Free cash flow remains volatile, swinging from a negative $108.2 million in 2025Q1 to $616.8 million in 2026Q2, while stock-based compensation of $222.3 million continues to obscure the true economic cost of operations.
| Metric | TTM | Oct'25 | Oct'24 | Oct'23 | Oct'22 | Oct'21 | Oct'20 | Oct'19 | Oct'18 | Oct'17 | Oct'16 | Oct'15 | Oct'14 | Oct'13 | Oct'12 | Oct'11 | Oct'10 | Oct'09 | Oct'08 | Oct'07 | Oct'06 | Oct'05 | Oct'04 | Oct'03 | Oct'02 | Oct'01 | Oct'00 | Sep'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 | Sep'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 2.84B | 1.52B | 1.41B | 1.7B | 1.74B | 1.49B | 991.31M | 800.51M | 424.23M | 634.57M | 586.63M | 495.16M | 550.95M | 496.7M | 486.07M | 440.32M | 341.04M | 236.71M | 331.09M | 433.48M | 205.89M | 269.19M | 264.04M | 391.53M | -181.05M | 295.83M | 151.12M | 223.3M | 144.1M | 109.6M | 88.3M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 21.53% | 22.96% | 32.03% | 37.67% | 35.5% | 26.9% | 23.82% | 13.59% | 23.29% | 24.22% | 22.08% | 26.78% | 25.31% | 27.68% | 28.67% | 24.7% | 17.4% | 24.76% | 35.75% | 18.79% | 27.14% | 24.18% | 33.27% | -19.97% | 43.48% | 19.28% | 27.7% | 20.07% | 16.94% | 16.8% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 1574.92% | 7.93% | -17.39% | -2.05% | 16.5% | 50.57% | 23.83% | 88.7% | -33.15% | 8.17% | 18.47% | -10.13% | 10.92% | 2.19% | 10.39% | 29.11% | 44.07% | -28.51% | -23.62% | 110.54% | -23.52% | 1.95% | -32.56% | 316.26% | -161.2% | 95.76% | -32.33% | 54.96% | 31.48% | 24.12% | 15.12% |
| Net Income | 773.03M | 1.33B | 2.24B | 1.22B | 978.44M | 756.36M | 663.45M | 532.37M | 432.52M | 136.56M | 266.83M | 225.93M | 259.12M | 247.8M | 182.4M | 221.36M | 237.06M | 167.68M | 189.98M | 130.49M | 24.74M | -17.11M | 74.34M | 149.72M | -199.99M | 56.8M | 97.78M | 161.4M | 63.3M | 82M | 16.8M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.47B | 660.43M | 295.06M | 247.12M | 228.41M | 203.68M | 209.99M | 201.68M | 209.21M | 189.44M | 207.03M | 211.82M | 192.83M | 187.4M | 156.84M | 128.55M | 101.2M | 101.45M | 97.14M | 105.37M | 114.49M | 168.88M | 192.77M | 184.11M | 116.1M | 65.16M | 63.77M | 52M | 44.2M | 39.8M | 28.9M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 986.13M | 893.29M | 692.32M | 563.29M | 459.03M | 345.27M | 248.58M | 155M | 140.03M | 108.29M | 97.58M | 86.4M | 79.44M | 67.51M | 71.41M | 56.41M | 59.99M | 56.93M | 65.47M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -354.57M | -470.69M | -407.65M | -211.04M | -36.91M | -128.58M | -111.53M | -82.62M | -210.31M | 123.05M | -14.04M | 36.88M | -17.1M | -676K | 12.85M | 22.28M | 38.36M | 25.94M | -12.25M | -972K | -25.18M | -11.21M | -50.85M | -30.5M | -128.17M | -58.83M | -37.69M | -5.1M | -6.6M | -20.8M | -13M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -279.97M | -401.08M | -700.94M | 213.12M | 169.28M | 185.72M | 169.28M | 69.37M | 2.42M | 3.46M | 932K | 1.19M | -8.25M | -766K | 3.56M | 1.12M | -4.43M | 11.1M | 4.65M | 69.58M | 65.74M | 5.29M | 20.05M | 85.29M | 127.29M | -37.55M | 5.48M | 30.1M | 52M | 25.7M | 73.4M |
| Working Capital Changes | 243.89M | -496.59M | -707.57M | -327.34M | -59.34M | 130.18M | -188.46M | -75.28M | -149.47M | 71.67M | 28.3M | -67.07M | 44.91M | -4.57M | 59.01M | 10.59M | -91.15M | -123.95M | -13.9M | 129.01M | 26.1M | 123.35M | 27.73M | 2.91M | -96.28M | 270.25M | 21.77M | -15.1M | -12.9M | 2.3M | 20.4M |
| Change in Receivables | 134.47M | -174.14M | -103.46M | -178.43M | -251.39M | 201.71M | -236.81M | -8.57M | -95.78M | 2.3M | -43.27M | -56.53M | -65.02M | 37.59M | -53.4M | -18.97M | -16.2M | 22.83M | -8.57M | -124K | -19.15M | 56.84M | 70.51M | 7.18M | 5.28M | -5.19M | -18.77M | -26.7M | -25.8M | -25.5M | -20.1M |
| Change in Inventory | -68.58M | -22.52M | -51.45M | -123.75M | 1.32M | -48.05M | -55.02M | -17.4M | -65.75M | -20.14M | -32.07M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -114.63M | 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 |
