Operating cash flow consistently exceeds net income, averaging $5.1B per quarter, and funds a disciplined capital expenditure program that consumes 38% to 59% of OCF, resulting in positive free cash flow every quarter and strong dividend coverage.
Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV) cash flow statement — 28-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| 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 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 20.41B | 20.31B | 19.88B | 18.79B | 18.94B | 18.09B | 19.34B | 17.72B | 11.94B | 12.64B | 11.44B | 10.47B | 9.38B | 9.58B | 9.73B | 8.14B | 4.53B | 4.41B | 5.13B | 4.73B | 5B | 5.54B | 5.61B | 4.96B | 4.57B | 3.77B | 2.64B | 2.69B | 2.14B |
| Operating CF Growth % | 6.71% | 2.18% | 5.81% | -0.82% | 4.71% | -6.47% | 9.14% | 48.4% | -5.53% | 10.49% | 9.23% | 11.61% | -2% | -1.61% | 19.55% | 79.63% | 2.69% | -13.97% | 8.46% | -5.31% | -9.78% | -1.27% | 13.14% | 8.37% | 21.34% | 42.67% | -1.65% | 25.61% | - |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 33.06% | 34.76% | 35.59% | 36.06% | 39.43% | 41.08% | 44.85% | 40.03% | 27.48% | 29.26% | 26.91% | 26% | 26.81% | 27.58% | 28.69% | 27.96% | 28.69% | 27.92% | 32.11% | 32.12% | 34.19% | 38.49% | 42.14% | 41.99% | 45.34% | 41.66% | 35.16% | 48.1% | 47.31% |
| Net Income | 6.6B | 6.05B | 6.76B | 5.57B | 4.83B | 5.96B | 6.01B | 6.39B | 11.28B | 5.73B | 5.13B | 4.39B | 4.75B | 4.66B | 6.92B | 5.66B | 3.43B | 2.17B | 2.42B | 2.36B | 2.81B | 2.54B | 2.18B | 1.58B | 456.52M | 930.83M | 928.46M | 488.46M | 550.21M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 15.5B | 14.65B | 14.2B | 13.39B | 12.66B | 12.04B | 11.23B | 10.92B | 8.37B | 7.85B | 7.65B | 6.81B | 5.3B | 5.64B | 5.49B | 4.59B | 1.91B | 2.51B | 2.78B | 2.7B | 2.67B | 2.72B | 2.77B | 2.84B | 3.77B | 3.32B | 2.95B | 2.38B | 1.52B |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 661.74M | 653.69M | 1.07B | 673.9M | 625.48M | 1.1B | 999.42M | 985.18M | 993.51M | 546.2M | 660.77M | 514.84M | -1.55B | -3.36B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -166.89M | -461.41M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.71B | 2.53B | 722.74M | 226.31M | 1.07B | 183.04M | 1.55B | 1.49B | 483.71M | 923.34M | 1.05B | 919.9M | 662.94M | 593.86M | 546.72M | 395.13M | 3.66B | 558.02M | 854.81M | 511.09M | 381.82M | 198.52M | 296.12M | -365.1M | 2.07B | 652.09M | 88.47M | 1.8K | -120.82K |
| Working Capital Changes | -4.1B | -2.92B | -1.81B | -1.12B | -309.87M | -1.17B | -138.02M | -1.72B | -10.35B | -3.21B | -3.41B | -4.39B | -1.09B | -2.03B | -1.41B | -948.08M | -1.12B | -823.07M | -920.53M | -842.76M | -865.72M | 79.78M | 360.38M | 898.61M | -1.72B | -1.14B | -1.32B | -267.87M | 176.64M |
| Capital Expenditures | -9.55B | -9.27B | -9.32B | -8.81B | -9.89B | -9.3B | -8.29B | -8.84B | -8.52B | -8.37B | -7.47B | -16.05B | -7.54B | -5.84B | -4.55B | -4.65B | -2.13B | -2.32B | -2.1B | -1.99B | -1.72B | -1.67B | -1.34B | -1.32B | -1.57B | -4.48B | -4.22B | -2.86B | -2.59B |
