ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) Cash Flow Statement

In fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025), ZTO Express (Cayman) generated CNY 11.97B of operating cash flow and spent CNY 6.07B on capital expenditures. That left free cash flow of CNY 5.89B, up 6.6% from CNY 5.53B a year earlier, or 12.3% of revenue. It returned CNY 5.01B to shareholders through CNY 3.76B in dividends and CNY 1.25B in share buybacks.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions CNY

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (ZTO) - Annual data in billions CNY
Breakdown	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020	Dec 2019	Dec 2018	Dec 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	9.24	8.89	8.75	6.66	4.70	4.31	5.67	4.39	3.16
Depreciation & Amortization	3.38	3.02	2.88	2.67	2.22	1.84	1.26	0.85	0.56
Deferred Income Tax	-0.54	0.29	0.16	0.24	-0.19	-0.27	-0.04	-0.14	-0.03
Stock Based Compensation	0.23	0.32	0.25	0.18	0.25	0.26	0.32	0.25	0.04
Change in Working Capital	-0.38	-2.15	1.32	1.78	0.14	-1.39	-0.26	-0.44	-0.18
Change in Accounts Receivable	0.50	-0.88	0.39	0.23	-0.34	-0.08	-0.08	-0.31	-0.10
Change in Inventory	0.00	-0.01	0.01	0.03	-0.03	-0.16	0.00	-0.01	0.00
Change in Accounts Payable	0.09	0.03	0.36	0.69	0.41	0.16	0.16	0.42	0.25
Change in Other Working Capital	-0.97	0.04	-0.51	0.01	-0.89	-1.19	-0.33	-0.55	-0.33
Other Operating Activities	0.05	0.04	0.16	0.01	-0.09	-0.13	-0.65	-0.50	0.08
Net Cash from Operating Activities	11.97	11.43	13.36	11.48	7.22	4.95	6.30	4.40	3.63
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-6.07	-5.90	-6.53	-7.41	-9.33	-7.24	-5.23	-3.98	-2.83
Acquisitions	0.80	-0.06	0.00	-0.09	-0.57	-0.23	-0.24	-1.18	-0.09
Purchases of Investments	-16.47	-17.65	-21.35	-15.95	-13.42	6.15	-15.02	-13.63	-10.13
Sales/Maturities of Investments	16.57	16.54	15.04	7.00	14.90	-1.97	16.70	5.83	4.73
Other Investing Activities	-0.51	-0.33	0.11	-0.02	-0.36	-0.55	0.12	0.09	0.02
Net Cash from Investing Activities	-4.83	-5.98	-12.25	-16.04	-8.76	-3.55	-3.66	-12.87	-8.29
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	-5.54	-17.97	-9.92	-5.88	-4.92	-0.87	0.00	0.00	-0.20
Common Stock Issued	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	9.84	0.00	8.89	0.00
Common Stock Repurchased	-1.25	-1.16	-1.01	-0.08	-3.81	-1.23	-0.76	-0.77	-0.86
Dividends Paid	-3.76	-5.61	-2.07	-1.32	-1.35	-1.65	-1.27	-0.90	0.00
Other Financing Activities	-0.02	0.02	-0.05	0.26	0.23	-0.06	0.05	-0.18	0.00
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-10.57	-5.00	-0.77	7.06	-2.90	8.34	-1.98	7.04	-1.06
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	-0.06	0.03	0.11	0.34	-0.15	-0.66	0.00	0.28	-0.42
Net Change in Cash	-3.48	0.48	0.45	2.83	-4.44	9.08	0.65	-1.15	-6.15
Cash at Beginning of Period	13.53	13.05	12.60	9.77	14.36	5.28	4.62	5.77	11.92
Cash at End of Period	10.05	13.53	13.05	12.60	9.77	14.36	5.28	4.62	5.77
Free Cash Flow	5.89	5.53	6.83	4.07	-2.11	-2.29	1.08	0.42	0.80
Supplemental Disclosures
Interest Paid	-	0.30	0.25	0.18	0.13	0.03	-	-	-
Income Taxes Paid	-	2.40	1.67	1.25	1.14	0.99	-	-	-

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

Frequently Asked Questions About ZTO Express (Cayman) Cash Flow

What is ZTO Express (Cayman)'s free cash flow?

ZTO Express (Cayman) generated free cash flow of CNY 5.89B in fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025), operating cash flow of CNY 11.97B minus CNY 6.07B of capital expenditures. That was up 6.6% from CNY 5.53B a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 12.3% of revenue.

How much does ZTO Express (Cayman) spend on capital expenditures?

ZTO Express (Cayman) spent CNY 6.07B on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, compared with CNY 5.90B a year earlier. That equals 50.8% of operating cash flow.

Does ZTO Express (Cayman) pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2025 ZTO Express (Cayman) returned CNY 3.76B in dividends and CNY 1.25B 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