Cash flow generation remains highly erratic, with a $11.7M negative change in working capital in 2025Q4 masking the underlying disconnect between a $26.3M net loss and $3.9M in operating cash flow.
| Metric | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Mar'17 | Mar'16 | Mar'15 | Mar'14 | Mar'13 | Mar'12 | Mar'11 | Mar'10 | Mar'09 | Mar'08 | Mar'07 | Mar'06 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -15.84M | -3.35M | 8.75M | -14.61M | -31.83M | -27.87M | -57.88M | -312.63M | 127.47M | 61.54M | 64.5M | 45.85M | 37.34M | 67.78M | 59.35M | 62.1M | -27.97M | 31.54M | 304.52K | -16.52M | -16.54M |
| Operating CF Margin % | -5.91% | -1.25% | 3.95% | -7.07% | -15.74% | -17.19% | -59.2% | -23354.86% | 1701.1% | 13.03% | 15.46% | 13.09% | 9.71% | 18.48% | 16.86% | 20.43% | -11.41% | 14.5% | 0.18% | -19.47% | -23.97% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -373.51% | -138.22% | 159.88% | 54.09% | -14.21% | 51.84% | 81.49% | -345.25% | 107.12% | -4.59% | 40.68% | 22.78% | -44.9% | 14.19% | -4.42% | 322.06% | -188.67% | 10256.68% | 101.84% | 0.08% | - |
| Net Income | -48.05M | -36.1M | -33.66M | -48.59M | -36.41M | -100.58M | -129.22M | 850.6M | -24.06M | -9.97M | 26.05M | 23.06M | 27.28M | 23.21M | 55.84M | 19.75M | -35.35M | 22.81M | 20.17M | -16.79M | -24.79M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 21.5M | 24.23M | 21.98M | 22.59M | 23.03M | 29.91M | 17.55M | 13.33M | 12.24M | 10.29M | 8.61M | 7.58M | 10.75M | 10.62M | 11.28M | 13.64M | 12.75M | 5.21M | 2.7M | 1.84M | 24.24M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 569.71K | 2.81M | 3.07M | 1.46M | 1.04M | 1.78M | 4.81M | 20.59M | 19.01M | 6.96M | 9.16M | 7.11M | 10.53M | 12.87M | 12.26M | 4.65M | 7.5M | 5.6M | 7.25B | 2.5M | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -3.58M | -6.4M | -6.81M | -6.05M | -1.56M | -10.28M | -8.05M | -25.97M | 22.92B | 22.92M | 7.05M | -849.69K | -717.08K | -3.22M | 1.15M | -3.89M | -287.91K | -2.25M | 1.52M | -1.82M | -485.14K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 23.77M | 378K | -53.41K | -1.31M | -27.3M | 13.66M | 48.23M | -1.12B | 104.55M | 46.59M | 10.67M | 4.35M | 8.7M | 9.08M | 1.5M | 2.62M | 27.14M | 9.18M | -7.25B | -661.44K | 5.32M |
| Working Capital Changes | -10.05M | 11.74M | 24.23M | 17.29M | 9.38M | 37.65M | 8.81M | -51.92M | 15.74M | -15.25M | 2.95M | 4.6M | -19.21M | 15.22M | -22.68M | 25.33M | -39.72M | -9.01M | -28.39M | -1.59M | -21.46M |
| Change in Receivables | 2.41M | -477K | 3.62M | -4.91M | 1.25M | -2.03M | 225.19K | 41.13M | -60.41M | -6.13M | -2.27M | 19.36M | -12.79M | 21.59M | -37.14M | 33.33M | -38.88M | -13.41M | -48.18B | -4.49M | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.81K | -29.47K | -262.9K | 172.04K | 664.71K | -546.16K | -89.16K | -877.6K |
| Change in Payables | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.99M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.15B | 1.27M | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 48.71M | -20.26M | -3.97M | -2.49M | -10.03M | -19.09M | -36.95M | 1.2B | -27.47M | -93.95M | -36.8M | -52.76M | -13.96M | -7.97M | -5.35M | -3.88M | -61.66M | -35.05M | -5.11M | 1.05M | 12.15M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1.28M | -20.02M | -2.24M | -1.62M | -4.45M | -4.91M | -1.28M | -9.36M | -6.61M | -9.93M | -3.09M | -14.84M | -4.15M | -7.97M | -5.37M | -3.88M | -59.36M | -34.69M | -5.72M | -4.72M | -2.7M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.48% | 7.47% | 1.01% | 0.78% | 2.2% | 3.03% | 1.31% | 698.91% | 88.2% | 2.1% | 0.74% | 4.24% | 1.08% | 2.17% | 1.52% | 1.28% | 24.22% | 15.95% | 3.33% | 5.56% | 3.91% |
| Acquisitions | 49.93M | -288K | -1.74M | -877.77K | -5.6M | -14.22M | -34.55M | 1.72M | -860.66K | 5.91M | 0 | -37.95M | -9.83M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.31M | -365.43K | 0 | 2.28M | -4M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 53.82K | 56K | 14.85K | 6.01K | 22.49K | 37.44K | 4.89M | 1.21B | -20M | 6.74M | -9.93M | 30.49K | 17.69K | -7.97B | 20.64K | -3.88B | -61.66B | -35.05B | -4.37M | 3.49M | 18.85M |
| Cash from Financing | 16.34M | -93.7K | 403.44K | 188.21K | 827.52K | 6.3M | 57.57M | -949.89M | -93.53M | 7.25M | -20.31M | -63.66M | -700.41K | -26.57M | -61.97M | 0 | -6.67M | -10.64M | 299.34M | 16.03M | -43.91M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 16.03M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 710K | 1.81M | 0 | -2.99M | 0 | 3.45M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -19M | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 366.69K | -93.7K | -68.33K | -30.73K | -114.73K | -4.04M | 61.69M | -1.73M | -251.54K | 0 | -19.54M | -8.36M | -132.53K | -329.36K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.03M | 317.62M | 43.05M | -4.06M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -946.61M | -87.6M | 0 | 0 | -58.35M | 0 | -25.33M | -63.63M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | -93.7K | -68.33K | -30.73K | -114.73K | -4M | 0 | -1.73M | -251.54K | 0 | -19.54M | -8.36M | -132.53K | -329.36K | 0 | 0 | -1.74B | -10.13M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -57.58K | 0 | 471.76K | 218.94K | 232.25K | 8.53M | -4.13M | 1.43M | -5.68M | 3.8M | -774.35K | 3.05M | -567.88K | -913.45K | 1.67M | 0 | -6.67M | -11.67M | -18.28M | -8.02M | -39.88M |
