Cash generation appears unreliable, as the three-quarter run of robust FCF margins (peaking at 53.7% in 2025Q4) collapsed to -$21.2M in 2026Q1 and only $2.4M in 2026Q2, with operating cash flow swings of roughly $50M quarter-to-quarter driven almost entirely by working capital fluctuations rather than earnings.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) cash flow statement — 14-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 15.78M | 67.99M | -40.66M | -23.38M | -73.15M | -252.97M | -110.39M | -257.44M | -97.49M | -56.16M | 57.91M | -52.41M | -27.48M | -11.33M | -7.21M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 28.79% | -25.38% | -12.02% | -25.01% | -119.52% | -37.46% | -76.85% | -46.93% | -31.55% | 3772.38% | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 565.01% | 267.23% | -73.88% | 68.03% | 71.08% | -129.16% | 57.12% | -164.06% | -73.6% | -196.98% | 210.49% | -90.69% | -142.53% | -57.14% | - |
| Net Income | -44.56M | -5.34M | -69.41M | -51.92M | -92.56M | -282.02M | -383.46M | -279.66M | -143.59M | -76.91M | -135.75M | -60.72M | -37.03M | -13.17M | -8.2M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.87M | 1.27M | 37.5M | 37.63M | 37.7M | 37.97M | 34.69M | 38.65M | 2.42M | 617K | 296K | 96K | 49K | 1.28K | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 12.89M | 11.28M | 7.78M | 9.32M | 17.85M | 22.73M | 24.46M | 11.93M | 19.04M | 8.87M | 5.83M | 4.71M | 6.01M | 1.56M | 122K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 204.08M | -6.63M | -28.34M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.42M | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 34.2M | 44.31M | 23.15M | 2.32M | -34.7M | 73.97M | 23.51M | 77.35M | 16.95M | 4.02M | 800K | 558K | 268K | 760.42K | 1.67M |
| Working Capital Changes | 10.38M | 16.47M | -39.68M | -20.73M | -1.44M | -105.61M | -13.67M | -99.07M | 36.02M | 7.25M | 186.73M | 2.94M | 3.22M | 1.93M | -808K |
| Change in Receivables | 29.39M | -14.14M | 4.05M | 994K | 11.7M | -24.03M | 12.01M | -22.2M | 33.38M | -393K | -33.82M | 0 | 87K | -49.71K | -4K |
| Change in Inventory | -22.27M | -23.13M | -28.4M | -2.54M | 19.79M | -24.95M | 6.16M | -29.14M | 26K | 16.79M | 0 | 0 | -773K | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 2.65M | 3.08M | -1.36M | -5.24M | 1.5M | -11.73M | 3.68M | 1.37M | 13.72M | 4.96M | -274K | 231K | 4.06M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -14.62M | -7.93M | -33K | 0 | -114K | 39.94M | -40M | 211.18M | 36.59M | -177.26M | 12.71M | -13.69M | -65.35M | -11.42M | 1.37M |
| Capital Expenditures | -2.01M | 0 | -33K | 0 | -114K | -59K | -317K | -6.66M | -1.61M | -1.62M | -2.66M | -414K | -229K | -19.73K | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.02% | 0.12% | 0.02% | - | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.11% | 1.99% | 0.77% | 0.91% | 173.42% | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 172K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.69M | 0 | 6.15M | 1.62M | 2.66M | 414K | 229K | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -12.79M | -7.93M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -39.69M | 0 | 32.05M | -1.62M | -2.66M | -414K | -229K | -11.41M | 1.37M |
| Cash from Financing | -9.14M | 72.93M | 49.66M | -25.21M | 14.6M | 133.73M | 231.72M | 88.97M | 96.56M | 116.24M | 66.95M | 83.09M | 104.4M | 42.33M | 2.48M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -20.16M | 4.63M | 7.9M | -32M | -33M | 0 | 19.98M | 62.67M | -19K | -5K | -20K | -7K | 234K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 10.44M | 68.36M | 41.38M | 6.79M | 7.53M | 88.95M | 210.52M | 25.74M | 95.93M | 114.93M | 66.84M | 82.97M | 104.17M | 0 | 2.48M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | -1.27M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -426K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -162K | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 585K | -63K | 385K | 1K | 40.07M | 44.78M | 1.23M | 560K | 647K | 1.31M | 124K | 130K | 0 | 42.33M | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -7.98M | 132.99M | 8.97M | -48.59M | -58.67M | -79.29M | 81.33M | 42.7M | 35.66M | -117.18M | 137.56M | 17M | 11.56M | 19.57M | -3.37M |
| Free Cash Flow | 13.83M | 67.99M | -40.69M | -23.38M | -73.27M | -253.02M | -110.7M | -264.1M | -99.1M | -57.78M | 55.24M | -52.82M | -27.71M | -11.35M | -7.21M |
| FCF Margin % | 7.01% | 28.79% | -25.4% | -12.02% | -25.05% | -119.55% | -37.57% | -78.83% | -47.7% | -32.46% | 3598.96% | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | -57.01% | 267.09% | -74.02% | 68.08% | 71.04% | -128.56% | 58.08% | -166.49% | -71.51% | -204.59% | 204.59% | -90.61% | -144.13% | -57.42% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.05 | 0.26 | -0.19 | -0.12 | -0.40 | -1.52 | -0.80 | -2.23 | -0.85 | -1.33 | 1.46 | -2.00 | -1.80 | -0.76 | -0.71 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.31x | -12.72x | 0.59x | 0.45x | 0.78x | 0.90x | 0.29x | 0.92x | 0.57x | 0.73x | -0.43x | 0.86x | 0.74x | 0.86x | 0.88x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.63M | 0 | 781K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AKBA stock.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) generated $68.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) generated $68.0M in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA) spent $0.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Working capital swings mask true cash generation
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Earnings-Cash Gap Driven by Accrual Reversals
Akebia's operating cash flow routinely diverges from net income by tens of millions — 2025Q4 saw -$12.2M in net income versus +$31.1M in operating cash flow — a gap sourced almost entirely from working capital fluctuations rather than operational profitability, per SEC-filed cash flow statements.
