Operating cash flow conversion is inconsistent, with an OCF/Net Income ratio swinging wildly from -82.00 to 14.15, and free cash flow margin remains thin at approximately 1.0%, driven largely by volatile working capital releases.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) cash flow statement — 29-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Aug'25 | Jul'24 | Jul'23 | Jul'22 | Jul'21 | Jul'20 | Jul'19 | Jul'18 | Jul'17 | Jul'16 | Jul'15 | Jul'14 | Jul'13 | Jul'12 | Jul'11 | Jul'10 | Jul'09 | Jul'08 | Jul'07 | Jul'06 | Jul'05 | Jul'04 | Jul'03 | Jul'02 | Jul'01 | Jul'00 | Jul'99 | Jul'98 | Jul'97 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 540M | 470M | 253M | 624M | 331M | 614M | 457M | 284.53M | 109.47M | 280.78M | 296.61M | 48.86M | 62.42M | 44.33M | 66.24M | 49.84M | 66.13M | 108.32M | 9.13M | 35.51M | 25.19M | 38.35M | 8.97M | 31.87M | 11.02M | 21.99M | -11.58M | 8.3M | 4.5M | 500K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 1.48% | 0.82% | 2.06% | 1.14% | 2.28% | 1.72% | 1.33% | 1.07% | 3.03% | 3.5% | 0.6% | 0.92% | 0.73% | 1.27% | 1.1% | 1.76% | 3.14% | 0.27% | 1.29% | 1.03% | 1.86% | 0.54% | 2.31% | 0.94% | 2.16% | -1.27% | 0.97% | 0.62% | 0.12% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 59.94% | 85.77% | -59.46% | 88.52% | -46.09% | 34.35% | 60.62% | 159.91% | -61.01% | -5.34% | 507.01% | -21.72% | 40.8% | -33.08% | 32.9% | -24.63% | -38.95% | 1086.58% | -74.29% | 40.98% | -34.31% | 327.68% | -71.87% | 189.14% | -49.86% | 289.88% | -239.51% | 84.44% | 800% | - |
| Net Income | 84M | -118M | -112M | 24M | 248M | 143M | -256M | -285.63M | 165.67M | 130.16M | 125.77M | 138.73M | 125.48M | 107.85M | 91.34M | 76.67M | 68.32M | 59.18M | 48.48M | 50.15M | 43.28M | 41.57M | 31.99M | 20.22M | 17.21M | 13.36M | -1.23M | 13.5M | 13.1M | 9.3M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 303M | 321M | 319M | 304M | 285M | 287M | 289M | 249.9M | 86.5M | 85M | 71.01M | 63.8M | 48.76M | 42.4M | 39.56M | 35.3M | 27.48M | 27.03M | 22.54M | 18.38M | 17.1M | 13.57M | 11.66M | 10.33M | 8.21M | 7.91M | 7.6M | 9.2M | 6.1M | 4.4M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 61M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.98M | 14.61M | 0 | 0 | 9.16M | 8.06M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 27M | -56M | -49M | -36M | 55M | -5M | -71M | -61.21M | -14.82M | -1.89M | 12.48M | 15.34M | 881K | 6.78M | -6.12M | 15.52M | 5.06M | 239K | 2.26M | 1.71M | -1.35M | 1.76M | 3.72M | 1.67M | -1.1M | -1.53M | -930K | -900K | 200K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 55M | 57M | 90M | 162M | 109M | 36M | 552M | 357.43M | 31.65M | 29.43M | 22.93M | 182K | -1.63M | 18.45M | 11.32M | 5.36M | -3.32M | 10.53M | 7.38M | 8.28M | 8.2M | 2.43M | 2.79M | 4.61M | 6.44M | 3.8M | 3.97M | 400K | -100K | 2.2M |
| Working Capital Changes | 10M | 266M | 5M | 170M | -366M | 153M | -57M | 24.04M | -159.53M | 38.09M | 64.43M | -183.17M | -125.68M | -131.15M | -69.86M | -92.16M | -39.47M | 11.35M | -71.53M | -43M | -42.03M | -20.99M | -41.19M | -4.96M | -19.74M | -1.55M | -20.99M | -13.9M | -17.4M | -15.4M |
| Change in Receivables | 131M | -142M | -68M | 327M | -108M | 24M | -124M | 53.35M | -67.28M | -38.76M | 29.42M | -42.26M | -70.72M | -37.3M | -51.19M | -41.25M | -20.44M | -4.6M | -7.63M | -10.69M | -15.31M | -27.57M | -20.18M | -1.08M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 130M | 87M | 104M | -57M | -264M | 14M | -111M | 183.1M | -108.8M | -6.93M | 2.11M | -153.7M | -97.82M | -123.9M | -62.82M | -66.28M | -55.8M | 30.4M | -58.11M | -52.98M | -21.24M | -34.65M | -37.8M | -3.86M | -21.09M | -5.72M | -13.76M | -500K | -14.1M | -6.4M |
| Change in Payables | -119M | 200M | -81M | 53M | 86M | 15M | 107M | -24.83M | 4.39M | 90.22M | 14.38M | 16M | 28.2M | 34.97M | 16.09M | 9.58M | 19.62M | -13.84M | -8.32M | 27.74M | -8.94M | 32.22M | 13.69M | -496K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -169M | -218M | -342M | -339M | -49M | -237M | -1M | -2.26B | -47.01M | -59.96M | -350.92M | -142.07M | -352.79M | -72.32M | -34.46M | -62.74M | -118.67M | -36.75M | -158.9M | -51.66M | -22.35M | -82.32M | -23.61M | -63.49M | -27.77M | -18.24M | -17.01M | -6.9M | -34.7M | -3.3M |
