Cash conversion improved while investment spending declined
2025 operating cash flow increased to $695.4 million despite lower profit. Management identified better operating-asset and liability movements, particularly collection timing, as the main offset to weaker earnings after noncash adjustments. Inventory still consumed cash; it did not provide a cash release. Cash capital expenditure declined to $299.2 million. Entegris repaid $300.0 million of debt principal and paid $60.8 million in dividends while ending the year with $360.4 million of cash.
Borrowing principal remained $3,745.0 million at year-end, distinct from the $3,697.6 million carrying amount after financing discounts and costs. Maturities were concentrated in 2028–2030, and the interest-rate swap expired in December 2025. The undrawn revolver provided potential financing access, not cash. Credit restrictions and contractual excess-cash-flow repayment provisions continued to qualify capital-allocation flexibility.
The 2023 annual reported operating cash flow of $629.562 million for 2023 and $352.283 million for 2022; the 2024 annual reported $644.476 million and $363.129 million for those same periods. The 2025 annual retained the later 2023 presentation at $644.5 million. The complete tables provide a checkable bridge, in USD thousands: for 2023, the operating accounts-payable/accrual movement is -29,547 in the earlier annual versus -14,633 in the later annual, while employee-stock-plan financing proceeds are 50,792 versus 35,878. For 2022, those lines are 4,519 versus 15,365 and 16,168 versus 5,322. The operating increases of 14,914 and 10,846 are exactly offset in financing. Net financing cash flow consequently changes from -1,282,629 to -1,297,543 for 2023 and from 4,766,203 to 4,755,357 for 2022. Investing cash flow remains 553,071 for 2023 and -4,945,709 for 2022; total cash, cash-equivalent and restricted-cash movement remains -106,510 and 160,874, respectively, and ending balances remain 456,929 and 563,439. These differences do not represent additional cash.
The supplemental disclosures provide specific noncash ESPP evidence, not merely generic reclassification language. In the 2024 annual's Supplemental Cash Flow Information, all amounts are in USD thousands and the columns are the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Under non-cash transactions, equity consideration on acquisition of CMC Materials, Inc. is —, — and 1,265,690; share issuance in exchange for extinguishment of Employee Stock Purchase Plan liability is 16,912, 14,914 and 10,846; deferred acquisition and divestiture payments, net are —, 5,474 and —; equipment purchases in accounts payable are 57,579, 20,573 and 28,295; and dividends payable are 822, 730 and 654. The schedule of interest and income taxes paid reports interest paid, net of capitalized interest of 199,198, 287,846 and 164,183, and income taxes paid, net of refunds received of 103,795, 138,875 and 113,666. The noncash ESPP amounts for 2023 and 2022 exactly match the respective operating increases and financing decreases.
The earlier 2023 annual's complete supplemental table does not separately list ESPP-liability extinguishment. In USD thousands, with columns for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, its noncash rows report CMC equity consideration of —, 1,265,690 and —; deferred acquisition and divestiture payments, net of 5,474, — and 250; equipment purchases in accounts payable of 20,573, 28,295 and 29,042; and dividends payable of 730, 654 and 658. Its paid-interest row, labeled Interest paid, reports 287,846, 164,183 and 46,791; income taxes paid, net of refunds received are 138,875, 113,666 and 88,059. The absence of a separate ESPP row in that table does not establish that the underlying transactions did not occur.
The 2025 annual's supplemental table continues the noncash ESPP presentation. In USD millions, with columns for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, share issuance in exchange for extinguishment of Employee Stock Purchase Plan liability is 21.5, 16.9 and 14.9; deferred acquisition and divestiture payments, net are —, — and 5.5; equipment purchases in accounts payable are 24.1, 57.6 and 20.6; and dividends payable are 1.0, 0.8 and 0.7. Interest paid, net of capitalized interest is 185.4, 199.2 and 287.8; income taxes paid, net of refunds received are 113.0, 103.8 and 138.9. The later tables establish the noncash classification and its numerical correspondence with the historical cash-flow differences, but do not explicitly explain the accounting change. The generic reclassification statements do not specifically identify these lines. Both reported cash-flow presentations remain visible, and no unsupported cross-presentation growth is calculated.
Sources: 10-K · 2025-12-31 · EX-10.01 COMPLETE ORIGINAL REDLINE VIEW · 2024-03-28 · 10-K · 2023-12-31 · 10-K · 2024-12-31