Free cash flow remains highly erratic, swinging from a $73.0 million inflow in 2024Q2 to a $16.6 million outflow by 2025Q4, reflecting the instability of the current partnership-dependent funding model.
| Cash from Operations | -66.15M | 65.84M | -60.41M | -73.57M | -65.69M | -59.52M | 55.22M | -44.08M | -22.09M | -5.65M | 44.08M | -17.62M | -19.8M |
| Operating CF Margin % | -1851.33% | 241.1% | -408.13% | -1869.58% | - | -385.7% | 49.99% | -612.7% | -109.08% | -24.32% | 112.78% | -58.22% | -229.29% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -200.46% | 209% | 17.89% | -11.99% | -10.37% | -207.78% | 225.28% | -99.5% | -291.32% | -112.81% | 350.14% | 11.01% | - |
| Net Income | -67.28M | -50.92M | -54.23M | -70.75M | -73M | -61.92M | 45.44M | -50.95M | -26.41M | -7.1M | 20.27M | 10.74M | -11.24M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.39M | 2.16M | 2.21M | 2.36M | 2.41M | 1.97M | 1.69M | 961K | 580K | 278K | 287K | 298K | 293K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 5.47M | 4.37M | 3.33M | 4.13M | 4.09M | 2.83M | 2.52M | 1.58M | 1.32M | 540K | 210K | 256K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 130K | 0 | 0 | 131K | 177K | -83K | 49K | 17K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 5.21M | 1.61M | 2.4M | -72K | -6.2M | 922K | -400K | 1.45M | 3.97M | -3.36M | -1.65M | -27K | -9M |
| Working Capital Changes | -6.47M | 107.51M | -15.16M | -8.43M | 6.84M | -4.57M | 5.65M | 1.81M | -1.99M | 3.3M | 24.58M | -28.87M | -109K |
| Change in Receivables | 877.68K | 13.55M | -14.8M | 603K | -99K | -532K | 2.5M | 698K | -401K | -248K | 25.67M | -25.74M | 55K |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -565.38K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.85M | 2.59M | -141K | 341K | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 60.69M | -105.29M | 65.64M | 23.76M | -53.66M | 28.33M | -66.89M | -32.04M | -1.84M | -899K | -244K | -131K | -249K |
| Capital Expenditures | -859.54K | -576K | -801K | -1.24M | -2.63M | -1.71M | -1.89M | -1.86M | -1.8M | -899K | -244K | -128K | -249K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 24.06% | 2.11% | 5.41% | 31.49% | - | 11.06% | 1.71% | 25.83% | 8.9% | 3.87% | 0.62% | 0.42% | 2.88% |
| Acquisitions | 14.32K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -162.36K | -104.71M | 66.45M | 25M | -51.03M | 30.04M | 0 | -178K | -40K | 0 | 0 | -3K | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -974.14K | -1.12M | 43.25M | -1.35M | 40.75M | -803K | 49.62M | 109.38M | 271K | 78.79M | 27.78M | 9.8M | 10.01M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -1.03M | -683K | -548K | -569K | 22.95M | -946K | 50.06M | 198K | 200K | 0 | 55K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 5.73K | 111K | 43.8M | -1K | 17.8M | 0 | 0 | 111.53M | 0 | 82.89M | 29.5M | 10M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8K | 0 | -100K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 46.13K | -548K | 0 | -776K | -6K | 143K | -441K | -2.35M | 71K | -4.11M | -1.78M | -199K | 10.01M |
| Net Change in Cash | -4.92M | -42.22M | 46.91M | -50.63M | -78.68M | -32.69M | 37.13M | 32.09M | -27.83M | 75.69M | 73.22M | -7.95M | -9.85M |
| Free Cash Flow | -67.01M | 65.27M | -61.21M | -74.81M | -68.32M | -61.22M | 53.34M | -45.94M | -23.9M | -6.54M | 43.84M | -17.75M | -20.05M |
| FCF Margin % | -1875.39% | 238.99% | -413.55% | -1901.07% | - | -396.75% | 48.29% | -638.53% | -117.98% | -28.19% | 112.15% | -58.65% | -232.18% |
| FCF Growth % | -202.67% | 206.63% | 18.18% | -9.49% | -11.6% | -214.79% | 216.11% | -92.23% | -265.1% | -114.93% | 346.96% | 11.47% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.67 | 0.65 | -0.72 | -0.90 | -0.91 | -0.85 | 0.75 | -0.74 | -0.42 | -0.13 | 0.79 | -0.32 | -0.49 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.94x | -1.29x | 1.11x | 1.04x | 0.90x | 0.96x | 1.22x | 0.87x | 0.84x | 0.80x | 2.17x | -1.64x | 1.76x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Clinical Milestone Dependency
As reported in recent financial statements, AC Immune exhibits a persistent disconnect between net income and operating cash flow, with OCF/NI ratios frequently exceeding 1.0, indicating that reported losses are consistently exacerbated by cash-based operational outflows rather than mitigated by non-cash accounting adjustments or accruals.
The recurring divergence between net income and operating cash flow suggests that the company's accounting losses are not merely paper-based but reflect actual cash depletion required to sustain clinical operations. Investors should monitor this trend, as the inability to align cash burn with earnings suggests a structural reliance on external capital to bridge the gap between milestone-driven revenue recognition and ongoing R&D expenditures.
Based on the provided quarterly data, AC Immune's free cash flow trajectory remains highly erratic, swinging from a positive $73.0 million in 2024Q2 to a negative $16.6 million by 2025Q4, reflecting the extreme sensitivity of liquidity to the timing of non-recurring pharmaceutical partnership milestone payments.
The lack of a stable, positive free cash flow trend underscores the speculative nature of the company's current business model. This volatility appears to be a direct consequence of the lumpy revenue recognition cycle, which leaves the firm vulnerable to liquidity crunches during periods where clinical milestones are not met.
According to historical cash flow data, working capital changes have acted as a significant, albeit inconsistent, source of liquidity, with a massive $91.2 million inflow in 2024Q2 followed by a $24.2 million outflow in 2024Q3, highlighting the instability of the company's cash management strategy.
These dramatic fluctuations in working capital suggest that the company's cash position is heavily influenced by the timing of accounts receivable related to licensing agreements. Such swings may obscure the underlying operational burn rate, making it difficult for investors to gauge the true sustainability of the company's cash runway without adjusting for these non-operational timing differences.
Analysis of the cash flow statement reveals that stock-based compensation, while relatively modest, provides a recurring non-cash add-back that masks the true extent of the company's operational cash requirements, as noted in the quarterly filings from 2024 and 2025.
While SBC is a standard practice in biotech to preserve cash, it effectively dilutes existing shareholders to fund the R&D burn. The reliance on these non-cash adjustments warrants further investigation, as it may be masking the true cost of talent retention in a highly competitive neurodegenerative research environment.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ACIU stock.
AC Immune S.A. (ACIU) generated $-66.1M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
AC Immune S.A. (ACIU) reported negative free cash flow of $67.0M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
AC Immune S.A. (ACIU) spent $0.9M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.