Liquidity remains a critical concern, with cash balances falling to $12.5M in 2027Q1 and free cash flow margins exhibiting extreme volatility, swinging from 47.6% in 2026Q4 to -10.0% in 2027Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Jan'25 | Jan'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Jan'19 | Jan'18 | Jan'17 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Jan'13 | Jan'12 | Jan'11 | Jan'10 | Jan'09 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 26.02M | 13.37M | -14.1M | 47.99M | -13.42M | 39.86M | 20.7M | 20.62M | 43.56M | 42.64M | 65.19M | 43.27M | 103.81M | 87.86M | 51.49M | 51.52M | 58.47M | 66.01M | 50.19M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 4.96% | -3.79% | 10.19% | -2.68% | 7.38% | 4.42% | 4.16% | 10.47% | 9.38% | 13.41% | 8.61% | 20.4% | 16.55% | 9.61% | 11.18% | 15.97% | 22.84% | 21.04% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -245.22% | 194.77% | -129.38% | 457.6% | -133.67% | 92.55% | 0.38% | -52.66% | 2.16% | -34.58% | 50.65% | -58.32% | 18.15% | 70.64% | -0.05% | -11.89% | -11.42% | 31.52% | - |
| Net Income | -19.2M | -32.68M | -62.19M | 7.84M | -79.38M | 20.22M | 10.69M | 15.24M | 20.76M | 7.02M | 19.76M | 27.56M | 39.45M | 58.81M | 68.87M | 57.92M | 46.2M | 43.22M | 23.67M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 20.34M | 27.99M | 30.3M | 31.91M | 33.7M | 32.91M | 43.62M | 45.77M | 16.54M | 19.57M | 19.52M | 19.42M | 14.8M | 15.1M | 10.83M | 9.46M | 8.41M | 10.67M | 7.35M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 164K | 0 | 3.68M | 2.94M | 3.24M | 4.93M | 5.65M | 5.94M | 4.93M | 3.07M | 4.03M | 5.03M | 3.51M | 2.95M | 2.76M | 1.59M | 15.89M | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 20.36M | 1.76M | -17.68M | -327K | 4.13M | -864K | -1.5M | 8.15M | -2.18M | -3.34M | 428K | -3.24M | -1.41M | 1.64M | -5.44M | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 8.02M | 2.13M | 8.86M | 5.76M | 70.54M | 149K | 9.02M | 6.8M | 728K | 6.99M | 13.01M | 656K | -127K | -124K | 578K | 604K | 761K | 2.32M | 386K |
| Working Capital Changes | 16.7M | 15.92M | -15.1M | -2.21M | -23.83M | -18.02M | -52.4M | -52.27M | 2.11M | -2.16M | 11.05M | -8.8M | 45.34M | 14.36M | -30.15M | -19.7M | -7.35M | 9.8M | 18.78M |
| Change in Receivables | -2.97M | -4.34M | 2.29M | 4.67M | -1.35M | 6.76M | -5.58M | -1.01M | 438K | 7.32M | 7.54M | -435K | -2.05M | 7.25M | 2.75M | -4.35M | -3.54M | -1.23M | 10.64M |
| Change in Inventory | 26.13M | 15.82M | 8.27M | 24M | 2.61M | -7.78M | -17.81M | -12.64M | -3.99M | 14.45M | 11.31M | -15.19M | 38.52M | -5.68M | -25.09M | -10.2M | -30.18M | -2.06M | 2.86M |
| Change in Payables | -13.37M | -2.12M | 5.57M | -5.99M | -10.22M | 7.52M | 7.35M | -615K | 738K | -18.21M | 9M | -8.66M | 2.87M | 12.89M | -12.42M | -2.74M | 10.79M | 3.15M | 4.54M |
| Cash from Investing | -901K | -1.54M | -10.37M | -13.77M | -8.24M | -4.15M | 17.68M | -69.97M | 17.95M | -51.6M | -50.77M | -26.32M | -37.13M | -22.86M | -35.89M | -18.84M | -9.87M | -5.84M | -16.45M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.75M | -3.29M | -10.37M | -3.77M | -8.24M | -5.49M | -5.74M | -13.32M | -8.15M | -11.82M | -20.78M | -26.32M | -37.13M | -22.86M | -35.89M | -18.84M | -11.37M | -5.84M | -14.95M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.64% | 1.22% | 2.79% | 0.8% | 1.65% | 1.02% | 1.23% | 2.69% | 1.96% | 2.6% | 4.28% | 5.24% | 7.29% | 4.31% | 6.7% | 4.09% | 3.1% | 2.02% | 6.27% |
| Acquisitions | 851K | 1.75M | 0 | -10M | 0 | 45K | 993K | -76.03M | 5K | 32K | 8K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45K | 0 | 0 | 5K | 32K | 8K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5M | 0 | -1.5M |
| Cash from Financing | -23.81M | -23.57M | -22.52M | -3.55M | -20.11M | -11.41M | -24.15M | -14.29M | -16.77M | -8.65M | -25.71M | -31.53M | -13.6M | -15.31M | -10.83M | -41.76M | -41.16M | -54.43M | -33.01M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -23.34M | -23.34M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15M | -10.09M | -41.83M | 36.7M | -28.82M | -7.87M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | -21.76M | -2.19M | -18.06M | -7.74M | -3.08M | -11.34M | -16.06M | -7.91M | -24.96M | -30.87M | -12.84M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.03M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | -21.76M | -2.19M | -18.06M | -7.74M | -3.08M | -11.34M | -16.06M | -7.91M | -24.96M | -30.87M | -12.84M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -304K | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -474K | -233K | -751K | -1.36M | -2.04M | -3.67M | -21.07M | -2.94M | -707K | -741K | -756K | -661K | -763K | -313K | -738K | 76K | -1.1M | 0 | -1.02M |
| Net Change in Cash | 1.23M | -11.85M | -46.94M | 30.71M | -41.84M | 24.26M | 14.26M | -63.58M | 44.74M | -17.62M | -11.31M | -14.61M | 53.08M | 49.61M | 4.68M | -9.03M | 7.44M | 5.73M | 724K |
| Free Cash Flow | 24.27M | 10.07M | -24.48M | 44.22M | -21.66M | 34.37M | 14.96M | 7.31M | 35.42M | 30.82M | 44.41M | 16.95M | 66.68M | 65M | 15.6M | 32.68M | 47.1M | 60.16M | 35.24M |
| FCF Margin % | 8.87% | 3.74% | -6.58% | 9.39% | -4.33% | 6.36% | 3.19% | 1.48% | 8.51% | 6.78% | 9.14% | 3.37% | 13.1% | 12.24% | 2.91% | 7.09% | 12.87% | 20.82% | 14.77% |
| FCF Growth % | 184.15% | 141.16% | -155.34% | 304.17% | -163.02% | 129.77% | 104.72% | -79.37% | 14.91% | -30.6% | 162.03% | -74.58% | 2.59% | 316.71% | -52.27% | -30.62% | -21.71% | 70.73% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.86 | 0.35 | -0.85 | 1.41 | -0.69 | 1.00 | 0.44 | 0.21 | 1.00 | 0.86 | 1.20 | 0.44 | 1.64 | 1.60 | 0.38 | 0.81 | 1.28 | 1.70 | 0.99 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -1.26x | -0.28x | 0.23x | 6.12x | 0.22x | 2.23x | 2.38x | 1.29x | 2.10x | 6.08x | 3.30x | 1.57x | 2.70x | 1.49x | 0.75x | 0.89x | 1.27x | 1.53x | 2.12x |
| Interest Paid | 45K | 0 | 140K | 145K | 0 | 293K | 1.13M | 119K | 169K | 187K | 248K | 259K | 275K | 161K | 797K | 956K | 1.12M | 1.78M | 2.62M |
| Taxes Paid | 392K | 0 | 1.35M | 837K | 0 | 9.08M | 5.08M | 6.49M | 4.04M | 1.94M | 24.82M | 9.3M | 25.96M | 42.29M | 36.74M | 43.85M | 921K | 412K | 1.46M |
Liquidity and brand erosion
As reported in recent financial filings, VRA exhibits a volatile relationship between net income and operating cash flow, with OCF/NI ratios frequently exceeding 1.0 or turning negative, suggesting that reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash charges rather than sustainable cash generation from core retail operations.
The frequent divergence between net income and operating cash flow suggests that accounting accruals and non-cash adjustments are masking the underlying cash burn. Investors should monitor whether this disconnect stems from aggressive inventory valuation or persistent operational inefficiencies that prevent the conversion of sales into liquid capital.
Based on VRA's reported figures, free cash flow margins have swung violently from a positive 47.6% in 2026Q4 to a negative 38.3% in 2026Q1, indicating that the company lacks a stable cash-generative engine to support its current retail footprint and ongoing operational requirements.
The extreme variance in FCF margins suggests that the company is highly dependent on seasonal working capital swings rather than consistent, organic cash flow. This instability implies that the business model remains vulnerable to even minor fluctuations in consumer demand or inventory sell-through rates.
According to quarterly cash flow statements, working capital changes are the primary driver of liquidity, with shifts as large as $32.2M in 2025Q4, which suggests that management is relying on inventory management and payables timing to bridge the gap left by persistent operating losses.
The reliance on working capital fluctuations to generate cash flow indicates that the company is effectively 'borrowing' from its supply chain or liquidating inventory to maintain liquidity. This strategy appears unsustainable if revenue continues to contract, as it limits the ability to restock effectively for future seasons.
As indicated by recent SEC filings, VRA's capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue has fluctuated between 0.3% and 4.3%, reflecting a reactive approach to maintenance spending that appears insufficient to revitalize the brand's aging retail store fleet or digital infrastructure.
The low and inconsistent level of capital investment suggests that the company is prioritizing cash preservation over necessary store renovations or technology upgrades. This under-investment may be contributing to the observed revenue decline, as the physical and digital customer experience fails to keep pace with evolving retail standards.
Based on historical cash flow data, VRA has shifted from share repurchases in 2025 to a cessation of capital returns, which suggests that management has recognized the need to hoard cash as operating losses and revenue contraction threaten the company's long-term financial viability.
The pivot away from share repurchases indicates a defensive posture necessitated by the depletion of cash reserves. Investors should remain cautious, as the lack of capital deployment into growth initiatives suggests that management lacks a clear path to reversing the current downward trajectory.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying VRA stock.
Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA) generated $13.4M in net cash from operating activities in 2026. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA) generated $10.1M in free cash flow in 2026. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA) spent $3.3M on capital expenditures in 2026. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.