Cash generation remains inconsistent, highlighted by a negative OCF/NI ratio of -0.14 in 2025Q4, which suggests that accounting earnings are not currently supported by core operational cash flows.
Xunlei Limited (XNET) cash flow statement — 17-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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 32.48M | 32.48M | 30.98M | 25.72M | 51.11M | 19.48M | -13.91M | -45.65M | -35.61M | -14.22M | 16.97M | 13.76M | 48.2M | 85.53M | 59.91M | 18.28M | 11.38M | 6.81M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 7.04% | 9.59% | 7.07% | 14.97% | 8.16% | -7.46% | -25.27% | -15.44% | -7.09% | 10.87% | 10.62% | 26.85% | 48.99% | 42.64% | 22.32% | 28.46% | 25.18% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 0% | 4.85% | 20.45% | -49.68% | 162.37% | 240.03% | 69.53% | -28.2% | -150.48% | -183.77% | 23.29% | -71.45% | -43.65% | 42.76% | 227.81% | 60.59% | 67.07% | - |
| Net Income | -72.95M | 1.05B | 663K | 14.27M | 21.35M | 1.11M | -14.14M | -53.41M | -39.49M | -37.81M | -24.18M | -14.47M | 9.86M | 10.38M | 382K | -11K | 8.47M | 5.45M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 9.54M | 9.54M | 6.93M | 6.08M | 3.81M | 9.38M | 14.18M | 12.66M | 6.83M | 10.05M | 8.39M | 17.8M | 45.24M | 43.43M | 54.57M | 32.06M | 6.64M | 2.8M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 5.58M | 3.84M | 2.45M | 9.68M | 8.18M | 6.17M | 2.31M | 5.43M | 5.29M | 8.33M | 9.35M | 9.73M | 7.64M | 2.1M | 2.23M | 2.1M | 333.47K | 234.11K |
| Deferred Taxes | -2.88M | -2.88M | -10.07M | -428K | -382K | -178K | 966K | 4.36M | 1.75M | -2.21M | -954K | 873K | -1.9M | -822K | -123K | -1.78M | -1.1M | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 87.48M | -1.03B | 20.54M | -107K | -1.11M | 1.15M | 7.2M | 6.57M | 12.57M | 11.69M | -4.15M | -3.82M | -12.71M | 474K | -4.38M | -4.17M | 399.31K | 595K |
| Working Capital Changes | 5.01M | 5.01M | 10.46M | -3.77M | 19.26M | 1.84M | -24.42M | -21.25M | -22.56M | -4.26M | 28.52M | 3.65M | 65K | 29.98M | 7.23M | -9.91M | -3.36M | -2.26M |
| Change in Receivables | -27.37M | -27.37M | -2.04M | -2M | -5.98M | -2.17M | 5.05M | -8.74M | 13.26M | -20.04M | -5.17M | 1.4M | 4.7M | 13.65M | -17.83M | -19.86M | -6.87M | -3.65M |
| Change in Inventory | 387K | 387K | 925K | -1.8M | 851K | -36K | 643K | 3.44M | -10.18M | -2.92M | 59K | -526K | -4.39M | -2.13M | 12.78M | 3.6M | -268.82K | 662.84K |
| Change in Payables | 15.6M | 15.6M | -1.52M | -598K | 1.06M | 5.24M | -4.94M | 2.09M | -27.73M | 9.04M | 15.86M | 301K | 2.57M | 5.92M | 3.43M | 1.48M | 845K | 20.21K |
| Cash from Investing | -99.1M | -99.1M | -21.91M | -23.9M | 11.76M | -32.62M | -20.76M | 79.26M | -69.36M | 35.21M | -158.34M | -54.98M | -70.55M | -78.35M | -49.49M | -36.88M | -13.26M | -3.88M |
| Capital Expenditures | -5.35M | -5.35M | -8.03M | -3.99M | -14.98M | -13.2M | -13.55M | -15.11M | -6.18M | -9.42M | -13.88M | -16.82M | -45.83M | -43.38M | -40M | -36.27M | -12.54M | -3.88M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.14% | 1.16% | 2.48% | 1.1% | 4.39% | 5.53% | 7.27% | 8.36% | 2.68% | 4.7% | 8.89% | 12.98% | 25.53% | 24.84% | 28.47% | 44.29% | 31.37% | 14.36% |
| Acquisitions | -55.08M | -55.08M | -2.13M | 0 | 82K | 0 | 0 | 143K | -1.68M | -458K | -99K | 16.69M | -33M | -36.01M | -32.55M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 104K | 104K | -1.75M | -1.08M | -9K | -20.05M | 1.36M | 1.14M | 2.32M | 904K | 99K | 130K | -682K | 35.07M | 30.53M | -175K | -715.34K | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 45.48M | 45.48M | -925K | -13.52M | 6.64M | -223K | 2.68M | 12.18M | 929K | 2.56M | -11.04M | 5.03M | 333.27M | 2.49M | 17.69M | 50.03M | 4.06M | -82.29K |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 46.43M | 46.43M | 6.77M | -8.84M | 13.31M | -223K | 7.15M | 11.32M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -20.63M | 20.63M | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -951K | -951K | -7.69M | -4.69M | -6.75M | 0 | -4.47M | 0 | 0 | -358K | -14.32M | -1.29M | 301.05M | 0 | 32.48M | 29.4M | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -951K | -951K | -7.69M | -4.69M | -6.75M | 0 | -4.47M | 0 | 0 | -358K | -14.32M | -1.29M | -69.3M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76K | 0 | 0 | 853K | 929K | 2.92M | 3.28M | 6.32M | 32.22M | 2.49M | 5.84M | 0 | 4.06M | -82.29K |
