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 STERIS (STE) spend its free cash flow?

For TTM through Q1 2026, STERIS generated $1.34B of operating cash flow and $972M of free cash flow — a free cash flow margin of 72.5% of operating cash flow. The waterfall breaks down how the remaining cash was allocated across investing and financing activities.

How much did STERIS (STE) return via buybacks and dividends?

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

STERIS (STE) Cash Flow Waterfall

Operating CF

$1.34B

Capex

-$369M

Free Cash Flow

$972M

FCF Margin

+72.5%

Cash flow waterfall for STERIS (STE) — TTM through Q1 2026

Free cash flow: $972M

Cash flow breakdown for STERIS (STE) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Operating Cash Flow	$1.34B	$1.34B
Capital Expenditure	-$369M	$972M
Free Cash Flow	$972M	$972M
Other Investing	-$144M	$829M
Share Buybacks	-$228M	$601M
Dividends Paid	-$242M	$359M
Net Debt Change	-$122M	$237M
Other Financing & FX	$30.7M	$268M
Net Cash Increase	$268M	$268M

Operating Cash Flow$1.34B
Capital Expenditure-$369M
Free Cash Flow$972M
Other Investing-$144M
Share Buybacks-$228M
Dividends Paid-$242M
Net Debt Change-$122M
Other Financing & FX$30.7M
Net Cash Increase$268M

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

Frequently asked questions

Data & methodology

STERIS (STE) 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

STE Overview

Counters

Income Statement

Cash Flow

Capital Return

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

Forecast & Valuation