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 Diamondback Energy (FANG) spend its free cash flow?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Diamondback Energy generated $8.23B of operating cash flow and $1.59B of free cash flow — a free cash flow margin of 19.3% of operating cash flow. The waterfall breaks down how the remaining cash was allocated across investing and financing activities.

How much did Diamondback Energy (FANG) return via buybacks and dividends?

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

Diamondback Energy (FANG) Cash Flow Waterfall

Operating CF

$8.23B

Capex

-$6.64B

Free Cash Flow

$1.59B

FCF Margin

+19.3%

Cash flow waterfall for Diamondback Energy (FANG) — TTM through Q1 2026

Free cash flow: $1.59B

Cash flow breakdown for Diamondback Energy (FANG) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Operating Cash Flow	$8.23B	$8.23B
Capital Expenditure	-$6.64B	$1.59B
Free Cash Flow	$1.59B	$1.59B
Acquisitions	-$314M	$1.28B
Other Investing	$139M	$1.42B
Share Buybacks	-$2.08B	-$663M
Dividends Paid	-$1.28B	-$1.94B
Net Debt Change	-$535M	-$2.48B
Other Financing & FX	$614M	-$1.87B
Net Cash Decrease	-$1.87B	-$1.87B

Operating Cash Flow$8.23B
Capital Expenditure-$6.64B
Free Cash Flow$1.59B
Acquisitions-$314M
Other Investing$139M
Share Buybacks-$2.08B
Dividends Paid-$1.28B
Net Debt Change-$535M
Other Financing & FX$614M
Net Cash Decrease-$1.87B

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

Frequently asked questions

Data & methodology

Diamondback Energy (FANG) 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

FANG Overview

Counters

Income Statement

Cash Flow

Capital Return

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

Forecast & Valuation