Free cash flow
Danaher Free cash flow increased by 27.4% to $1.75B in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 16.2%, from $1.50B to $1.75B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows a downward trend with a -7.1% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.82B | $1.72B | $1.91B | $1.72B | $1.70B | $1.73B | $2.21B | $1.67B | $1.59B | $1.31B | $1.22B | $1.45B | $1.13B | $1.22B | $1.50B | $1.05B | $1.09B | $1.37B | $1.75B |
| QoQ Change | — | -5.5% | +11.5% | -10.2% | -0.8% | +1.7% | +27.6% | -24.4% | -5.2% | -17.5% | -6.9% | +19.0% | -22.0% | +7.5% | +23.7% | -29.9% | +3.4% | +25.7% | +27.4% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -6.1% | +1.0% | +15.6% | -2.7% | -7.0% | -24.6% | -45.0% | -13.4% | -28.7% | -7.0% | +23.5% | -27.2% | -3.5% | +12.8% | +16.2% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Danaher's free cash flow?
- Danaher (DHR) reported free cash flow of $1.75B in Q4 2025.
- How has Danaher's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Danaher's free cash flow increased by 16.2% year-over-year, from $1.50B to $1.75B.
- What is the long-term trend for Danaher's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Danaher's free cash flow has grown at a -7.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $7.06B to $5.26B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.