The erratic OCF/NI ratio (ranging from -0.40 to 52.05 over ten quarters) signals that cash generation is not anchored to underlying earnings power. In 2025Q3, $28.1M of operating cash flow on just $540K of net income reflects balance sheet liquidation — receivables or payables — rather than sustainable cash conversion from commercial operations. The reversal pattern in 2026Q1, when working capital swung to -$24.5M and dragged OCF to -$21.2M, suggests the prior quarters' inflows were transient. Investors should treat positive operating cash flow in 2025 as a working capital artifact rather than evidence of a structurally cash-generative franchise.
Cyclical Working Capital Swings Dominate Cash Flow
Working capital changes have been the primary determinant of Akebia's quarterly cash trajectory, swinging from -$29.7M in 2025Q1 to +$21.9M in 2025Q4 and back to -$24.5M in 2026Q1, indicating cash generation is being sourced from the balance sheet rather than income-generating operations.
The pattern of large working capital inflows in 2025Q3 and 2025Q4 ($19.2M and $21.9M respectively), followed by a sharp -$24.5M outflow in 2026Q1, is consistent with timing-related collection acceleration or payables stretching that subsequently reversed. This is not the profile of a company with improving collection efficiency; rather, it suggests the reported cash generation was pulled forward from future quarters. The 2026Q1 reversal effectively erased two quarters of working-capital-sourced cash inflow, and investors should monitor whether the 2026Q2 $3.8M inflow represents stabilization or another transient swing.
Positive FCF Window Proves Elusive
After three consecutive quarters of robust FCF margins peaking at 53.7% in 2025Q4, Akebia's free cash flow collapsed to -$21.2M in 2026Q1 before recovering to only $2.4M in 2026Q2, a 5.0% margin, suggesting the 2025 cash generation profile was not durable.
The trajectory mirrors the revenue deterioration flagged in the income statement analysis — sequential revenue erosion from 2025Q2's peak has compressed the base from which cash is generated. Critically, FCF has tracked operating cash flow almost exactly because capital expenditures are negligible (never exceeding $1.1M), meaning the company has no structural buffer of reinvestment flexibility. The 2026Q2 $2.4M FCF on $49.1M of revenue appears consistent with a business operating near breakeven on a cash basis, with the 2025 quarters now looking like an outlier driven by non-recurring working capital dynamics.
SBC Growth and D&A Collapse Obscure True Costs
Stock-based compensation nearly doubled from $1.6M per quarter in 2024Q3 to $3.7M in 2026Q1, while depreciation and amortization collapsed from $9.4-13.5M to under $600K after 2024Q4, suggesting an asset impairment that inflated reported operating cash flows.
The dramatic D&A decline — from $9.4M in 2024Q3 to $314K in 2025Q1 — points to a significant asset writedown or disposal that mechanically reduced non-cash charges, which in turn should have reduced the typical add-back advantage that boosts OCF relative to net income. Yet operating cash flow improved sharply in the same window, reinforcing the conclusion that working capital liquidation rather than earnings was the driver. Meanwhile, SBC's steady climb from $1.6M to $3.7M quarterly represents a growing real economic dilution cost that is excluded from operating cash flow calculations; cumulative SBC of approximately $23.5M over ten quarters represents a material unpriced claim on future cash flows. Additionally, capex of effectively zero raises questions about whether the asset base is being maintained.
Near-Zero Capex Signals Asset-Light Fragility
Akebia's capital expenditures have never exceeded $1.1M in any quarter over the ten-quarter period, with most quarters reporting under $80K, confirming an asset-light model that provides minimal reinvestment friction but offers no tangible asset cushion.
With capex/rev ratios consistently below 2.2% and often under 0.2%, Akebia operates a commercial model almost entirely decoupled from physical asset intensity — consistent with a specialty pharmaceutical licensing and distribution structure. This lack of capital reinvestment means free cash flow is not artificially suppressed by growth capex, but it also implies the company's value resides almost entirely in intangible commercial rights rather than productive assets. For investors, the near-zero capex profile means the reported FCF figures require no maintenance capex adjustment, yet the absence of capital investment also provides no tangible asset base to support financing in a downside scenario.