Operating cash flow is highly erratic, swinging from -$4.7T in 2024Q2 to $13.6T in 2026Q1, indicating that net income is a poor proxy for capital generation and that liquidity is being managed through consistent net sales of investment securities.
Woori Financial Group Inc. (WF) cash flow statement — 11-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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 31.77T | 13.64T | -6.13T | 1.62T | 18.62T | 3.8T | -248.38B | 1.87T | 9.16T | -1.98T | 4.91T | 2.46T |
| Operating CF Growth % | 4374.51% | 322.58% | -477.9% | -91.29% | 390.14% | 1629.84% | -113.28% | -79.58% | 562.86% | -140.34% | 99.2% | - |
| Net Income | 3.12T | 3.23T | 3.17T | 2.63T | 3.37T | 2.76T | 1.52T | 2.04T | 2.05T | 1.53T | 1.28T | 875.84B |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 316.95B | 1.25T | 1.16T | 993.18B | 929.31B | 791.9B | 535.55B | 505.72B | 272.55B | 235.79B | 252.03B | -150.67B |
| Deferred Taxes | 168.33B | 862.66B | 1.05T | 890.56B | 1.18T | 924.77B | 486B | 685.45B | 753.22B | 419.42B | 275.86B | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.13T | -923.65B | 1.96T | 1.23T | 1.15T | -613.34B | 520.89B | -33.93B | -258.87B | 559.34B | 609.71B | 0 |
| Working Capital Changes | 28.25T | 9.23T | -13.48T | -4.12T | 12T | -65.86B | -3.31T | -1.32T | 6.34T | -4.72T | 2.49T | 794.23B |
| Cash from Investing | -37.49T | -9.88T | -34.3B | -2.25T | -6.97T | -10.67T | -1.46T | -8.59T | -11.07T | 1.88T | -4.23T | -22.37T |
| Purchase of Investments | -43.59T | -69.27T | -46.4T | -40.93T | -43.4T | -49.2T | -34.06T | -42.08T | -41.27T | -31.35T | -32.75T | -23.94T |
| Sale/Maturity of Investments | 33.84T | 60.59T | 47.47T | 39.96T | 37.34T | 38.63T | 33.21T | 34.4T | 30.54T | 33.57T | 28.96T | 24.96T |
| Net Investment Activity | -9.76T | -8.68T | 1.07T | -969.26B | -6.06T | -10.57T | -853.04B | -7.68T | -10.72T | 2.22T | -3.79T | 1.02T |
| Acquisitions | -83.3B | -898.59B | -672.62B | -829.83B | -724.78B | -1.64B | -313.06B | -296.81B | -134.97B | 203M | -132.3B | 18.6B |
| Other Investing | -27.35T | 20.09B | -212.73B | -290.35B | -12.07B | 24.91B | -140.99B | -182.21B | -92.66B | -171.96B | -168.48B | -33.04B |
| Cash from Financing | 12.83T | 7.69T | 1.25T | -2.86T | 1.92T | 9.08T | 2.37T | 6.17T | 1.52T | -61.1B | 333.06B | 20.32T |
| Dividends Paid | -887.04B | -927.3B | -878.33B | -978.38B | -655B | -368.36B | -505.59B | -437.63B | -336.64B | -336.64B | -168.32B | -504.95B |
| Share Repurchases | -205.56B | -150B | -136.7B | -158.16B | 0 | -3.76B | 0 | -184.16B | 0 | 0 | -310B | 0 |
| Stock Issued | 0 | 0 | 4.83B | 23.12B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 760.1B | 0 | 0 | 549.9B | 3.79B |
| Net Stock Activity | -205.56B | -150B | -131.87B | -135.05B | 0 | -3.76B | 0 | 575.94B | 0 | 0 | 239.9B | 3.79B |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K |
| Other Financing | -2.03T | -977.66B | -88.79B | -690.81B | 365.51B | -467.96B | 129.94B | 1.31T | -6.05B | -907.28B | -202.61B | 20.62T |
| Net Change in Cash | -29.23T | 11.22T | -3.28T | -3.66T | 13.61T | 3.27T | -410.47B | -355.33B | -160.39B | -683.04B | 947.27B | 408.82B |
| Exchange Rate Effect | 2.15T | -228.57B | 1.64T | -170.15B | 30.86B | 1.06T | -1.07T | 191.46B | 233.93B | -526.64B | -65.47B | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | - | 27.28T | 30.56T | 34.22T | 20.61T | 17.34T | 17.75T | 6.75T | 6.91T | 7.59T | 6.64T | 0 |
| Cash at End | - | 38.5T | 27.28T | 30.56T | 34.22T | 20.61T | 17.34T | 6.39T | 6.75T | 6.91T | 7.59T | 408.82B |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Income Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Free Cash Flow | 31.4T | 13.14T | -6.54T | 1.23T | 18.28T | 3.54T | -512.57B | 1.31T | 8.87T | -2.34T | 4.58T | 2.24T |
| FCF Growth % | - | 300.82% | -632.36% | -93.28% | 416.05% | 790.95% | -138.99% | -85.17% | 479.32% | -151% | 105.05% | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WF stock.
