Free cash flow
Republic Services Free cash flow increased by 85.9% to $751.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 32.7%, from $566.00M to $751.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 13.1% 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.
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 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $544.20M | $359.40M | $236.80M | $371.50M | $544.70M | $542.40M | $277.40M | $309.10M | $742.80M | $584.20M | $350.60M | $297.00M | $696.00M | $563.60M | $524.40M | $566.00M | $702.00M | $737.00M | $404.00M | $751.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | -34.0% | -34.1% | +56.9% | +46.6% | -0.4% | -48.9% | +11.4% | +140.3% | -21.4% | -40.0% | -15.3% | +134.3% | -19.0% | -7.0% | +7.9% | +24.0% | +5.0% | -45.2% | +85.9% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +0.1% | +50.9% | +17.1% | -16.8% | +36.4% | +7.7% | +26.4% | -3.9% | -6.3% | -3.5% | +49.6% | +90.6% | +0.9% | +30.8% | -23.0% | +32.7% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Republic Services's free cash flow?
- Republic Services (RSG) reported free cash flow of $751.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has Republic Services's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Republic Services's free cash flow increased by 32.7% year-over-year, from $566.00M to $751.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Republic Services's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Republic Services's free cash flow has grown at a 13.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.47B to $2.41B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.