Operating cash flow has diverged sharply from net income, with -$129.8M of operating cash flow and -$163.4M of free cash flow in 2026Q3 despite a $184.5M net income, while share repurchases of $274.3M in the same quarter suggest capital returns are being funded from reserves rather than cash generation.
BioNTech SE (BNTX) cash flow statement — 9-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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -247.56M | 438M | 207.7M | 5.37B | 13.58B | 889.7M | -13.5M | -198.5M | -58.18M | -52.56M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 15.89% | 7.55% | 140.65% | 78.43% | 4.69% | -2.8% | -182.78% | -45.6% | -85.33% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 0.73% | 110.88% | -96.13% | -60.44% | 1426.07% | 6690.37% | 93.2% | -241.18% | -10.69% | - |
| Net Income | -1.48B | -1.09B | -677.7M | 1.19B | 12.95B | 15.05B | -145.8M | -179.4M | -47.66M | -85.91M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 884.95M | 367.69M | 298M | 183.4M | 123.3M | 75.2M | 38.7M | 33.9M | 21.98M | 10.53M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 20M | 0 | 100.9M | 51.4M | 108.6M | 93.9M | 32.1M | 30.2M | 7.64M | 5.91M |
| Deferred Taxes | 93.68M | 70.98M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.04M | 26.27M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 440.6M | 574.01M | -734.1M | -1.62B | -4.13B | -3.6B | 154.6M | 300K | -226K | -1.4M |
| Working Capital Changes | -194.12M | 516.57M | 1.22B | 5.57B | 4.52B | -10.73B | -93.1M | -83.5M | -40.96M | -7.96M |
| Change in Receivables | 406.28M | 1.04B | 387.7M | 5.37B | 4.37B | -11.81B | -247.9M | 2.9M | -18.73M | -2.82M |
| Change in Inventory | 156.24M | 170.88M | 74.5M | 81.9M | 62.9M | -438.4M | -49.8M | -5.8M | -1.25M | -574K |
| Change in Payables | -756.65M | -695.23M | 758.4M | 118.9M | 85.7M | 1.52B | 204.6M | -80.6M | -20.98M | -4.57M |
| Cash from Investing | 771.26M | -2.37B | -2.08B | -6.95B | -35.3M | -566.1M | -144.8M | -77.2M | -67.15M | -52.55M |
| Capital Expenditures | -233.82M | -719.44M | -286.5M | -250.1M | -329.2M | -127.5M | -66M | -38.6M | -67.85M | -57.74M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 9.69% | 26.1% | 10.41% | 6.55% | 1.9% | 0.67% | 13.68% | 35.54% | 53.19% | 93.74% |
| Acquisitions | 228.82M | 183.27M | 0 | -336.9M | 0 | -20.8M | -60.6M | -6.1M | 727.57K | 4.88M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -13.4M | 0 | -164.6M | -576.59M | -33.5M | -23.1M | -18.2M | -32.5M | 706K | 5.19M |
| Cash from Financing | -330.69M | -50.81M | -45.9M | -778.6M | -1.42B | 94.2M | 894.7M | 383.3M | 365.18M | -1.64M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 111.44M | -10.85M | -45.9M | -40.1M | -59.1M | -66.7M | 141.7M | 7.9M | 3.45M | -1.64M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -406.38M | 0 | 0 | -738.5M | -875.9M | 160.9M | 753M | 375.4M | 361.73M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -484.3M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -406.38M | 0 | 0 | -738.5M | -986.4M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -35.75M | -39.96M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -119.07M | -931.17M | -1.9B | -2.21B | 12.18B | 482.5M | 691.1M | 107.6M | 239.39M | -131.57M |
| Free Cash Flow | -456.19M | 269.81M | -244.6M | 4.67B | 13.21B | 735.7M | -98.9M | -269.6M | -126.03M | -110.3M |
| FCF Margin % | -18.9% | 9.79% | -8.89% | 122.18% | 76.34% | 3.88% | -20.51% | -248.25% | -98.79% | -179.07% |
| FCF Growth % | 18.93% | 210.31% | -105.24% | -64.69% | 1696.13% | 843.88% | 63.32% | -113.91% | -14.26% | - |
| FCF per Share | -1.80 | 1.12 | -1.02 | 19.22 | 52.90 | 2.83 | -0.40 | -1.27 | -0.56 | -0.49 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.31x | -0.40x | -0.31x | 5.77x | 1.44x | 0.09x | -0.89x | 1.11x | 1.21x | 0.61x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | -33.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BNTX stock.