| Cash from Investing | -16.02B | -15.91B | 1.22B | -482.1M | -572.62M | -549.03M | -360.42M | -235.88M | -743.52M | -189.28M | -142.68M | -559.63M | -497.25M | -66.08M | -879.12M | -88.82M | -238.73M | -189.45M | -201.09M | -245.57M | -153.78M | -171.47M | -172.03M | -258.33M | 275.72M | 61.83M | 47.54M | -96.9M | -153.3M | -99.8M | -153.1M |
| Capital Expenditures | -162.67M | -169.45M | -123.16M | -191.82M | -139.08M | -95.74M | -158.76M | -202.39M | -101.93M | -73.55M | -71.04M | -90.65M | -106.91M | -69.07M | -57.49M | -60.23M | -42.08M | -39.6M | -41.74M | -47.29M | -51.41M | -43.56M | -45.01M | -50.15M | -48.76M | -82.49M | -68.5M | -112.3M | -88.4M | -54.5M | -39.3M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.87% | 2.4% | 2.01% | 3.61% | 3.01% | 2.28% | 4.31% | 6.02% | 3.27% | 2.7% | 2.93% | 4.04% | 5.2% | 3.52% | 3.27% | 3.92% | 3.05% | 2.91% | 3.12% | 3.9% | 4.69% | 4.39% | 4.12% | 4.26% | 5.38% | 12.12% | 8.74% | 13.93% | 12.31% | 8.42% | 7.48% |
| Acquisitions | -16.22B | -15.89B | -156.95M | -297.69M | -422.37M | -296.02M | -201.04M | -36.6M | -652.64M | -259.2M | -60.06M | -340.15M | -394.62M | -970.09M | -970.09M | -41.02M | -500.83M | -53.36M | -184.65M | -57.47M | -41.14M | -174.5M | -60.14M | 168.31M | 168.31M | -14.47M | -14.47M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 213.44M | -365K | 1.5B | 0 | -1.2M | -800K | 0 | 0 | 1.66M | 2.1M | 0 | 900K | 150K | 990.27M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.3M | 0 | -2.95M | -2.74M | -338.67M | -1.59M | 17.28M | 2.7M | 43M | 62.9M | 10.2M | -12.4M |
| Cash from Financing | 1.56B | 13.39B | -181.3M | -1.2B | -1.12B | -748.75M | -140.61M | -561.89M | 5.14M | -373.12M | -306.94M | -62.07M | -73.69M | -97.98M | 243.49M | -277.62M | -43.06M | 69.45M | -143.84M | 56.86M | -130.43M | -39.77M | -266.59M | 74.18M | -51.81M | -232.99M | -351.49M | -5.3M | 42.1M | 21.6M | 7.7M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 3.42B | 13.47B | -2.61M | -2.6M | -76.84M | -28.06M | -12.39M | -331.17M | 325.32M | -60.63M | 0 | 129.57M | -30.97M | -30.71M | 113.84M | -4.63M | -3.69M | -2.47M | -2.97M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.47M | -13.57M | -12.6M | -7.6M | -11.6M | -8.4M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -115.21M | 228.42M | 232.21M | -907.74M | -862.04M | -542.36M | -44.67M | -172.82M | -276.17M | -253.66M | -274.72M | -284.86M | -37.66M | -57.11M | 135.9M | -239.66M | -39.37M | 71.92M | -140.87M | 56.86M | -130.43M | -39.77M | -266.59M | 74.18M | -51.81M | -226.52M | -337.92M | 7.3M | 55.8M | 36.2M | 11.6M |
| Dividends 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 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -235.68M | 0 | 0 | -1.16B | -1.1B | -753.08M | -242.08M | -329.19M | -400M | -380M | -400M | -260M | -119.75M | -145.02M | -40M | -401.84M | -184.7M | 0 | -220.05M | -151.62M | -199.99M | -88.39M | -423.3M | -260.75M | -171.68M | -331.88M | -397.47M | -95.4M | -12.4M | -9.5M | -14.8M |
| Other Financing | -1.74B | -308.36M | -410.9M | -286.53M | -177.42M | -178.32M | -83.54M | -57.91M | -44.01M | -58.83M | -32.22M | 93.22M | -5.06M | -10.17M | 0 | -33.34M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.1M | -3M | 4.5M |
| Net Change in Cash | -11.64B | -1.01B | 2.46B | 21.32M | -15.32M | 197.21M | 507.44M | 5.53M | -325.24M | 71.74M | 140.43M | -149.57M | -36.68M | 322.06M | -154.69M | 79.67M | 73.79M | 123.98M | -1.7M | 248.57M | -73.68M | 57.73M | -177.6M | 211.73M | 40.88M | 118.99M | -156.27M | 120.8M | 33.3M | 31.1M | -57.3M |
| Free Cash Flow | 2.68B | 1.35B | 1.28B | 1.51B | 1.6B | 1.4B | 832.55M | 598.13M | 322.31M | 561.01M | 515.6M | 404.51M | 444.04M | 427.64M | 428.57M | 380.09M | 298.96M | 197.11M | 289.35M | 386.19M | 154.48M | 225.63M | 219.03M | 341.39M | -229.8M | 213.34M | 82.61M | 111M | 55.7M | 55.1M | 49M |
| FCF Margin % | 30.83% | 19.13% | 20.95% | 28.42% | 34.66% | 33.23% | 22.59% | 17.8% | 10.33% | 20.59% | 21.28% | 18.04% | 21.58% | 21.79% | 24.41% | 24.75% | 21.65% | 14.49% | 21.64% | 31.85% | 14.1% | 22.75% | 20.06% | 29.01% | -25.35% | 31.36% | 10.54% | 13.77% | 7.76% | 8.52% | 9.32% |
| FCF Growth % | 146.53% | 5.09% | -15.06% | -5.52% | 14.53% | 67.78% | 39.19% | 85.58% | -42.55% | 8.81% | 27.46% | -8.9% | 3.84% | -0.22% | 12.76% | 27.14% | 51.67% | -31.88% | -25.08% | 149.99% | -31.53% | 3.01% | -35.84% | 248.56% | -207.72% | 158.23% | -25.57% | 99.28% | 1.09% | 12.45% | -12.19% |
