Persistent negative free cash flow remains a structural concern, with quarterly outflows consistently exceeding $20 million throughout 2025 despite a $39.3 million working capital inflow in 2025Q3.
| 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 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -132.94M | -176.53M | -22.43M | -28.47M | -25.23M | -54.41M | -28.53M | -56.7M | -49.91M | -39.77M | -25.96M | -7.71M | -1.05M | 0 |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -13845.73% | -96.34% | -44.18% | -50.9% | -450.91% | -136.42% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | -311.73% | -686.97% | 21.22% | -12.84% | 53.63% | -90.7% | 49.68% | -13.62% | -25.49% | -53.21% | -236.69% | -635.69% | - | - |
| Net Income | -184.74M | -169.83M | -22.93M | -33.58M | -42.47M | -72.11M | -41.09M | -59.02M | -55.73M | -48.16M | -32.19M | -11.89M | -1.34M | -792K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 163K | 233K | 118K | 143K | -1.23M | 229K | 375K | 523K | 667K | 732K | 461K | 179K | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 9.53M | 3.91M | 3.06M | 3.53M | 4.01M | 4.09M | 5.07M | 5.71M | 5.71M | 4.34M | 3.03M | 232K | 11K | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -411K | -3.61M | -33K | -176K | -42K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -8.24M | 3.09M | 1.24M | 982K | 15K | 21K | 36K | 86K | 50K | 14K | 76K | 1.88M | 262K | 792K |
| Working Capital Changes | 50.35M | -13.93M | -3.92M | 454K | 14.44M | 13.36M | 7.49M | -399K | -579K | 3.48M | 2.71M | 1.89M | 23K | 0 |
| Change in Receivables | -162K | 14.28M | -10.41M | -477K | 5.82M | -11.16M | -10K | 321K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 6.1M | -6.1M | 0 | 1.09M | -6.59M | 10K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 64.17M | -1M | 8.89M | -2.37M | -1.09M | 6.59M | -784K | -59K | 642K | 1.91M | 2.14M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -176.28M | -129K | -505K | -118K | -41K | -186K | -35K | 14.3M | 4.47M | 25.48M | -46.09M | -991K | 0 | 0 |
| Capital Expenditures | 0 | -129K | -505K | -118K | -41K | -186K | -35K | -177K | -306K | -401K | -1.17M | -991K | 0 | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | 10.12% | 2.17% | 0.18% | 0.08% | 1.54% | 0.17% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 185K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -176.47M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.48M | 4.78M | 25.88M | -44.92M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 481.83M | 337.06M | 25.98M | -951K | 44.6M | 37.28M | 14.27M | 56.15M | 20.88M | 37.09M | 111.81M | 31.31M | 1.23M | 12K |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -126K | -276K | 0 | -2.59M | -4.44M | -2.96M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.95M | 0 | 930K | 1.23M | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 1.13M | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -79K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 1.56M | 7K | 21K | -720K | 6K | 14K | -24K | 49.71M | 228K | 525K | 387K | 516K | 0 | 12K |
| Net Change in Cash | 172.6M | 160.4M | 3.05M | -29.54M | 19.32M | -17.32M | -14.29M | 13.75M | -24.55M | 22.8M | 39.77M | 22.61M | 184K | 12K |
| Free Cash Flow | -132.94M | -176.66M | -22.94M | -28.59M | -25.27M | -54.6M | -28.57M | -56.88M | -50.22M | -40.17M | -27.13M | -8.7M | -1.05M | 0 |
| FCF Margin % | - | -13855.84% | -98.51% | -44.36% | -50.98% | -452.45% | -136.59% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 16.99% | -670.21% | 19.78% | -13.13% | 53.71% | -91.12% | 49.78% | -13.28% | -25% | -48.08% | -211.79% | -730.25% | - | - |
| FCF per Share | -8.55 | -27.82 | -5.25 | -8.19 | -9.64 | -26.28 | -19.09 | -43.97 | -57.39 | -55.45 | -39.40 | -212.26 | -64.76 | - |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.72x | 1.04x | 0.98x | 0.85x | 0.59x | 0.75x | 0.69x | 0.96x | 0.90x | 0.83x | 0.81x | 0.65x | 0.78x | - |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 95K | 797K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Clinical trial milestone dependency
As reported in recent financial statements, CDTX exhibits a persistent disconnect between net income and operating cash flow, with the 2025Q3 OCF/NI ratio of 0.49 highlighting that accounting losses are significantly mitigated by non-cash adjustments and working capital fluctuations rather than core operational profitability.
The wide variance between net income and operating cash flow suggests that the company's reported losses are heavily influenced by non-cash items and accounting accruals. Investors should monitor this divergence, as it indicates that the firm's cash burn is not perfectly aligned with its bottom-line performance, complicating the assessment of true operational efficiency.
Based on the provided cash flow data, the company's free cash flow trajectory remains deeply negative, with quarterly outflows consistently exceeding $20 million throughout 2025, reflecting a structural reliance on existing cash reserves to fund the ongoing development of the Cloudbreak platform without commercial revenue support.
The consistent negative free cash flow underscores the company's status as a pre-commercial entity where capital is consumed rapidly to sustain R&D. This trajectory appears unsustainable in the long term without either a successful clinical milestone or a significant reduction in the current burn rate.
According to quarterly cash flow filings, working capital changes have been highly erratic, including a significant $39.3 million inflow in 2025Q3, which suggests that timing differences in milestone payments or vendor settlements are masking the underlying cash burn associated with the company's clinical development activities.
These large, non-linear swings in working capital indicate that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of external partnership agreements. Analysts should be cautious in interpreting these fluctuations as signs of operational improvement, as they likely represent temporary accounting timing rather than sustainable cash generation.
As evidenced by the quarterly cash flow statements, stock-based compensation has remained a consistent add-back, reaching $3.2 million in 2025Q3, which effectively masks the true economic cost of talent retention while simultaneously diluting existing shareholders to preserve the company's dwindling cash runway.
The reliance on stock-based compensation as a non-cash adjustment to operating cash flow warrants further investigation into the company's total cost of human capital. This practice suggests that the firm is prioritizing cash preservation at the expense of equity dilution, a common but risky strategy for clinical-stage biotech firms.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CDTX stock.
Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (CDTX) generated $-176.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2024. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (CDTX) reported negative free cash flow of $176.7M in 2024, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (CDTX) 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.