BioNTech SE (BNTX) generated $438.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
BioNTech SE (BNTX) generated $269.8M 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.
BioNTech SE (BNTX) spent $719.4M 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
Persistent cash burn from R&D
Earnings Not Converting Into Operating Cash
Based on reported quarterly figures, BioNTech's operating cash flow diverged sharply from net income, with OCF/NI ratios swinging between negative and positive values that suggest headline earnings are a poor guide to underlying cash generation.
The 2026Q3 net income of $184.5M coincided with operating cash flow of -$129.8M, an OCF/NI ratio of -0.70 that indicates the reported profit was not backed by cash. Such a gap suggests working capital movements or non-cash gains are driving the reported result, warranting further investigation into the composition of that quarter's earnings. Investors should monitor whether conversion stabilizes once the lumpy partner settlements normalize.
Free Cash Flow Negative Across Most Quarters
According to reported quarterly figures, BioNTech generated positive free cash flow in only three of the last ten quarters, with a -$1.5B outflow in 2025Q1 representing the deepest drawdown in the period shown.
FCF margins ranged from -62.6% to 53.4%, but the sign flips appear driven by milestone and profit-share timing rather than a durable improvement in the operating base. The positive quarters in 2025Q2 and 2025Q3 coincided with weak or negative net income, which suggests the cash inflows are not repeatable at the same magnitude. The data indicates the business has not yet established a self-funding cash profile.
Capital Intensity Spikes Around Manufacturing Build-Out
Reported CapEx/Revenue ratios ranged from 2.2% to 118.0%, with the 2024Q2 figure of 118.0% suggesting that capital spending at times exceeded revenue by a wide margin during the period.
The 2025Q2 CapEx of $567.9M against modest revenue points to a discrete facility investment rather than maintenance spending, which may reflect expansion of manufacturing capacity. Because the data does not separate maintenance from growth capex, the replacement rate of depreciating assets cannot be determined from the supplied figures. Analysts should treat the CapEx spikes as lumpy investment cycles that warrant monitoring against future utilization.
Buybacks Drawn From Reserves, Not Cash Flow
As reported in financial statements, BioNTech recorded share repurchases of $274.3M and $132.1M in recent quarters while dividends paid remained at zero, suggesting capital is being returned to shareholders despite negative free cash flow.
Repurchasing stock while free cash flow is negative indicates management is drawing on its cash reserve rather than internally generated cash to fund returns. This allocation pattern may reflect confidence in the pipeline or a view that shares are undervalued, but it reduces the liquidity cushion available to fund Phase II and III trials. Investors should monitor whether buybacks continue if the oncology readouts are delayed.
Cumulative Cash Gap Versus Reported Earnings
Based on the ten-quarter window, cumulative net income is negative while cumulative operating cash flow is also negative, with large swings in both figures that make the underlying earnings picture difficult to isolate.
Summing reported quarters shows that the two lines move in different directions for extended stretches, with the 2024Q2 net loss of -$807.8M offset by a $1.8B operating inflow. This pattern suggests timing effects from partner payments dominate both series rather than steady operating performance. The gap warrants further investigation into how much of the cash inflow reflects one-time milestone receipts rather than recurring profit-share income.
What the Cash Flow Statement Obscures
Based on the supplied quarterly data, the apparent 2026Q3 cash-flow reversal may reflect timing of working capital and non-cash items rather than a durable change in the operating base.
A single quarter with a $653.2M working capital swing and large D&A of $332.3M can distort the picture, so the strongest bull reading of recovery is not yet supported by sustained positive operating cash flow. Stock-based compensation is reported as zero in most periods, so the cash flow statement may not reveal the full economic cost of equity incentives, which warrants further investigation. Investors should monitor whether operating cash flow turns durably positive across several consecutive quarters before concluding the cash burn has ended.