| FCF per Share | 13.97 | 8.34 | 8.23 | 9.74 | 10.22 | 8.88 | 5.35 | 3.88 | 2.10 | 3.62 | 3.33 | 2.56 | 2.82 | 2.73 | 2.85 | 2.53 | 1.97 | 1.35 | 1.96 | 2.58 | 1.07 | 1.56 | 1.38 | 2.07 | -1.74 | 1.65 | 0.58 | 0.76 | 0.40 | 0.42 | 0.59 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 3.46x | 1.14x | 0.62x | 1.38x | 1.77x | 1.97x | 1.49x | 1.50x | 0.98x | 4.65x | 2.20x | 2.19x | 2.13x | 2.00x | 2.66x | 1.99x | 1.44x | 1.41x | 1.74x | 3.32x | 8.32x | -17.39x | 3.55x | 2.62x | 0.91x | 5.21x | 1.55x | 1.38x | 1.57x | 1.51x | 3.73x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 814K | 996K | 1.26M | 3.37M | 5.14M | 12.36M | 15.31M | 7.09M | 3.71M | 2.71M | 1.9M | 1.76M | 1.96M | 69K | 0 | 239K | 192K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 68.01M | 97.96M | 167.77M | 149.76M | 70.71M | 75.74M | 252.52M | 103.48M | 69.45M | 59.73M | 40.74M | 31.33M | 49.21M | 36.58M | 0 | 59.9M | 51.31M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Integration and Regulatory Hurdles
According to recent SEC filings, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow has become increasingly volatile, with the OCF/NI ratio reaching 39.23 in 2026Q2, suggesting that reported net income is currently a poor proxy for the company's underlying cash-generative capacity.
The significant divergence between net income and operating cash flow appears driven by substantial non-cash charges, particularly depreciation and amortization, which have surged in recent periods. Investors should monitor whether this gap reflects legitimate accounting adjustments related to acquisition-related intangibles or a more concerning trend of earnings quality degradation.
As reported in financial statements, Synopsys's free cash flow trajectory has exhibited extreme fluctuations, swinging from a negative $108.2 million in 2025Q1 to a robust $616.8 million in 2026Q2, highlighting the sensitivity of cash generation to the timing of large-scale software licensing and hardware delivery cycles.
The inconsistency in FCF margins suggests that the business model is currently undergoing a transition that complicates predictable cash flow forecasting. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the recent improvement in FCF is sustainable or merely a temporary byproduct of shifting revenue recognition patterns.
Based on Synopsys's reported figures, working capital changes have been a primary source of cash flow instability, with a significant $518.7 million outflow in 2025Q1 followed by a $218.8 million inflow in 2026Q1, indicating aggressive fluctuations in receivables and unbilled contract assets.
These erratic working capital movements suggest that the company's collection cycles and contract structures are highly sensitive to the timing of major customer engagements. Such variability may indicate that the firm is pulling forward future earnings, which could create liquidity pressure if customer payment patterns shift unexpectedly.
As evidenced by recent quarterly data, stock-based compensation remains a persistent and material adjustment, totaling $222.3 million in 2026Q2, which effectively subsidizes the company's operating expenses and masks the true economic cost of maintaining its specialized engineering workforce.
The reliance on stock-based compensation as a non-cash add-back to operating cash flow suggests that the company's reported cash generation is structurally inflated. Analysts should consider the dilutive impact of these grants, as they represent a real cost to shareholders that is not fully captured in traditional cash flow metrics.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying SNPS stock.
Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) generated $1.52B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) generated $1.35B 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.
Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) spent $169.5M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.