CoreCivic

CXW · NYSE · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

CXW · Last close · October 26, 2026

$29.87

CoreCivic's revenue rose 12.7% to $2.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Its net margin was 5.3%, up from 3.5% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $53 million, down 73.4%. It paid out $229 million in dividends and buybacks, 434% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 3.5%.

CORECIVIC, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 20, 2026 · 0001193125-26-060669 Updated October 11, 2026

Revenue

$2.2B

12.7%

Net margin

5.3%

1.8 pts

Net income

$116M

69.2%

Free cash flow

$53M

73.4%

Return on capital

6.6%

1.7 pts

Market cap

$3.0B

Oct 26 close

P/E

24.1x

On $1.24 EPS, 4 qtrs

Net margin is net income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

What CoreCivic does

CoreCivic owns and runs prisons, detention centers and residential reentry centers for government agencies, and leases correctional real estate to them. Its customers are federal, state and local governments. It says it is the nation's largest owner of partnership correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities. Its facilities also offer education, job training and treatment programs, along with health care and food service.

It reports three segments. CoreCivic Safety operated 44 correctional and detention facilities at the end of 2025, with room for about 68,000 beds. CoreCivic Community owned and ran 20 residential reentry centers, with about 4,000 beds, and also provides electronic monitoring. CoreCivic Properties owned five properties with about 8,000 beds that it leases to government agencies.

In Safety and Community, the company is paid a daily rate for each bed used. Contracts typically run one to five years, and most let the government agency end them at any time without cause. They also depend on yearly legislative funding. The company has operated since 1983.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Government contracts that can be ended at any time, are not renewed, or are rebid to competitors.
Government budget limits, shutdowns and efforts to cut the federal deficit that could reduce payments.
Competition from other providers, including government agencies that run facilities themselves.
Its ability to win new contracts depends on many factors outside its control.
Demand for detention beds may not grow as it expects.

From CoreCivic's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 20, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share fell 5.9% a year and net income 6.8% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 9%.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value CoreCivic yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from CoreCivic's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from CoreCivic's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $53M, net cash of −$1.1B at December 31, 2025 and 107 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to CoreCivic: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 6.2% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 11%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Diversified Support Services), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $3.0B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2021); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target. A negative value means CoreCivic's net debt is larger than what that scenario's cash flows are worth today.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2025.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to CoreCivic's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 3% then 2.5% a year, 2% after year 10, a 12% discount rate. Base: growth of 6% then 4% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 11% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 9.5% then 6% a year, 3% after year 10, a 10% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $29.87
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from CoreCivic's earnings per share of $1.24 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 24.1×, the middle of CoreCivic's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (CoreCivic's own P/E today) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 12%, 11% and 10%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: RB Global, Copart, Science Applications Intl, KBR.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at CoreCivic's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 6.2% a year, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $29.87
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
CoreCivic's P/E at the last close: 24.1×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
RB GlobalRBA	$84.69	$2.32	36.5×
CoreCivicCXW	$29.87	$1.24	24.1×
CopartCPRT	$29.15	$1.55	18.8×
Science Applications IntlSAIC	$148.51	$8.56	17.3×
KBRKBR	$40.02	$3.33	12.0×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	300	149	122	108	98
Debt incl. finance leases	1,527	1,250	1,095	985	1,221
Net debt (negative means net cash)	1,228	1,101	973	878	1,123
Net debt to EBITDA	4.0x	2.9x	3.3x	3.0x	3.2x
Debt to equity	1.1x	0.9x	0.7x	0.7x	0.9x
Interest coverage	2.0x	3.0x	2.3x	2.4x	3.5x
Current ratio	1.8x	1.1x	1.6x	1.6x	1.7x
Quick ratio	1.8x	1.1x	1.6x	1.6x	1.7x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought CoreCivic shares on the open market, and 10 insiders sold $17.6 million, $2.1 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Sep 11, 2026	Daren SwensonEVP, Chief Corr & Reentry Ofcr	Sold	20,000	$34.85	$697,000	Form 4
Sep 1, 2026	Cole G. CarterChief Administrative Officer	Sold plan	12,500	$32.44	$405,500	Form 4
Aug 26, 2026	Anthony L GrandeEVP, Chief Development Officer	Sold	12,564	$33.85	$425,291	Form 4
Aug 26, 2026	John R Prann JrDirector	Sold	3,098	$34.00	$105,332	Form 4
Aug 24, 2026	Mark A EmkesDirector	Sold	30,000	$34.25	$1.0 million	Form 4
Aug 24, 2026	Anthony L GrandeEVP, Chief Development Officer	Sold	7,436	$34.25	$254,683	Form 4
Aug 21, 2026	David GarfinkleEVP & Chief Financial Officer	Sold	50,000	$33.96	$1.7 million	Form 4
Aug 21, 2026	John R Prann JrDirector	Sold	22,298	$34.00	$758,132	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	David GarfinkleEVP & Chief Financial Officer	Sold	50,000	$33.76	$1.7 million	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	John R Prann JrDirector	Sold	40,000	$33.54	$1.3 million	Form 4
Aug 17, 2026	Anthony L GrandeEVP, Chief Development Officer	Sold	29,199	$33.61	$981,378	Form 4
Aug 14, 2026	John R Prann JrDirector	Sold	30,000	$32.21	$966,300	Form 4

