What is a cash flow waterfall?

A cash flow waterfall is a bar chart that walks from operating cash flow through capital expenditure to free cash flow, then shows how the remaining cash is allocated — acquisitions, buybacks, dividends, debt, and other financing — ending at the net change in cash. Each step is colour-coded: green bars add to the running total, red bars subtract.

How does Baker Hughes (BKR) spend its free cash flow?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Baker Hughes generated $3.6B of operating cash flow and $2.29B of free cash flow — a free cash flow margin of 63.6% of operating cash flow. The waterfall breaks down how the remaining cash was allocated across investing and financing activities.

How much did Baker Hughes (BKR) return via buybacks and dividends?

The waterfall shows buybacks (share repurchases) and dividends paid as separate steps in the financing section. Together these represent Baker Hughes's shareholder returns for TTM through Q1 2026. You can compare these against free cash flow to assess the capital-return payout ratio.

Baker Hughes (BKR) Cash Flow Waterfall

Operating CF

$3.6B

Capex

-$1.31B

Free Cash Flow

$2.29B

FCF Margin

+63.6%

Cash flow waterfall for Baker Hughes (BKR) — TTM through Q1 2026

Free cash flow: $2.29B

Cash flow breakdown for Baker Hughes (BKR) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Operating Cash Flow	$3.6B	$3.6B
Capital Expenditure	-$1.31B	$2.29B
Free Cash Flow	$2.29B	$2.29B
Acquisitions	$645M	$2.94B
Other Investing	-$32M	$2.91B
Share Buybacks	-$196M	$2.71B
Dividends Paid	-$909M	$1.8B
Net Debt Change	$9.89B	$11.7B
Other Financing & FX	-$198M	$11.5B
Net Cash Increase	$11.5B	$11.5B

Operating Cash Flow$3.6B
Capital Expenditure-$1.31B
Free Cash Flow$2.29B
Acquisitions$645M
Other Investing-$32M
Share Buybacks-$196M
Dividends Paid-$909M
Net Debt Change$9.89B
Other Financing & FX-$198M
Net Cash Increase$11.5B

Want to see what drove the FCF change?Free Cash Flow Bridge

Frequently asked questions

Data & methodology

Baker Hughes (BKR) Key Financials

Charts, filings, and peer comparison for every metric

Explore more

Deep-dives across the income statement, cash flow, capital return, and valuation

Overview

BKR Overview

Counters

Income Statement

Cash Flow

Capital Return

How this company returns cash to shareholders — buybacks, dividends, and stock splits.

Forecast & Valuation