| CapEx / Revenue % | 15.48% | 15.87% | 16.7% | 16.91% | 20.6% | 21.11% | 19.22% | 19.97% | 19.6% | 19.37% | 17.58% | 39.85% | 21.53% | 16.81% | 13.41% | 15.98% | 13.46% | 14.7% | 13.16% | 13.52% | 11.75% | 11.63% | 10.06% | 11.15% | 15.55% | 49.49% | 56.12% | 51.2% | 57.38% |
| CapEx / D&A | 0.62x | 0.63x | 0.66x | 0.66x | 0.78x | 0.77x | 0.74x | 0.81x | 1.02x | 1.07x | 0.98x | 2.36x | 1.42x | 1.03x | 0.83x | 1.01x | 1.11x | 0.93x | 0.76x | 0.74x | 0.64x | 0.62x | 0.48x | 0.46x | 0.42x | 1.35x | 1.43x | 1.20x | 1.71x |
| CapEx Coverage (OCF/CapEx) | 2.14x | 2.19x | 2.13x | 2.13x | 1.91x | 1.95x | 2.33x | 2.00x | 1.40x | 1.51x | 1.53x | 0.65x | 1.25x | 1.64x | 2.14x | 1.75x | 2.13x | 1.90x | 2.44x | 2.38x | 2.91x | 3.31x | 4.19x | 3.77x | 2.92x | 0.84x | 0.63x | 0.94x | 0.82x |
| Cash from Investing | -10.05B | -9.82B | -8.91B | -7.85B | -14.2B | -8.13B | -6.41B | -7.93B | -5.68B | -8.44B | -6.89B | -16.05B | -7.61B | -5.54B | -3.4B | -2.03B | -1.66B | -2.3B | -2.07B | -2.27B | -1.88B | -1.67B | -1.42B | -1.27B | -1.61B | -4.53B | -3.74B | -3B | -2.61B |
| Acquisitions | -34.31M | -615.87M | -168.52M | -63.8M | 69.39M | 0 | -6.76M | -70.84M | 9.05M | -206.65M | 778.82M | -7.85B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.98B | 0 | 0 | 0 | -417.38M | 18.54M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45.84M | 0 | 5.35M | 0 | 0 |
| Purchase of Investments | -1.06B | -86.97M | -5.3M | 0 | -4.98B | 0 | 959.35M | 0 | 0 | 20.67M | -202.53M | -6.43M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8.94M | 0 | -20.77M | 0 | 0 | -14.08M | 0 | -279.44M | -167.35M | -2.66M |
| Sale of Investments | -4.01M | 153.87M | 161.06M | 196.06M | 232.06M | 244.14M | 116.41M | 0 | 10K | 31.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.07M | 0 | 178.5M | 0 | 0 | 147.68M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 222.16K | 20.76M | 248.49K | 172.12M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Investing | 611.38M | -6 | 422.1M | 828.1M | 366.31M | 923.58M | 811.81M | 982.3M | 2.84B | 83.61M | 576.3M | -1.41B | -72.59M | 293.37M | 1.14B | 641.98M | 289.3M | 28.24M | 27.8M | 1.78K | -182.78M | 29.3M | -76.24M | 42.54M | -97.39M | -47.48M | 580.78M | 25.74M | -12.93M |
| Cash from Financing | -11.28B | -10.16B | -8.63B | -8.85B | -8.91B | -9.26B | -10.56B | -9.78B | -6.93B | -5.26B | -4.78B | 5.37B | -3.63B | -4.62B | -2.08B | -4.73B | -3.59B | -1.58B | -2.25B | -1.74B | -3.36B | -3.65B | -4.17B | -3.96B | -2.68B | 865.71M | 132.83M | -692.53M | 508.77M |
| Dividends Paid | -2.85B | -2.14B | -2.53B | -3.83B | -5.71B | -4.9B | -5.26B | -6.18B | -4.14B | -3.67B | -2.97B | -3.68B | -2.45B | -4.54B | -3.49B | -5.39B | -1.92B | -1.49B | -2.22B | -2.63B | -3.07B | -3.13B | -3.66B | -3.13B | -1.49B | -809.37M | -572.45M | -513.62M | -114.05M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio % | - | 35.46% | 45.65% | 76.2% | 139.76% | 78.55% | 110.25% | 123.51% | 46.33% | 79.6% | 72.61% | 110.43% | 49.56% | 122.06% | 78.48% | 123.7% | 80.04% | 68.51% | 91.64% | 111.26% | 113.86% | 123.28% | 142.01% | 197.68% | 326.41% | 86.95% | 61.66% | 105.15% | 20.73% |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | -4M | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K |
