CDW · 10-Q · 2026Q3 · Full report

Operating Cash Flow Trends

CDW Corp · 2026-11-04 · Importance 36 · Surprise 40 · In source text

Net cash provided by operating activities decreased $152.9 million to $618.5 million for the first nine months of 2026. The decline primarily reflected accounts receivable and inventory cash uses, partially offset by higher accounts payable; receivables were affected by collection timing and increased sales, while inventory reflected customer-driven stocking, higher hardware costs, and product-financing inventory. The cash conversion cycle increased to 20 days from 11 days, driven by higher days sales outstanding and inventory, partly offset by higher days payable outstanding. Adjusted free cash flow increased to $784.6 million from $668.0 million, including $240.8 million of product-financing proceeds.

Key facts

• CDW expects unbilled receivables and days sales outstanding to continue increasing as customers shift to multi-year software purchases. source
• For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, CDW net cash provided by operating activities was $618.5 million, down $152.9 million from $771.4 million in 2025. source
• CDW’s operating cash flow decreased $153 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, primarily because of accounts receivable and merchandise inventory, partially offset by accounts payable-trade. source
• CDW’s cash conversion cycle increased to 20 days at September 30, 2026, from 11 days at September 30, 2025. source
• The accounts receivable cash-flow decrease was primarily due to collection timing and increased sales activity. source
• The accounts payable-trade cash-flow increase was primarily due to timing of payments and increased sales activity. source
• CDW expects accounts payable and days purchases outstanding to increase as vendor payment timing aligns with customer collections amid customers’ shift to multi-year software purchases. source

Impact estimates