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Operating Cash Flow History Chart
Chart any stock's 10-year operating cash flow in one view, with an OCF margin % overlay and a cash generation quality verdict. Auto-populates from Yahoo Finance. Pair it with the FCF history chart and the CapEx history chart.
How to Read the OCF Trend
Operating cash flow (OCF) is the cash a company generates from its core business activities — collecting receivables, paying suppliers, running operations — before any capital expenditures or financing decisions. It is one of the most reliable signals of business health because it is harder to manage with accounting choices than reported earnings. A company that consistently reports profits but consistently fails to generate OCF is almost always heading for trouble.
The bars are colored green when OCF is positive and red when negative. The line overlay shows the OCF margin — operating cash flow divided by revenue — which normalizes cash generation against the size of the business. A rising OCF margin over time means the company is converting an increasing share of each revenue dollar into cash, a powerful sign of operating leverage. A falling margin can signal cost inflation, receivables buildup, or structural pricing pressure before it shows up in earnings.
Because free cash flow is operating cash flow minus CapEx, this chart pairs naturally with the CapEx history chart and the FCF history chart. When CapEx rises faster than OCF, free cash flow compresses even if the business is operationally healthy.
Related Tools
Complete the cash-flow picture with these related tools:
- FCF History Chart — 10 years of annual free cash flow
- CapEx History Chart — capital expenditure trend and capital-intensity verdict
- Free Cash Flow Calculator — OCF minus CapEx, with FCF yield
- Revenue History Chart — the denominator behind the OCF margin
Frequently Asked Questions
What does operating cash flow history show?
The operating cash flow history chart plots up to 10 fiscal years of a company's annual cash generated from its core business operations — before investing or financing activities. The bars show the raw OCF dollar amount, while the line overlay shows the OCF margin (OCF divided by revenue) so you can see both the absolute scale and how efficiently the company converts revenue into cash.
How is OCF different from net income?
Net income is an accounting number that includes non-cash items like depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation. Operating cash flow strips those out and captures actual cash movements, making it a harder figure to manipulate. A company with high net income but low or negative OCF may be booking revenue it hasn't actually collected, which is a red flag. Consistently positive OCF alongside earnings is a sign of earnings quality.
How is OCF different from free cash flow?
Free cash flow (FCF) is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. OCF tells you how much cash the business generates from operations; FCF tells you how much is left after the company reinvests in maintaining and growing its asset base. A capital-intensive business can have healthy OCF but thin FCF because it must constantly spend on property, plant, and equipment. Pair this chart with the FCF history chart and the CapEx history chart for the full picture.
What is a good OCF margin?
OCF margin (operating cash flow divided by revenue) varies widely by industry. Asset-light software and services companies often run OCF margins of 20–40%. Consumer staples and healthcare companies typically fall in the 10–20% range. Capital-intensive industries like utilities and manufacturing may run 10–15% OCF margins because a large share of that cash gets reinvested as CapEx. What matters most is whether OCF margin is stable or improving over time — a declining OCF margin often precedes earnings disappointments.
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