| Net Change in Cash | 48.71M | -23.64M | 5.19M | -16.36M | -41.38M | -41.47M | -36.39M | -65.5M | 4.78M | -25.22M | 7.37M | -71.65M | 21.92M | 32.86M | -10.89M | 54.18M | -96.63M | -21.69M | 287.23M | 394.8K | -48.37M |
| Free Cash Flow | -17.12M | -23.37M | 6.51M | -16.23M | -36.29M | -32.78M | -59.16M | -321.98M | 120.86M | 51.61M | 61.42M | 31.02M | 33.19M | 59.81M | 53.99M | 58.22M | -87.32M | -3.15M | -5.42M | -21.25M | -19.23M |
| FCF Margin % | -6.39% | -8.72% | 2.94% | -7.85% | -17.94% | -20.22% | -60.51% | -24053.77% | 1612.9% | 10.93% | 14.72% | 8.86% | 8.63% | 16.31% | 15.33% | 19.16% | -35.64% | -1.45% | -3.15% | -25.03% | -27.88% |
| FCF Growth % | 26.74% | -458.91% | 140.11% | 55.27% | -10.68% | 44.59% | 81.63% | -366.4% | 134.18% | -15.96% | 98.02% | -6.56% | -44.5% | 10.79% | -7.28% | 166.68% | -2672.32% | 41.88% | 74.49% | -10.45% | - |
| FCF per Share | -1.08 | -1.48 | 0.42 | -1.03 | -2.31 | -2.09 | -4.65 | -27.49 | 10.55 | 4.46 | 5.39 | 2.72 | 2.94 | 5.30 | 4.73 | 5.24 | -7.80 | -0.27 | -0.57 | -4.13 | -3.51 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.33x | 0.09x | -0.26x | 0.31x | 0.95x | 0.30x | 0.47x | -0.37x | -1.12x | -6.33x | 2.48x | 1.99x | 1.37x | 2.92x | 1.06x | 3.14x | 0.79x | 1.38x | 0.02x | 0.98x | 0.67x |
| Interest Paid | 398.58K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.28K | 208.22K | 231.72K | 249.68K | 0 | 57.57K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 20.43K | 28.32K | 154.38K | 114K | 209.7K | 232.4M | 0 | 19.76M | 14.31M | 23.1M | 22.59M | 3.92M | 17.27M | 6.66M | 9.82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Operational Scale and Sustainability
According to the most recent quarterly data, AACG reported a net loss of $26.3M while simultaneously generating $3.9M in operating cash flow, highlighting a significant divergence between accounting losses and cash generation that warrants deep skepticism regarding the underlying quality of the company's reported earnings.
The disconnect between net income and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash charges or working capital fluctuations are heavily distorting the firm's financial reality. Investors should monitor whether this positive cash flow is a sustainable trend or merely a temporary artifact of aggressive working capital management.
As reported in financial statements, AACG's free cash flow trajectory is characterized by extreme inconsistency, with the company recording $5.1M in FCF for 2025Q4 following multiple quarters of zero reported cash flow, suggesting that the business lacks a predictable mechanism for generating sustainable shareholder value.
The sporadic nature of these cash flows implies that the company's core operations are not yet self-funding. This volatility makes it difficult to project future liquidity needs and suggests that the business model remains highly sensitive to seasonal or project-based revenue cycles.
Based on the latest quarterly filings, AACG experienced a $11.7M negative change in working capital, which appears to be the primary driver behind the reported operating cash flow figure, indicating that the company's cash position is highly susceptible to shifts in customer payment timing and deferred revenue.
This reliance on working capital swings to generate positive cash flow suggests that the underlying business is not yet generating organic cash from its core educational services. Analysts should investigate whether this negative working capital change represents a permanent shift in collection efficiency or a temporary timing mismatch.
As indicated by the reported figures, AACG maintained a capital expenditure to revenue ratio of 1.3% in 2025Q4, suggesting that the company is currently operating with a light asset footprint that does not require significant ongoing reinvestment to maintain its existing network of training centers.
While low capital intensity is typically a positive signal, in this context, it may also indicate a lack of investment in the infrastructure or technology needed to drive future growth. The company appears to be prioritizing cash preservation over the expansion of its physical or digital service capabilities.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AACG stock.
ATA Creativity Global (AACG) generated $-15.8M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
ATA Creativity Global (AACG) reported negative free cash flow of $17.1M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
ATA Creativity Global (AACG) spent $1.3M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.