Woori Financial Group Inc. (WF) generated $13.64T in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Woori Financial Group Inc. (WF) generated $13.14T 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.
Woori Financial Group Inc. (WF) spent $325.95B 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, Woori Financial Group Inc. (WF) returned $927.30B to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $150.00B on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Project finance real estate exposure
Capital Generation Masked by Volatile OCF
Operating cash flow has been highly erratic, swinging from a negative $4.7T in 2024Q2 to a positive $13.6T in 2026Q1, suggesting that reported net income is a poor proxy for actual capital generation capacity due to significant non-cash and balance sheet-driven items.
The extreme volatility in the OCF/NI ratio, ranging from -5.10 to 32.83 over the past ten quarters, indicates that the cash flow statement is dominated by movements in trading assets and loan originations rather than core earnings. This makes it difficult to assess the bank's true organic capital generation from the cash flow statement alone. Investors should focus on the balance sheet's CET1 ratio and retained earnings trajectory for a clearer view of capital adequacy.
Securities Portfolio as a Liquidity Valve
Net investment cash flows have been consistently positive, with sales of investments exceeding purchases in nine of the last ten quarters, indicating the portfolio is being actively managed to generate liquidity rather than for long-term strategic positioning.
The pattern of net investment inflows, particularly the $19.8T in sales versus $18.7T in purchases in 2026Q1, suggests the securities portfolio is being used as a primary tool for managing the bank's liquidity position. This activity appears to be a key driver of the volatile operating cash flow, as gains or losses on these sales flow through the income statement and distort the underlying cash generation from lending activities.
Loan Growth Outpaces Deposit Inflows
The persistent negative operating cash flow in several quarters, such as the -$4.7T in 2024Q2, suggests that loan originations are consistently outstripping the cash generated from core operations and deposit inflows, requiring external funding or asset sales.
For a bank, negative operating cash flow often signals strong loan growth funded by balance sheet expansion rather than operational weakness. However, the magnitude and frequency of negative OCF quarters for WF imply a structural reliance on wholesale funding or securities liquidation to support its lending book. This dynamic warrants monitoring for potential stress if deposit growth slows or wholesale funding costs rise.
Dividend Sustainability Supported by Liquidity
Despite volatile operating cash flows, the bank has maintained a consistent quarterly dividend payment of approximately $133-146B, which appears sustainable given the large liquidity buffer provided by the net sales of investment securities.
The dividend payments are modest relative to the scale of the bank's cash flows from investing activities, suggesting they are not straining the balance sheet. The recent increase in buyback activity to $99.4B in 2026Q2, following a period of minimal repurchases, may indicate management's confidence in the capital position, but the sustainability of this expanded return program should be evaluated against the volatile core cash generation.
Provision Volatility Obscures Credit Quality
Loan loss provisions have been erratic, swinging from a positive $573.1B in 2025Q3 to a negative $3.1T in 2026Q1, which aligns with prior income statement findings and suggests significant management discretion or one-time adjustments that obscure the true credit cost trajectory.
The negative provision figure in 2026Q1 likely represents a large reserve release, which would boost reported earnings but does not reflect ongoing credit risk. This volatility makes it challenging to assess the bank's underlying asset quality from the cash flow statement. The lack of a clear trend in provisions versus charge-offs warrants further investigation into the specific drivers, particularly related to the flagged project finance real estate exposure.
Cash Flow Statement Hides Key Risks
The cash flow statement provides limited insight into WF's primary risks, as it does not capture the potential for AOCI impairments on its large securities portfolio or the scale of off-balance-sheet undrawn credit commitments that could crystallize as liabilities.
The focus on net investment sales masks the potential unrealized losses embedded in the remaining held-to-maturity portfolio, which could impair capital if realized. Furthermore, the statement does not disclose contingent liabilities or the full extent of project finance commitments, which are critical to understanding the bank's true risk profile. These hidden factors, combined with the accounting anomalies noted in the income statement, suggest the cash flow analysis alone is insufficient for a comprehensive credit assessment.