| Capital Expenditures | -217M | -231M | -345M | -323M | -251M | -310M | -173M | -228.48M | -44.61M | -56.11M | -41.38M | -129.13M | -147.3M | -66.55M | -31.49M | -40.78M | -55.11M | -32.35M | -51.08M | -46.8M | -19.29M | -65.95M | -23.85M | -63.75M | -27.8M | -18.28M | -17.07M | -15.5M | -35.2M | -3.4M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.7% | 0.73% | 1.11% | 1.07% | 0.87% | 1.15% | 0.65% | 1.07% | 0.44% | 0.6% | 0.49% | 1.58% | 2.17% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.47% | 0.94% | 1.52% | 1.7% | 0.79% | 3.2% | 1.43% | 4.62% | 2.37% | 1.8% | 1.88% | 1.81% | 4.83% | 0.81% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 30M | 25M | 16M | 230M | 82M | 147M | -2.11B | 244K | -9.04M | -306.62M | -7.01M | -205.49M | -5.77M | -2.96M | -21.96M | -66.38M | -4.4M | -107.81M | -3.85M | -3.06M | -16.37M | 238K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 62M | 0 | -22M | -32M | -28M | -9M | 25M | 81.76M | 0 | -2M | -2.92M | -2.92M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.81M | 0 | 0 | -1.01M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 257K | 33K | 46K | 57K | 8.6M | 500K | 100K |
| Cash from Financing | -377M | -248M | 92M | -292M | -279M | -384M | -453M | 2B | -53.99M | -224.56M | 56.35M | 94.43M | 295.36M | 22.34M | -32.83M | 16.34M | 56.04M | -86.64M | 158.09M | 13.11M | 4.6M | 42.96M | 24.64M | 24.08M | 21.54M | 702K | 27.69M | 100K | 30.6M | 2.8M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -300M | -234M | 105M | -184M | -244M | -366M | -461M | 1.98B | -26.17M | -222.2M | 56.13M | 90.7M | 294.3M | 21.93M | -38.77M | -130.86M | 47.14M | -84.19M | 157M | 3.47M | -13.3M | 31.97M | 15.59M | 18.67M | 18.72M | -3.77M | 27.25M | -500K | 13.4M | -33.4M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -50M | 0 | 0 | -62M | 8M | 1M | 14M | 23.98M | -23.26M | 274K | 2.01M | 3.42M | 2.21M | 1.94M | 4.67M | 148.46M | 8.48M | 1.04M | 920K | 7.13M | 12.59M | 10.99M | 9.04M | 5.41M | 2.41M | 3.51M | 440K | 600K | 17.2M | 35.5M |
| 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 |
| Share Repurchases | -50M | 0 | 0 | -62M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -24.23M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.09M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -27M | -14M | -13M | -46M | -43M | -19M | -6M | -3.94M | -4.56M | -2.63M | -1.8M | 316K | -1.16M | -1.53M | 1.28M | -1.26M | 416K | -3.48M | 171K | 2.52M | 5.31M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3M |
| Net Change in Cash | -7M | 4M | 3M | -7M | 3M | -6M | 2.53M | 21.15M | 7.9M | -3.18M | 1.21M | 1.26M | 5M | -5.01M | -745K | 3.06M | 3.53M | -15.06M | 8.32M | -3.04M | 20.05M | 12.62M | 0 | -7.54M | 4.79M | 4.45M | -902K | 1.4M | 400K | 0 |
| Free Cash Flow | 323M | 239M | -92M | 301M | 80M | 304M | 284M | 56.05M | 64.86M | 224.66M | 255.23M | -80.27M | -84.88M | -22.22M | 34.75M | 9.07M | 11.02M | 75.97M | -41.95M | -11.29M | 5.9M | -27.61M | -14.88M | -31.88M | -16.78M | 3.7M | -28.65M | -7.2M | -30.7M | -2.9M |
| FCF Margin % | 1.04% | 0.75% | -0.3% | 0.99% | 0.28% | 1.13% | 1.07% | 0.26% | 0.63% | 2.42% | 3.01% | -0.98% | -1.25% | -0.37% | 0.66% | 0.2% | 0.29% | 2.2% | -1.25% | -0.41% | 0.24% | -1.34% | -0.89% | -2.31% | -1.43% | 0.36% | -3.15% | -0.84% | -4.21% | -0.69% |
| FCF Growth % | 35.15% | 359.78% | -130.56% | 276.25% | -73.68% | 7.04% | 406.66% | -13.58% | -71.13% | -11.98% | 417.97% | 5.44% | -281.96% | -163.95% | 283.32% | -17.75% | -85.49% | 281.08% | -271.47% | -291.49% | 121.37% | -85.46% | 53.3% | -89.94% | -553.32% | 112.92% | -297.9% | 76.55% | -958.62% | - |
| FCF per Share | 5.14 | 3.97 | -1.55 | 4.96 | 1.31 | 5.07 | 5.28 | 1.09 | 1.28 | 4.42 | 5.06 | -1.60 | -1.70 | -0.45 | 0.71 | 0.19 | 0.25 | 1.77 | -0.98 | -0.26 | 0.14 | -0.66 | -0.36 | -0.81 | -0.43 | 0.10 | -0.78 | -0.19 | -0.86 | -0.13 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 3.85x | -3.98x | -2.26x | 26.00x | 1.33x | 4.12x | -1.80x | -0.81x | 0.66x | 2.16x | 2.36x | 0.35x | 0.50x | 0.41x | 0.73x | 0.65x | 0.97x | 1.83x | 0.19x | 0.71x | 0.58x | 0.92x | 0.28x | 1.58x | 0.64x | 1.65x | 9.41x | 0.61x | 0.34x | 0.06x |
| Interest Paid | 127M | 147M | 0 | 0 | 134M | 0 | 0 | 183M | 16.47M | 17.11M | 16.7M | 14.63M | 6.6M | -5.25M | -4.73M | -4.75M | 4.46M | 9.09M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 7M | 4M | 0 | 0 | 5M | 0 | 0 | 78M | 64.04M | 78.98M | 67.03M | 72.36M | 77.09M | -64.37M | -52.67M | -42.02M | 35.54M | 43.98M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying UNFI stock.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) generated $470.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) generated $239.0M 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.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) spent $231.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Profitability and leverage are fragile.
