Management prioritizes shareholder returns over organic growth, evidenced by $124 million in quarterly share buybacks during 2026Q1 despite volatile free cash flow margins that fluctuated between 8.4% and 31.6% over the last two years.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 331.19M | 371.37M | 285.81M | 306.28M | 192.31M | 212.66M | 176.7M | 204.78M | 160.19M | 167.65M | 126.9M | 57.36M | 57.93M | 21.43M | -1.12M | 250K | -7.81M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 25.35% | 20.24% | 22.91% | 16.11% | 20.61% | 20.24% | 20.19% | 16.99% | 19.8% | 17.8% | 10.43% | 15.34% | 9.2% | -0.82% | 0.3% | -16.36% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 51.89% | 29.93% | -6.68% | 59.26% | -9.57% | 20.35% | -13.71% | 27.84% | -4.45% | 32.11% | 121.23% | -0.98% | 170.31% | 2008.46% | -549.2% | 103.2% | - |
| Net Income | 138.94M | 145.6M | 132.85M | 99.17M | 36.35M | 39.67M | -19.42M | 40.88M | 55.35M | 152.86M | -4.67M | -32.9M | 36.47M | -10.07M | -19.11M | -16.67M | -9.57M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 61.07M | 60.49M | 55.5M | 70.27M | 77.66M | 95.02M | 50.61M | 49.36M | 42.81M | 41.2M | 35.35M | 29.6M | 17.59M | 11.46M | 7.22M | 4.24M | 2.33M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 98.16M | 0 | 158.19M | 173.45M | 156.09M | 151.68M | 124.57M | 121.51M | 114.39M | 100.42M | 86.26M | 60.84M | 42.27M | 26.68M | 14.88M | 4.88M | 1.43M |
| Deferred Taxes | 31.49M | 25.07M | -24.92M | -22.15M | -56.62M | -9.19M | -11.18M | -2.8M | -15.47M | -146.37M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48K | 9.64M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 102.31M | 207.4M | 73.97M | 87.89M | 55.33M | 29.26M | 92.65M | 60.91M | 19.37M | -19K | 20.24M | 31.95M | -22.44M | 3.11M | 663K | 5.93M | -9.57M |
| Working Capital Changes | -100.78M | -67.19M | -109.78M | -102.35M | -76.5M | -93.78M | -60.53M | -65.08M | -56.26M | 19.56M | -10.27M | -32.13M | -15.96M | -9.74M | -4.77M | 1.83M | -2.08M |
| Change in Receivables | -35.89M | -41.87M | -51.03M | -54.95M | -49.55M | -33.53M | -13.83M | -42.07M | -35.66M | -32.11M | -31.62M | -25.28M | -21.29M | -12.84M | -2.02M | -1.68M | -4.43M |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -20.15M | -773K | -1.36M | 0 | -22.7M | -4.01M | -1.57M | -4.36M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -9.84M | 22.72M | 4.8M | -2.55M | 49.14M | 30M | 15.38M | 20.15M | -20.2M | 52.88M | 0 | 15.89M | 8.93M | 4.97M | 2.05M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -201.53M | -45.65M | -77.27M | -54.68M | -126.14M | -27.65M | 248.36M | 124.33M | -164.37M | 79.9M | -55.57M | -158.68M | -228.67M | -18.83M | -40.59M | -7.45M | -4.8M |
| Capital Expenditures | -50.48M | -48.35M | -37.35M | -26.85M | -31.98M | -28.28M | -32M | -37.52M | -44.97M | -30.25M | -37.36M | -43.51M | -42.13M | -21.1M | -10.45M | -7.3M | -3.57M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.44% | 3.3% | 2.64% | 2.01% | 2.68% | 2.74% | 3.67% | 3.7% | 4.77% | 3.57% | 5.24% | 7.91% | 11.16% | 9.06% | 7.6% | 8.77% | 7.48% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | -66.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.12M | 202.12M | -14.28M | -73.42M | -14.34M | -2.06M | -24.13M | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -258.48M | 114K | -10K | 195K | 94K | 632K | -5.8M | 29.21M | -19.88M | -1.08M | 13.54M | 1.54M | -14.75M | 4.33M | -6.01M | -149K | -1.23M |
| Cash from Financing | -242.76M | -329.39M | -303.8M | -246.78M | -237.53M | -300.49M | -21.05M | -491.52M | -207.75M | 27.16M | 29.52M | 26.44M | 29.55M | 291.72M | 114.62M | 1.58M | 24.63M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 130M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.31M | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -349.04M | -272.5M | -251.18M | -200M | -200.01M | -262.93M | -24.4M | -448.75M | -157.6M | 28.36M | 0 | -482K | -1.32M | 289.41M | 117.68M | 2.04M | 25.44M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -365.14M | -292.17M | -251.18M | -200M | -200.01M | -262.93M | -24.4M | -481.01M | -187.38M | -12.56M | 0 | -482K | -1.32M | -674K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -23.72M | -56.89M | -52.62M | -46.78M | -37.53M | -37.56M | 3.34M | -42.77M | -50.14M | -1.2M | 29.52M | 26.92M | 30.87M | 2.31M | -2.2M | -456K | -806K |
