Free cash flow
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Free cash flow increased by 271.4% to $1.29B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 66.4%, from $778.20M to $1.29B. Over 3 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 9.9% 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 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | -$249.60M | $874.70M | $933.28M | $892.60M | $1.09B | $901.30M | $1.04B | $857.80M | $1.07B | $1.23B | $176.50M | $1.24B | -$3.82B | $1.30B | $778.20M | $927.40M | $1.14B | $348.60M | $1.29B |
| QoQ Change | — | +450.4% | +6.7% | -4.4% | +21.7% | -17.0% | +15.9% | -17.9% | +25.3% | +14.2% | -85.6% | +601.5% | -408.7% | +134.1% | -40.2% | +19.2% | +22.9% | -69.4% | +271.4% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +535.3% | +3.0% | +11.9% | -3.9% | -1.1% | +36.2% | -83.1% | +44.3% | -455.7% | +6.1% | -37.2% | +124.3% | -12.5% | — | +66.4% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Vertex Pharmaceuticals's free cash flow?
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) reported free cash flow of $1.29B in Q1 2026.
- How has Vertex Pharmaceuticals's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals's free cash flow increased by 66.4% year-over-year, from $778.20M to $1.29B.
- What is the long-term trend for Vertex Pharmaceuticals's free cash flow?
- Over 3 years (2021 to 2025), Vertex Pharmaceuticals's free cash flow has grown at a 9.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.41B to $3.19B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.