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Volatile Conversion Quality Dominates Pattern
Operating cash flow has wildly diverged from net income, with the OCF/NI ratio swinging from -82.00 to 14.15 over the last ten quarters, as reported in financial statements, signaling deeply inconsistent earnings quality.
The conversion ratio's extreme volatility, especially the massive positive spike in 2026Q2, appears driven by large working capital releases rather than core profitability, suggesting the underlying business does not generate reliable cash from reported earnings. This pattern forces analysts to question the sustainability of any cash flow generation and indicates that net income is a poor proxy for cash generation in any given quarter.
FCF Margin Remains Thin Despite Positive Turn
While free cash flow has returned to positive territory, the trailing twelve-month FCF margin sits near 1.2%, a level far below peers like Sysco (2.3%) and US Foods (2.6%), based on the provided financial data.
The recent positive FCF quarters are encouraging, but the margin is structurally low for the capital intensity of the business. The improvement from negative FCF in early 2025 is driven almost entirely by a swing from cash consumption to massive working capital releases, not by a material improvement in operating profitability, which remains negative on a margin basis.
Working Capital is the Primary Cash Flow Driver
Virtually all positive operating cash flow stems from volatile working capital swings, with cumulative releases of over $600M in the last six quarters dwarfing the aggregate net income of $28M for the same period.
This pattern indicates that cash flow is being generated by stretching payables or liquidating inventory, not by core business performance. While this provides short-term liquidity, it is not a sustainable source of cash, and any normalization of the cash conversion cycle could quickly reverse the positive operating cash flow trend, creating a funding gap for capital expenditures and debt service.
Heavy Reinvestment Amidst Negative Operating Margins
Capital expenditures have averaged ~$69M per quarter over the last year, representing a capital intensity of ~0.8% of revenue, a significant burden for a company currently reporting negative operating margins.
The sustained level of CapEx suggests required maintenance spending to support the vast distribution network, but in the context of negative operating margins, this spending is consuming a significant portion of the modest free cash flow generated. This dynamic limits financial flexibility and makes the company reliant on working capital management to fund even its basic investment needs.
Cumulative Cash Flow Masks Persistent Losses
Over the ten quarters presented, cumulative net income totals a loss of $50M, yet cumulative operating cash flow is a positive $1.03 billion, according to the reported figures, creating a stark and misleading divergence.
This massive gap is almost entirely attributable to cumulative working capital releases of over $550 million, which have effectively masked the operating losses. This divergence suggests the company has been able to fund operations and interest payments by liquidating its working capital assets, a strategy that is fundamentally limited in duration and obscures the true operational performance of the business.
Cash Flow Source is Operationally Risky
The cash flow statement obscures the fundamental weakness by attributing liquidity generation to non-cash working capital releases rather than operational profitability, a dynamic that warrants scrutiny.
The primary source of cash is the $558M net reduction in working capital over the period, which acts as a non-cash source of funds. This masks the fact that the core business, after paying for goods and operating costs, has generated negative cash flow in multiple quarters. Furthermore, the consistent use of cash for share repurchases and acquisitions during periods of net losses, as seen in 2026Q4, raises questions about capital allocation discipline relative to the stated need for margin improvement and deleveraging.