The latest 12 of 26 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Fail
Current ratio rose	Pass	Fail	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	7 of 8	7 of 8	7 of 8
Accruals ratio	−5.2%	−6.6%	−2.5%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put CoreCivic side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
CoreCivic	FY25	12.7%	—	2.4%	6.6%	3.2x	7
RB Global	FY25	7.2%	15.5%	15.7%	7.6%	1.7x	6	Compare
Copart	FY26	0.4%	35.4%	27.2%	19.6%	−1.0x	4	Compare
Science Applications Intl	FY26	−2.9%	7.2%	8.0%	12.8%	4.2x	7	Compare
KBR	FY25	1.0%	10.0%	6.6%	15.8%	2.2x	7	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	1,850	1,766	1,836	1,981	1,906	1,863	1,845	1,897	1,962	2,211
Revenue growth	5.4%	−4.6%	4.0%	7.9%	−3.8%	−2.2%	−0.9%	2.8%	3.4%	12.7%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	296	260	250	282	163	—	—	—	—	—
Net income	220	178	159	189	54	−52	122	68	69	116
Diluted EPS (US$)	1.87	1.50	1.34	1.59	0.45	−0.43	1.03	0.59	0.62	1.08
Diluted shares (millions)	118	118	119	119	121	120	118	114	111	107
Cash flow
Cash from operations	375	341	323	354	356	263	154	232	269	195
Capital expenditure	134	115	487	191	160	82	83	68	70	142
Free cash flow	241	227	−164	164	196	182	70	164	199	53
Dividends paid	256	200	204	210	106	2	1	0	0	0
Share buybacks	4	6	3	4	4	2	80	43	77	229
Acquisitions	44	49	176	48	9	0	0	0	0	74
Stock-based compensation	18	13	13	17	17	19	18	21	26	28
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	38	52	53	92	113	300	149	122	108	98
Debt incl. finance leases	1,445	1,447	1,802	1,959	1,787	1,527	1,250	1,095	985	1,221
Total assets	3,272	3,272	3,656	3,792	3,709	3,499	3,245	3,105	2,932	3,257
Total liabilities	1,813	1,821	2,241	2,415	2,296	2,126	1,812	1,628	1,438	1,852
Shareholders' equity	1,459	1,452	1,415	1,377	1,390	1,372	1,432	1,478	1,493	1,405
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	16.0%	14.8%	13.6%	14.2%	8.5%	—	—	—	—	—
Net margin	11.9%	10.1%	8.7%	9.5%	2.8%	−2.8%	6.6%	3.6%	3.5%	5.3%
Free cash flow margin	13.0%	12.8%	−8.9%	8.3%	10.3%	9.8%	3.8%	8.7%	10.1%	2.4%
Return on capital	10.0%	8.5%	7.9%	8.4%	4.8%	3.0%	7.2%	4.8%	5.0%	6.6%
Return on equity	15.1%	12.2%	11.1%	13.5%	3.9%	−3.8%	8.7%	4.7%	4.6%	8.0%
Return on assets	6.6%	5.4%	4.6%	5.1%	1.4%	−1.4%	3.6%	2.1%	2.3%	3.8%
Net debt to EBITDA	3.0x	3.4x	4.3x	4.4x	5.3x	4.0x	2.9x	3.3x	3.0x	3.2x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: CoreCivic's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with CoreCivic.