1M | 27M | -2.27M | 5.78M | -4.92M | 12.29M | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 8.55M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -518K | 2.07M | 4.89M | 265K | 2.8M | 855K | 15.77M |
| Net Change in Cash | -1.65M | 10.92M | 5.92M | 4.45M | -8.87M | 9.37M | -1.96M |
| Free Cash Flow | -2.88M | -23.55M | 3.35M | -318K | -9.09M | -5.61M | -4.5M |
| FCF Margin % | -0.5% | -4.67% | 0.83% | -0.09% | -2.62% | -1.95% | -1.93% |
| FCF Growth % | 87.77% | -801.97% | 1155.03% | 96.5% | -62.03% | -24.66% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.03 | -0.29 | 0.04 | -0.00 | -0.11 | -0.07 | -0.05 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.35x | 1.38x | 1.37x | 0.89x | 2.41x | 0.38x | -0.38x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 1.92M | 1.77M | 2.23M | 2.16M | 1.99M | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 589K | 634K | 187K | 247K | 268K | 0 |
Working capital volatility
As reported in financial statements, SFWL exhibits extreme variance in cash conversion, with OCF/NI ratios swinging from -2.48 in 2025Q2 to 5.05 in 2025Q4, suggesting that reported net income is a poor proxy for the actual cash-generating capacity of the underlying logistics operations.
The wide divergence between net income and operating cash flow indicates that accrual-based accounting significantly smooths over the underlying operational volatility. Investors should monitor whether these swings are driven by seasonal payment cycles or fundamental difficulties in converting service revenue into realized cash inflows.
Based on the company's reported figures, free cash flow has demonstrated significant instability, oscillating between a positive $19.5M in 2025Q4 and a negative $35.1M in 2024Q2, which highlights the difficulty of maintaining consistent cash generation within a low-margin, capital-intensive industrial service model.
The lack of a stable FCF trajectory suggests that the company's cash flow is highly sensitive to external operational shocks rather than predictable business scaling. This inconsistency makes it difficult to rely on internal cash generation for long-term debt service or strategic reinvestment.
According to recent SEC filings, working capital changes are the primary determinant of quarterly cash flow, with a $18.5M inflow in 2025Q4 contrasting sharply with a $24.2M outflow in 2024Q2, indicating that the company's liquidity is heavily dependent on the timing of client receivables.
The high sensitivity to working capital movements suggests that SFWL may be acting as a financing vehicle for its B2B clients, effectively extending credit to maintain its competitive position. This reliance on working capital management creates significant liquidity risk if collection cycles lengthen during periods of industrial slowdown.
As indicated by the data, SFWL maintains a capital-intensive profile with CapEx/Revenue ratios reaching as high as 10.6% in 2023Q4, which consistently pressures free cash flow and limits the company's ability to retain earnings for non-operational purposes.
The persistent need for capital expenditure suggests that the company must continuously reinvest in its fleet and warehouse infrastructure just to maintain its current service levels. This high capital intensity, combined with thin margins, leaves little room for error in capital allocation decisions.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying SFWL stock.
Shengfeng Development Limited (SFWL) generated $16.1M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Shengfeng Development Limited (SFWL) reported negative free cash flow of $2.9M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Shengfeng Development Limited (SFWL) spent $19.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.