NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) Cash Flow Statement
Where NRG’s cash came from and went, 2025
December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollars- Cash from operations
- $1.91B −17.0% vs 2024
- Capital expenditures
- $1.15B 3.7% of revenue
- Free cash flow
- $766.0M 2.5% margin
- Returned to shareholders
- $1.81B 237% of free cash flow
- Change in cash
- $3.76B cash at year-end $4.74B
Drawn to scale: where the cash came from and how it was used. Hover for values.
NRG operating cash flow, capex and free cash flow
NRG cash flow trends, 2016–2025
| Metric | Trend | Then | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $1.91B2016 | $1.91B2025 | +0.0%/yr | |
| Capital expenditures | $976.0M2016 | $1.15B2025 | +1.8%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | $1.11B2016 | $766.0M2025 | −4.1%/yr | |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.5%2016 | 2.5%2025 | −10.0 pts | |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 2.992018 | 2.212025 | −0.78 | |
| Stock-based compensation | $10.0M2016 | $134.0M2025 | +33.4%/yr | |
| Dividends paid | $76.0M2016 | $411.0M2025 | +20.6%/yr | |
| Share buybacks (net) | $226.0M2016 | $1.40B2025 | +22.5%/yr | |
| Capex / revenue | 10.9%2016 | 3.7%2025 | −7.2 pts |
Change is the average annual growth (CAGR) or the difference between the first and latest year.
NRG cash flow by activity
NRG net income vs operating cash flow
Operating cash flow above net income usually means earnings are backed by cash (depreciation and stock-based pay are non-cash expenses).
NRG cash flow statement
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||
| Net income | $864.0M | $1.12B | −$202.0M | $1.22B | $2.19B | $510.0M | $4.12B | $460.0M | −$1.55B | −$891.0M |
| Depreciation & amortization | $1.44B | $1.07B | $1.34B | $846.0M | $942.0M | $559.0M | $463.0M | $540.0M | $701.0M | $889.0M |
| Stock-based compensation | $134.0M | $102.0M | $101.0M | $28.0M | $21.0M | $22.0M | $20.0M | $25.0M | $35.0M | $10.0M |
| Change in working capital | −$906.0M | −$1.04B | −$383.0M | −$2.62B | −$3.12B | $392.0M | −$3.52B | −$281.0M | −$432.0M | $317.0M |
| Other non-cash items | $386.0M | $1.04B | −$1.07B | $889.0M | $458.0M | $354.0M | $335.0M | $633.0M | $2.85B | $1.58B |
| Cash from operating activities | $1.91B | $2.31B | −$221.0M | $360.0M | $493.0M | $1.84B | $1.41B | $1.38B | $1.61B | $1.91B |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −$1.15B | −$472.0M | −$598.0M | −$373.0M | −$269.0M | −$230.0M | −$228.0M | −$388.0M | −$254.0M | −$976.0M |
| Investments (net) | $0 | −$24.0M | −$2.76B | −$332.0M | −$3.04B | −$53.0M | −$35.0M | −$59.0M | −$17.0M | −$17.0M |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −$491.0M | $472.0M | $2.45B | $373.0M | $269.0M | −$211.0M | $821.0M | $242.0M | −$368.0M | $236.0M |
| Cash from investing activities | −$1.64B | −$24.0M | −$910.0M | −$332.0M | −$3.04B | −$494.0M | $558.0M | −$205.0M | −$639.0M | −$757.0M |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −$411.0M | −$405.0M | −$381.0M | −$332.0M | −$319.0M | −$295.0M | −$32.0M | −$37.0M | −$38.0M | −$76.0M |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | −$1.40B | −$935.0M | −$1.17B | −$606.0M | −$48.0M | −$229.0M | −$1.44B | −$1.25B | −$2.0M | −$226.0M |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | $5.67B | −$55.0M | $208.0M | −$14.0M | −$761.0M | $2.74B | −$716.0M | $1.10B | $2.27B | $5.53B |
| Shares issued | $0 | $0 | $635.0M | $636.0M | $1.0M | $1.0M | $0 | $21.0M | $0 | $0 |
| Other financing | −$311.0M | −$360.0M | $310.0M | $1.36B | $855.0M | −$9.0M | $37.0M | −$1.36B | −$3.37B | −$5.99B |
| Cash from financing activities | $3.55B | −$1.75B | −$400.0M | $1.04B | −$272.0M | $2.20B | −$2.15B | −$1.53B | −$1.14B | −$768.0M |
| Summary | ||||||||||
| Net change in cash | $3.76B | $409.0M | $95.0M | $1.07B | −$2.82B | $3.54B | −$228.0M | −$469.0M | −$335.0M | −$548.0M |
| Cash at end of period | $4.74B | $974.0M | $565.0M | $2.18B | $1.11B | $3.93B | $385.0M | $580.0M | $1.05B | $1.38B |
| Free cash flow | $766.0M | $1.83B | −$819.0M | −$13.0M | $224.0M | $1.61B | $1.19B | $989.0M | $1.36B | $1.11B |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.5% | 6.5% | −2.8% | −0.0% | 0.8% | 17.7% | 12.1% | 10.4% | 14.9% | 12.5% |
| Capex / revenue | 3.7% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 4.1% | 2.8% | 10.9% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 2.21 | 2.05 | — | 0.29 | 0.23 | 3.60 | 0.34 | 2.99 | — | — |
| Jun '26 | Mar '26 | Dec '25 | Sep '25 | Jun '25 | Mar '25 | Dec '24 | Sep '24 | Jun '24 | Mar '24 | Dec '23 | Sep '23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $506.0M | $125.0M | $66.0M | $152.0M | −$104.0M | $750.0M | $643.0M | −$767.0M | $738.0M | $511.0M | $482.0M | $343.0M |