| Net Change in Cash | -111.55M | -1.26M | -96.32M | 6.86M | -173.5M | -115.9M | 404.22M | -162.52M | -211.57M | 275.65M | 100.59M | -75.7M | -142.45M | 294.64M | 73.39M | -5.34M | 12M |
| Free Cash Flow | 280.71M | 323.02M | 248.47M | 279.43M | 160.33M | 184.37M | 138.57M | 167.26M | 115.22M | 137.4M | 89.54M | 13.85M | 15.8M | 333K | -11.58M | -7.05M | -11.38M |
| FCF Margin % | 19.12% | 22.05% | 17.6% | 20.9% | 13.43% | 17.87% | 15.87% | 16.49% | 12.22% | 16.23% | 12.56% | 2.52% | 4.19% | 0.14% | -8.42% | -8.47% | -23.85% |
| FCF Growth % | 3.94% | 30% | -11.08% | 74.29% | -13.04% | 33.05% | -17.15% | 45.17% | -16.15% | 53.46% | 546.28% | -12.34% | 4646.25% | 102.88% | -64.12% | 38.02% | - |
| FCF per Share | 4.73 | 4.96 | 3.52 | 3.80 | 2.18 | 2.35 | 1.90 | 2.15 | 1.30 | 1.58 | 1.16 | 0.19 | 0.21 | 0.01 | -0.21 | -0.30 | -0.74 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 2.02x | 2.55x | 2.15x | 3.09x | 5.29x | 5.36x | -9.10x | 5.01x | 2.89x | 1.10x | -27.17x | -1.74x | 1.59x | -2.13x | 0.06x | -0.01x | 0.82x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 2.23M | 0 | 58.19M | 30.63M | 50.42M | 2.52M | 214K | 6.91M | 29.16M | 530K | 813K | 352K | 1.97M | 291K | 110K | 92K | 21K |
Search engine traffic dependency
As reported in recent financial filings, Yelp consistently generates operating cash flow significantly higher than net income, with the OCF/NI ratio reaching a peak of 5.15 in 2024Q1, suggesting that non-cash charges and working capital fluctuations play a disproportionate role in the company's reported cash generation.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow appears largely driven by substantial stock-based compensation and depreciation expenses. Investors should monitor whether this conversion quality remains sustainable if the company's reliance on high-cost sales labor continues to weigh on GAAP profitability.
Based on quarterly cash flow statements, Yelp's free cash flow margins have exhibited significant volatility, ranging from a low of 8.4% in 2024Q2 to a high of 31.6% in 2025Q3, indicating that cash generation is highly sensitive to seasonal working capital swings and periodic marketing expenditure cycles.
While the company remains consistently free cash flow positive, the lack of a clear upward trajectory in FCF margins suggests that the business model is struggling to achieve meaningful operating leverage. This trend warrants further investigation into whether the current cash flow profile is sufficient to support long-term reinvestment needs.
According to recent SEC filings, Yelp maintains a disciplined capital expenditure profile, with CapEx/Revenue ratios consistently hovering between 1.8% and 3.5%, which suggests that the platform requires minimal physical infrastructure investment to maintain its existing digital service offerings and user-facing review database.
The low capital intensity appears to be a structural advantage of the digital-first model, allowing the company to direct the majority of its cash flow toward share repurchases rather than asset replacement. However, this low spending may also imply a lack of aggressive investment in transformative product innovation.
As disclosed in financial statements, Yelp has consistently utilized its free cash flow to fund aggressive share repurchases, with quarterly buybacks reaching as high as $124 million in 2026Q1, signaling a management preference for returning capital to shareholders over pursuing large-scale acquisitions or organic growth initiatives.
This capital allocation strategy appears to be the primary lever for supporting earnings-per-share growth in the absence of top-line expansion. Investors should monitor whether this reliance on buybacks may eventually constrain the company's ability to pivot or defend its market position against better-capitalized search competitors.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying YELP stock.
Yelp Inc. (YELP) generated $371.4M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Yelp Inc. (YELP) generated $323.0M 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.
Yelp Inc. (YELP) spent $48.4M 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, Yelp Inc. (YELP) spent $292.2M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.