Liquidity is under extreme pressure, as evidenced by the 2025Q3 report where a $44.7 million net profit translated into only $1.9 million of operating cash flow, highlighting the difficulty of converting accounting gains into usable capital.
| Metric | TTM | 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 | Dec'11 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -22.41M | -59.92M | -81.18M | -7.57M | -37.33M | -27.01M | -37.52M | -22.83M | -17.77M | 2.62M | -34.53M | -29.31M | -13.49M | -19.09M | -10.87M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -305.2% | -544.12% | -76.94% | -140.63% | -240.41% | - | - | -4180% | 8.75% | -3487.78% | -1306.6% | -1011.54% | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 281.25% | 26.19% | -972.92% | 79.73% | -38.19% | 28.01% | -64.36% | -28.51% | -777.54% | 107.59% | -17.82% | -117.19% | 29.32% | -75.66% | - |
| Net Income | 8.04M | -60.48M | -86.88M | -61.23M | -40.78M | -28.35M | -107.5M | -33.69M | -29.03M | 1.89M | -33.45M | -34.16M | -18.02M | -19.66M | -12.83M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.33M | 3.35M | 2.84M | 6.09M | 682K | 448K | 219K | 208K | 285K | 178K | 366K | 410K | 438K | 448K | 364K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 2.21M | 3.65M | 2.32M | 0 | 479K | 163K | 0 | 0 | 1.38M | 4.01M | 2.53M | 2.43M | 1.26M | 130K | 38K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 5.29M | 5.51M | 5.99M | 2.37M | 834K | 1.18M | 72.86M | 10.03M | 11.7M | 4.12M | 1.48M | 894K | 1.18M | 71K | 12K |
| Working Capital Changes | -39.29M | -11.95M | -5.44M | 45.2M | 1.46M | -453K | -3.1M | 578K | 611K | -2.47M | -976K | 1.11M | 1.66M | -84K | 1.54M |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.67M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 3.47M | -1.85M | 2.19M | -473K | -974K | 1.28M | 535K | 460K | -760K | -742K | -1.21M | 1.02M | -211K | 50K | 632K |
| Cash from Investing | 687K | -123K | 72.41M | -32.56M | -1.87M | -440K | -136K | -2K | 98K | 461K | -287K | -137K | 0 | -110K | -805K |
| Capital Expenditures | 0 | -123K | -1.13M | -4.66M | -1.87M | -440K | -136K | -2K | 0 | 0 | -287K | -137K | 0 | -110K | -805K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0% | 0.63% | 7.59% | 47.39% | 7.05% | 3.92% | - | - | - | - | 28.99% | 6.11% | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98K | 461K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 687K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98K | 461K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -2.38M | 344K | 62.18M | 35.77M | 15.96M | 72.26M | 35.36M | 58.58M | 7M | -13.82M | 16.84M | 75.56M | 13.55M | 26.38M | 10.45M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -515K | -1.43M | -1.3M | -865K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -14.12M | 4.12M | 5.25M | 4.69M | 992K | -583K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -18K | 2.39M | 30.83M | 35.11M | 16.33M | 72.24M | 35.36M | 58.58M | 7M | 304K | 12.71M | 70.31M | 8.87M | 25.39M | 11.03M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5K | -2K |
| Other Financing | -1.84M | -619K | 32.65M | 1.53M | -366K | 19K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -24.1M | -59.7M | 53.41M | -138.44M | -23.24M | 44.81M | -2.3M | 35.74M | -10.66M | -10.74M | -17.98M | 46.12M | 60K | 7.18M | -1.23M |
| Free Cash Flow | -22.41M | -60.04M | -82.31M | -12.23M | -39.2M | -27.45M | -37.66M | -22.83M | -17.77M | 2.62M | -34.82M | -29.44M | -13.49M | -19.2M | -11.67M |
| FCF Margin % | -42.59% | -305.83% | -551.71% | -124.32% | -147.68% | -244.32% | - | - | -4180% | 8.75% | -3516.77% | -1312.71% | -1011.54% | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 67.2% | 27.06% | -573.23% | 68.81% | -42.79% | 27.1% | -64.94% | -28.52% | -777.54% | 107.53% | -18.24% | -118.2% | 29.73% | -64.49% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.53 | -1.45 | -2.46 | -0.30 | -4.30 | -4.64 | -8.28 | -7.39 | -13.61 | 2.41 | -36.66 | -40.21 | -31.61 | -53.95 | -27.34 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -2.79x | 0.99x | 0.93x | 0.12x | 111.10x | 0.95x | 0.35x | 0.68x | 0.61x | 1.39x | 1.03x | 0.85x | 0.69x | 0.96x | 0.84x |
| Interest Paid | 63K | 0 | 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 | 0 | 0 |
Urgent capital market dependency
According to recent financial statements, CARM's operating cash flow frequently diverges from net income, as evidenced by the 2025Q3 report where a $44.7 million net profit translated into only $1.9 million of operating cash, suggesting that non-cash accounting items significantly distort the company's true liquidity position.
The wide gap between reported net income and operating cash flow indicates that earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash adjustments or revenue recognition timing rather than actual cash generation. Investors should monitor this discrepancy closely, as it suggests that the company's reported profitability may not reflect the underlying cash-consuming nature of its clinical-stage operations.
As reported in quarterly filings, CARM has consistently generated negative free cash flow in nearly every period since 2023, with the exception of a minor positive inflow in 2025Q3, highlighting the structural difficulty of funding high-cost autologous cell therapy development through internal operations alone.
The trajectory of free cash flow remains deeply negative, reflecting the heavy R&D and manufacturing costs inherent in the company's myeloid platform. This trend suggests that the business model is currently reliant on external financing to bridge the gap between clinical development costs and the lack of recurring commercial revenue.
Based on historical data, CARM's working capital movements are highly erratic, including a significant $42.9 million outflow in 2025Q3, which suggests that the timing of milestone payments and clinical trial expenditures creates substantial, unpredictable swings in the company's short-term liquidity and cash availability.
The extreme volatility in working capital changes implies that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of collaboration-related cash receipts and operational disbursements. This lack of stability in working capital management warrants further investigation into the predictability of the company's cash conversion cycle.
As evidenced by recent SEC filings, CARM utilizes stock-based compensation as a recurring expense, with quarterly figures often exceeding $1 million, which serves to preserve cash but potentially masks the true economic cost of talent retention in a capital-constrained environment for early-stage biotech firms.
The reliance on stock-based compensation suggests that management is attempting to conserve cash by aligning employee incentives with equity, though this practice introduces the risk of future dilution for existing shareholders. This strategy appears to be a necessary response to the company's limited cash runway and the high cost of specialized labor in the cell therapy sector.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CARM stock.
Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. (CARM) generated $-59.9M in net cash from operating activities in 2024. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. (CARM) reported negative free cash flow of $60.0M in 2024, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. (CARM) spent $0.1M on capital expenditures in 2024. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.