| Depreciation & amortization | $504.0M | $432.0M | $383.0M | $362.0M | $226.0M | $218.0M | $257.0M | $261.0M | $285.0M | $268.0M | $319.0M | $461.0M |
| Stock-based compensation | $31.0M | $41.0M | $51.0M | $21.0M | $33.0M | $29.0M | $20.0M | $25.0M | $27.0M | $30.0M | $14.0M | $26.0M |
| Change in working capital | $339.0M | −$877.0M | −$548.0M | $188.0M | $170.0M | −$253.0M | −$337.0M | $486.0M | −$345.0M | −$840.0M | $634.0M | −$224.0M |
| Other non-cash items | −$263.0M | $110.0M | $171.0M | −$239.0M | $126.0M | $111.0M | $369.0M | $26.0M | $351.0M | $298.0M | −$1.21B | −$40.0M |
| Cash from operating activities | $1.12B | −$169.0M | $123.0M | $484.0M | $451.0M | $855.0M | $952.0M | $31.0M | $1.06B | $267.0M | $241.0M | $566.0M |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −$338.0M | −$317.0M | −$298.0M | −$254.0M | −$378.0M | −$217.0M | −$186.0M | −$114.0M | −$103.0M | −$69.0M | −$105.0M | −$144.0M |
| Investments (net) | — | — | — | −$258.0M | −$948.0M | −$134.0M | −$187.0M | $364.0M | −$109.0M | −$92.0M | $1.72B | −$129.0M |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −$299.0M | −$6.75B | $0 | $254.0M | $378.0M | $217.0M | $186.0M | $114.0M | $103.0M | $69.0M | $105.0M | −$2.36B |
| Cash from investing activities | −$637.0M | −$7.07B | −$298.0M | −$258.0M | −$948.0M | −$134.0M | −$187.0M | $364.0M | −$109.0M | −$92.0M | $1.72B | −$2.63B |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −$100.0M | −$135.0M | −$85.0M | −$119.0M | −$86.0M | −$121.0M | −$83.0M | −$118.0M | −$86.0M | −$118.0M | −$86.0M | −$121.0M |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | −$470.0M | −$560.0M | −$267.0M | $680.0M | −$326.0M | −$354.0M | −$619.0M | −$226.0M | −$67.0M | −$23.0M | −$1.10B | −$53.0M |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | $112.0M | $3.37B | $4.54B | $1.00B | $130.0M | −$5.0M | $30.0M | −$4.0M | — | — | — | −$405.0M |
| Shares issued | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other financing | −$54.0M | −$23.0M | −$107.0M | −$1.35B | −$15.0M | $22.0M | −$42.0M | −$2.0M | −$250.0M | −$147.0M | −$801.0M | $7.0M |
| Cash from financing activities | −$512.0M | $2.65B | $4.09B | $215.0M | −$297.0M | −$458.0M | −$714.0M | −$350.0M | −$403.0M | −$288.0M | −$1.99B | −$572.0M |
| Summary | ||||||||||||
| Net change in cash | −$23.0M | −$4.59B | $3.98B | $888.0M | −$511.0M | −$266.0M | −$140.0M | $722.0M | $99.0M | −$272.0M | $153.0M | −$138.0M |
| Cash at end of period | $212.0M | $411.0M | $4.74B | $1.08B | $197.0M | $708.0M | $974.0M | $1.11B | $392.0M | $293.0M | $565.0M | $675.0M |
| Free cash flow | $779.0M | −$486.0M | −$175.0M | $230.0M | $73.0M | $638.0M | $766.0M | −$83.0M | $953.0M | $198.0M | $136.0M | $422.0M |
| Free cash flow margin | 10.4% | −4.7% | −2.3% | 3.0% | 1.1% | 7.4% | 11.2% | −1.1% | 14.3% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 5.3% |
| Capex / revenue | 4.5% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 3.3% | 5.6% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 2.21 | −1.35 | 1.86 | 3.18 | — | 1.14 | 1.48 | — | 1.43 | 0.52 | 0.50 | 1.65 |
Negative numbers are cash paid out. Quarterly columns are labeled by the month the quarter ended. Figures in U.S. dollars as reported; data from EODHD.
NRG cash generation
In fiscal 2025 (ended December 31, 2025), NRG Energy generated $1.9 billion of cash from operations (down 17.0%) and spent $1.1 billion on capital expenditures, leaving free cash flow of $766.0 million, 2.5% of revenue. It returned $1.8 billion to shareholders through dividends ($411.0 million) and net share buybacks ($1.4 billion). Cash and equivalents rose by $3.8 billion over the year.
Related: NRG income statement, NRG balance sheet, NRG dividend history. See the NRG stock overview for the latest quote and news.
NRG cash flow FAQ
What is NRG Energy's free cash flow?
NRG Energy's free cash flow was $766.0 million in fiscal 2025: $1.9 billion of operating cash flow minus $1.1 billion of capital expenditures It was $1.8 billion a year earlier..
How much cash does NRG Energy generate from operations?
NRG Energy generated $1.9 billion of cash from operating activities in fiscal 2025, 2.21 times its net income of $864.0 million.
How much does NRG Energy spend on capital expenditures?
NRG Energy spent $1.1 billion on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, 3.7% of revenue, compared with $472.0 million the year before.
How much stock does NRG Energy buy back?
NRG Energy spent $1.4 billion on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025.
How much does NRG Energy pay in dividends?
NRG Energy paid $411.0 million in dividends in fiscal 2025, 53.7% of free cash flow.