Free cash flow
Coca-Cola Free cash flow decreased by 38.9% to $1.76B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 131.8%, from -$5.51B to $1.76B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows a downward trend with a -17.2% CAGR. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
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 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.66B | $3.43B | $2.76B | $406.00M | $3.65B | $3.23B | $2.24B | -$116.00M | $4.13B | $3.91B | $1.82B | $158.00M | $3.16B | -$1.73B | $3.15B | -$5.51B | $3.37B | $4.56B | $2.87B | $1.76B |
| QoQ Change | — | -6.2% | -19.6% | -85.3% | +799.8% | -11.5% | -30.7% | -105.2% | >999% | -5.2% | -53.5% | -91.3% | >999% | -154.6% | +282.2% | -275.1% | +161.1% | +35.5% | -37.0% | -38.9% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -0.1% | -5.7% | -18.6% | -128.6% | +13.1% | +21.1% | -18.9% | +236.2% | -23.4% | -144.1% | +73.1% | <-999% | +6.5% | +364.1% | -8.7% | +131.8% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Coca-Cola's free cash flow?
- Coca-Cola (KO) reported free cash flow of $1.76B in Q1 2026.
- How has Coca-Cola's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Coca-Cola's free cash flow increased by 131.8% year-over-year, from -$5.51B to $1.76B.
- What is the long-term trend for Coca-Cola's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Coca-Cola's free cash flow has grown at a -17.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $11.26B to $5.30B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.