| Net Change in Cash | 157.83M | -19.72M | 6.75M | -14.01M | 57.37M | -11.35M | -26.66M | 42.52M | -110.55M | 33.98M | -162.27M | -42.5M | 310.37M | 12M | 28.56M | 32M | 2.41M | 2.87M |
| Free Cash Flow | 26.68M | 26.68M | 22.63M | 21.23M | 36.13M | 6.19M | -27.52M | -60.76M | -41.79M | -23.64M | 3.09M | -3.06M | 2.38M | 42.16M | 19.91M | -17.99M | -1.16M | 2.93M |
| FCF Margin % | 5.68% | 5.78% | 7% | 5.84% | 10.58% | 2.59% | -14.77% | -33.63% | -18.12% | -11.79% | 1.98% | -2.36% | 1.32% | 24.15% | 14.17% | -21.97% | -2.91% | 10.82% |
| FCF Growth % | - | 17.92% | 6.61% | -41.26% | 483.34% | 122.5% | 54.7% | -45.38% | -76.8% | -864.27% | 201.05% | -228.83% | -94.36% | 111.7% | 210.66% | -1446.28% | -139.75% | - |
| FCF per Share | 2.10 | 2.11 | 1.77 | 0.32 | 0.54 | 0.09 | -0.41 | -0.90 | -0.62 | -0.36 | 0.05 | -0.05 | 0.06 | 4.51 | 2.13 | -1.92 | -0.12 | 0.31 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.37x | 0.03x | 25.49x | 1.81x | 2.38x | 16.36x | 1.01x | 0.86x | 0.91x | 0.38x | -0.70x | -1.05x | 4.41x | 8.02x | 119.11x | -1827.70x | 1.34x | 1.25x |
| Interest Paid | 1.18M | 1.18M | 578K | 1.38M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 4.22M | 4.22M | 4.2M | 2.53M | 1.18M | 66K | 356K | 142K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82K | 241K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying XNET stock.
Xunlei Limited (XNET) generated $32.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Xunlei Limited (XNET) generated $26.7M 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.
Xunlei Limited (XNET) spent $5.3M 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, Xunlei Limited (XNET) spent $1.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Non-operating earnings distortion
Earnings Quality Lacks Cash Support
As reported in recent financial statements, XNET's 2025Q4 operating cash flow of $32.5 million stands in stark contrast to a net loss of $229.8 million, yielding a negative OCF/NI ratio of -0.14 that highlights a profound disconnect between accounting profitability and actual cash generation.
The negative conversion ratio suggests that the company's reported net income is heavily influenced by non-cash accounting adjustments or non-operating items rather than core operational efficiency. Investors should monitor this divergence, as it implies that the business model is not currently generating the cash necessary to sustain its reported earnings profile.
FCF Margin Reflects Operational Volatility
Based on the 2025Q4 data, XNET achieved an FCF margin of 18.6%, yet this figure appears highly anomalous given the lack of consistent cash flow reporting in the preceding eight quarters, suggesting that the current free cash flow trajectory may be driven by one-time events.
While the 18.6% margin appears robust on the surface, the absence of meaningful cash flow data in prior periods warrants caution regarding the sustainability of this trend. The reliance on sporadic cash inflows suggests that the company has yet to establish a predictable, self-funding operational cycle.
Capital Intensity Remains Relatively Low
According to the 2025Q4 filings, XNET maintained a capital expenditure to revenue ratio of 3.7%, indicating that the firm's distributed network model requires relatively modest ongoing investment compared to the heavy infrastructure spending typically seen in centralized cloud service providers.
This low capital intensity suggests that the company's P2P-based architecture provides a structural advantage in managing hardware costs. However, analysts should investigate whether this level of spending is sufficient to maintain the competitive edge of its edge computing nodes over the long term.
Acquisition Activity Outpaces Shareholder Returns
As indicated by the 2025Q4 cash flow statement, XNET utilized $55.1 million for net acquisitions while returning less than $1 million to shareholders via buybacks, signaling a strategic preference for inorganic growth over direct capital return to investors despite the company's substantial cash position.
This deployment pattern suggests that management is prioritizing expansion through external assets, which introduces integration risks and potential valuation premiums. Investors should scrutinize the return on invested capital for these acquisitions to determine if they are truly accretive to shareholder value or merely a method to deploy excess liquidity.