Free cash flow
Eaton Corporation Free cash flow increased by 34.1% to $1.57B in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 17.2%, from $1.34B to $1.57B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 22.3% 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.
cf_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 | $484.00M | $331.00M | $632.00M | -$73.00M | $201.00M | $830.00M | $977.00M | $209.00M | $690.00M | $913.00M | $1.06B | $292.00M | $759.00M | $1.13B | $1.34B | $91.00M | $716.00M | $1.17B | $1.57B |
| QoQ Change | — | -31.6% | +90.9% | -111.6% | +375.3% | +312.9% | +17.7% | -78.6% | +230.1% | +32.3% | +15.6% | -72.3% | +159.9% | +48.4% | +19.2% | -93.2% | +686.8% | +63.8% | +34.1% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -58.5% | +150.8% | +54.6% | +386.3% | +243.3% | +10.0% | +8.0% | +39.7% | +10.0% | +23.3% | +27.2% | -68.8% | -5.7% | +4.2% | +17.2% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Eaton Corporation's free cash flow?
- Eaton Corporation (ETN) reported free cash flow of $1.57B in Q4 2025.
- How has Eaton Corporation's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Eaton Corporation's free cash flow increased by 17.2% year-over-year, from $1.34B to $1.57B.
- What is the long-term trend for Eaton Corporation's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Eaton Corporation's free cash flow has grown at a 22.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.59B to $3.55B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.