| Stock Issued | 0 | 1.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.11B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.7K | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -3.97B | -3.75B | -2.76B | -488.76M | -607.44M | -496M | -22.72M | 0 | 0 | -32K | -164K | -87.81M | -245K | -289K | -32.77M | -61.62M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -112.14M | -17.68M | -58.86M | -2.94M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 802.58M | 947.58M | 76.26M | -107.2M | -110.62M | 40.04M | 15.19M | 91.54M | 95.99M | -159.41M | -106.97M | 457.2M | 63.74M | 20.67M | -89.58M | 22.91M | -5.35M | 155.72M | -262.67M | -224.87K | -143.92M | -358.38M | -194.48M | -12.68M | -2.86M | -55.56M | -19.73M | 197.17M | 651.82M |
| Net Change in Cash | -859.63M | 1.07B | 2.33B | 2.08B | -4.17B | 704.27M | 2.37B | 12.05M | -669.01M | -1.05B | -231.74M | 62.6M | -1.85B | -589.6M | 4.26B | 1.38B | -720.3M | 536.01M | 807.79M | 720.18M | -249.82M | 224.88M | 23.65M | -274.59M | 284.34M | 109.26M | -963.72M | -1.01B | 37.94M |
| Exchange Rate Effect | 58.51M | 735.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 581.56M | -47K | 51K | -63K | 0 | -101K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.66K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | 9.09B | 6.07B | 4.36B | 2.27B | 6.45B | 5.76B | 3.39B | 3.38B | 4.05B | 5.11B | 5.34B | 5.27B | 6.54B | 7.13B | 2.94B | 1.56B | 2.28B | 1.74B | 933.35M | 213.02M | 462.34M | 238.58M | 214.99M | 488.66M | 206.3M | 97.03M | 75.28M | 1.08B | 862.9M |
| Cash at End | 8.62B | 7.14B | 6.69B | 4.36B | 2.27B | 6.47B | 5.76B | 3.39B | 3.38B | 4.05B | 5.11B | 5.34B | 4.69B | 6.54B | 7.2B | 2.94B | 1.56B | 2.28B | 1.74B | 933.2M | 212.52M | 463.46M | 238.64M | 214.07M | 490.64M | 206.29M | -888.44M | 68.47M | 900.83M |
| Free Cash Flow | 10.85B | 11.04B | 10.55B | 9.97B | 9.05B | 8.79B | 11.05B | 8.88B | 3.42B | 4.27B | 3.97B | -5.58B | 1.85B | 3.74B | 5.18B | 3.49B | 2.41B | 2.09B | 3.03B | 2.74B | 3.28B | 3.86B | 4.27B | 3.64B | 3B | -709.22M | -1.58B | -173.55M | -455.25M |
| FCF Growth % | 4.07% | 4.61% | 5.79% | 10.24% | 2.87% | -20.43% | 24.43% | 159.42% | -19.88% | 7.64% | 171.17% | -401.67% | -50.54% | -27.88% | 48.64% | 44.97% | 15.15% | -30.99% | 10.56% | -16.46% | -15.14% | -9.5% | 17.25% | 21.16% | 523.68% | 54.98% | -807.75% | 61.88% | - |
| FCF Margin % | 17.58% | 18.89% | 18.9% | 19.15% | 18.83% | 19.97% | 25.63% | 20.07% | 7.88% | 9.89% | 9.34% | -13.85% | 5.28% | 10.77% | 15.28% | 11.98% | 15.23% | 13.22% | 18.95% | 18.6% | 22.44% | 26.85% | 32.07% | 30.84% | 29.79% | -7.84% | -20.96% | -3.11% | -10.07% |
| FCF / Net Income % | 164.29% | 182.56% | 190.2% | 198.33% | 221.49% | 140.96% | 231.68% | 177.62% | 38.35% | 92.72% | 97.18% | -167.46% | 37.46% | 100.62% | 116.44% | 80.08% | 100.29% | 96.15% | 125.1% | 115.91% | 116.69% | 151.97% | 195.65% | 230.19% | 658.21% | -76.19% | -169.68% | -35.53% | -82.74% |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying VIV stock.
Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV) generated $20.31B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV) generated $11.04B 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.
Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV) spent $9.27B 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, Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV) returned $2.14B to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $3.75B on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Regulatory and FX volatility
Robust Operating Cash Flow Generation
Operating cash flow has demonstrated consistent strength, averaging approximately $5.1B per quarter over the last ten periods, which provides a highly predictable foundation for funding capital investments and shareholder returns.
The stability of OCF, with a low of $4.6B and a high of $5.9B, suggests the core telecom operations generate reliable cash irrespective of quarterly earnings volatility. This predictability is characteristic of a mature utility-like business with recurring subscription revenue, allowing management to plan long-term capital allocation with a high degree of confidence.
Disciplined Investment Relative to Cash Flow
Capital expenditure has been maintained at a steady $2.2B to $2.7B per quarter, representing a manageable 38% to 59% of operating cash flow, indicating a disciplined approach to funding network expansion from internal generation.
The CapEx-to-OCF ratio has trended lower in recent quarters, from a peak of 59.2% in 2024Q4 to 43.9% in 2026Q2, which may indicate the completion of a major investment cycle or improved capital efficiency. This trend suggests the company is successfully funding its fiber and 5G rollout without straining its cash flow profile, a positive signal for long-term free cash flow generation.
Minimal External Financing Needs
VIV has generated positive free cash flow in every quarter, ranging from $1.9B to $3.6B, and has not utilized long-term debt issuance, indicating operations are fully self-funding and the balance sheet is not under pressure.
The consistent FCF surplus, even after substantial dividend payments, implies the company has significant financial flexibility. The absence of net long-term debt issuance over the period suggests management is prioritizing internal cash generation over leverage, which may indicate a conservative stance or a view that current investment needs are fully covered by operations.
Dividend Coverage Remains Strong
Operating cash flow has covered dividend payments by a wide margin in most quarters, with the OCF-to-dividend ratio exceeding 2.0x in the most recent period, suggesting the payout is sustainable from core cash generation.
The dividend coverage ratio shows significant quarterly variation, likely due to the timing of large dividend payments (e.g., 2025Q2, 2024Q2). However, the underlying trend of strong OCF generation relative to the annualized dividend commitment indicates the payout is well-supported. Investors should monitor the quarterly pattern, as lumpy payments can temporarily distort coverage metrics.
Cash Flow Exceeds Reported Net Income
Operating cash flow has consistently and significantly exceeded net income, with the most recent quarter showing OCF of $5.4B against net income of $1.6B, highlighting the substantial non-cash charges embedded in the income statement.
This persistent gap, where OCF is typically 3-4 times net income, underscores the capital-intensive nature of the business and the material impact of depreciation and amortization. It suggests that net income alone is a poor proxy for the company's cash-generating ability and its capacity to fund dividends and investments.
Hidden Obligations and Timing Risks
The cash flow statement does not fully disclose potential future liabilities such as network decommissioning costs or the final capital obligations from the Oi mobile integration, which could represent material future cash outflows.
While current cash flow is robust, the pending resolution of fixed-line concession reversibility and the integration of acquired assets may require significant future capital commitments not yet reflected in the CapEx line. Furthermore, the lumpy dividend payment schedule creates quarterly cash flow volatility that could mask underlying trends if not analyzed on a trailing twelve-month basis.