Free cash flow
CVS Health Free cash flow increased by 30.5% to $3.40B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 10.8%, from $3.81B to $3.40B. Over 2 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows a downward trend with a -29.6% 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 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $5.36B | $4.91B | $3.41B | $2.51B | $5.04B | $8.54B | $6.45B | $5.32B | $2.17B | $4.20B | $2.45B | -$1.42B | $1.09B | $3.81B | $1.29B | $98.00M | $2.61B | $3.40B |
| QoQ Change | — | -8.4% | -30.6% | -26.3% | +100.4% | +69.7% | -24.5% | -17.6% | -59.2% | +93.4% | -41.6% | -157.7% | +177.2% | +249.2% | -66.2% | -92.4% | >999% | +30.5% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -6.1% | +73.9% | +156.9% | +5.6% | -74.6% | -35.0% | -53.9% | -165.2% | — | -9.2% | -47.4% | +106.9% | +138.6% | -10.8% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVS Health's free cash flow?
- CVS Health (CVS) reported free cash flow of $3.40B in Q1 2026.
- How has CVS Health's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- CVS Health's free cash flow decreased by 10.8% year-over-year, from $3.81B to $3.40B.
- What is the long-term trend for CVS Health's free cash flow?
- Over 2 years (2021 to 2025), CVS Health's free cash flow has grown at a -29.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $15.75B to $7.81B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.