Dolby Laboratories (DLB) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) Cash Flow Statement

In fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Sep 30, 2025), Dolby Laboratories generated $472.20M of operating cash flow and spent $41.94M on capital expenditures. That left free cash flow of $430.26M, up 44.7% from $297.25M a year earlier, or 31.9% of revenue. It returned $288.83M to shareholders through $126.60M in dividends and $162.23M in share buybacks.

Dolby Laboratories Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions USD

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (DLB) - Annual data in billions USD
Breakdown	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	Sep 2025	Sep 2024	Sep 2023	Sep 2022	Sep 2021	Sep 2020	Sep 2019	Sep 2018	Sep 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	0.26	0.26	0.20	0.18	0.32	0.23	0.26	0.04	0.21
Depreciation & Amortization	0.10	0.09	0.10	0.10	0.11	0.11	0.09	0.08	0.08
Deferred Income Tax	0.00	-0.02	-0.02	-0.03	-0.04	-0.01	-0.04	0.06	-0.04
Stock Based Compensation	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.11	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.07	0.07
Change in Working Capital	-0.02	-0.12	-0.05	-0.06	-0.02	-0.10	-0.06	0.08	0.05
Change in Accounts Receivable	0.00	-0.04	0.05	-0.01	-0.07	0.04	-0.06	0.10	-0.06
Change in Inventory	0.01	0.00	-0.01	-0.01	0.02	-0.01	-0.02	-0.01	-0.01
Change in Accounts Payable	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.04	-0.04	0.03	-0.03	0.10
Change in Other Working Capital	0.00	-0.08	-0.08	-0.04	-0.02	-0.08	-0.02	0.02	0.02
Other Operating Activities	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.00	-0.02	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.01
Net Cash from Operating Activities	0.47	0.33	0.37	0.32	0.45	0.34	0.33	0.35	0.38
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-0.04	-0.03	-0.03	-0.06	-0.05	-0.07	-0.11	-0.09	-0.10
Acquisitions	0.00	-0.49	0.03	-0.04	0.00	0.00	-0.01	-0.02	0.00
Purchases of Investments	0.00	-0.16	-0.17	-0.32	-0.07	-0.29	-0.27	-0.17	-0.29
Sales/Maturities of Investments	0.02	0.39	0.23	0.12	0.06	0.49	0.34	0.36	0.24
Other Investing Activities	0.01	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.02	0.00	-0.02	-0.01	-0.01
Net Cash from Investing Activities	-0.01	-0.29	0.05	-0.30	-0.04	0.13	-0.06	0.08	-0.16
Financing Activities
Common Stock Issued	0.04	0.04	0.05	0.06	0.12	0.08	0.06	0.11	0.07
Common Stock Repurchased	-0.16	-0.20	-0.18	-0.57	-0.28	-0.20	-0.36	-0.17	-0.12
Dividends Paid	-0.13	-0.11	-0.10	-0.10	-0.09	-0.09	-0.08	-0.07	-0.06
Other Financing Activities	0.00	-0.01	0.00	0.00	-0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-0.25	-0.29	-0.24	-0.61	-0.25	-0.21	-0.39	-0.13	-0.11
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	0.00	0.01	0.01	-0.02	0.00	0.00	-0.01	-0.01	0.00
Net Change in Cash	0.22	-0.24	0.19	-0.60	0.15	0.27	-0.12	0.29	0.11
Cash at Beginning of Period	0.58	0.82	0.63	1.23	1.08	0.81	0.93	0.63	0.52
Cash at End of Period	0.79	0.58	0.82	0.63	1.23	1.08	0.81	0.93	0.63
Free Cash Flow	0.43	0.30	0.34	0.26	0.39	0.27	0.21	0.27	0.27
Supplemental Disclosures
Income Taxes Paid	0.07	0.06	0.06	0.04	0.07	-	-	-	-

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Jun 30, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About Dolby Laboratories Cash Flow

What is Dolby Laboratories's free cash flow?

Dolby Laboratories generated free cash flow of $430.26M in fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Sep 30, 2025), operating cash flow of $472.20M minus $41.94M of capital expenditures. That was up 44.7% from $297.25M a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 31.9% of revenue.

How much does Dolby Laboratories spend on capital expenditures?

Dolby Laboratories spent $41.94M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, compared with $30.01M a year earlier. That equals 8.9% of operating cash flow.

Does Dolby Laboratories pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2025 Dolby Laboratories returned $126.60M in dividends and $162.23M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition