Liquidity is under severe pressure as the firm reported a negative free cash flow margin of -27.3% in 2025Q3, further exacerbated by a dwindling cash balance of only $6.8 million.
Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (CLSD) cash flow statement — 13-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| 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 | -21.29M | -24.7M | -18.14M | -13.37M | -10.73M | -13.12M | -27.07M | -79.2M | -51.08M | -22.71M | -13.9M | -9.12M | -6.84M | -3.18M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -1484.25% | -220.46% | -1007.16% | -36.29% | -166.2% | -1245.65% | -264000% | -14806.67% | -4367.12% | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | -1111.61% | -36.19% | -35.69% | -24.52% | 18.19% | 51.53% | 65.82% | -55.04% | -124.95% | -63.35% | -52.37% | -33.41% | -115.33% | - |
| Net Income | -26M | -34.35M | -32.48M | -32.95M | 376K | -18.21M | -30.77M | -82.82M | -58.98M | -25.88M | -17.64M | -10.19M | -7.25M | -3.93M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 332K | 226K | 67K | 145K | 178K | 180K | 211K | 189K | 182K | 65K | 60K | 33K | 15K | 7K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 3.33M | 4.51M | 4.2M | 4.88M | 5.05M | 3.6M | 4.61M | 4.79M | 3.36M | 1.31M | 705K | 427K | 322K | 266K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -52K | -748K | 181K | 65K | 75K | 277K | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 2.97M | 6.59M | 9.36M | 3.32M | -998K | 188K | 230K | 266K | 211K | 439K | 156K | 100K | 6K | 748K |
| Working Capital Changes | -1.92M | -1.68M | 720K | 11.24M | -15.34M | 1.12M | -1.3M | -874K | 3.95M | 1.29M | 2.74M | 228K | 72K | 0 |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | -51K | -220K | 10.42M | -10.87M | 1.89M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -681K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -2.34M | -1.43M | 614K | 694K | 681K | 0 | -5.58M | -314K | 4.71M | 1.42M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 9.3M | -638K | -1.78M | -246K | 0 | -55K | 32.92M | -3.76M | 20.12M | -49.14M | -28K | -140K | -63K | -57K |
| Capital Expenditures | -453K | -977K | -1.78M | -246K | 0 | -55K | -25K | -88K | -306K | -3K | -32K | -140K | -63K | -57K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 13.61% | 58.71% | 21.6% | 18.54% | - | 0.7% | 1.15% | 293.33% | 88.7% | 0.58% | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -660K | -20.12M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 660K | 20.12M | -360K | 4K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 4.91M | 16.44M | 414K | 31.33M | 23.78M | 7.87M | 8.7M | 81.78M | 5.36M | 86.39M | 25.94M | 15.62M | 7.96M | 4.08M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 961K | 0 | 0 | 30.64M | 0 | -4.35M | -5M | 1.7M | 0 | 1.53M | 5.98M | 2.88M | 125K | 150K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 3.53M | 16.39M | 1.67M | 695K | 23.28M | 11.96M | 13.64M | 79.56M | 5.06M | 84.83M | 19.95M | 12.74M | 7.82M | 3.93M |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4K |
| Other Financing | 418K | 47K | -1.25M | 0 | 499K | 258K | 52K | 515K | 305K | 31K | 14K | 5K | 10K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -7.09M | -8.9M | -19.5M | 17.88M | 13.05M | -5.31M | 14.55M | -1.18M | -25.6M | 14.54M | 12.01M | 6.36M | 1.05M | 843K |
| Free Cash Flow | -21.74M | -25.68M | -19.91M | -13.61M | -10.73M | -13.18M | -27.09M | -79.29M | -51.39M | -22.71M | -13.93M | -9.26M | -6.9M | -3.23M |
| FCF Margin % | -652.96% | -1542.97% | -242.06% | -1025.7% | -36.29% | -166.9% | -1246.8% | -264293.33% | -14895.36% | -4367.69% | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | -10.89% | -28.94% | -46.29% | -26.81% | 18.54% | 51.37% | 65.83% | -54.29% | -126.26% | -63% | -50.41% | -34.22% | -113.49% | - |
| FCF per Share | -4.15 | -5.22 | -4.83 | -3.39 | -2.69 | -4.25 | -10.65 | -38.70 | -30.45 | -25.98 | -17.03 | -11.32 | -68.91 | -0.58 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.84x | 0.72x | 0.56x | 0.41x | -28.55x | 0.72x | 0.88x | 0.96x | 0.87x | 0.88x | 0.79x | 0.90x | 0.94x | 0.81x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 524K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CLSD stock.
Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (CLSD) generated $-24.7M in net cash from operating activities in 2024. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (CLSD) reported negative free cash flow of $25.7M in 2024, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (CLSD) spent $1.0M on capital expenditures in 2024. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Clinical trial funding exhaustion
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Persistent Disconnect Between Earnings Reality
According to quarterly financial data, the company consistently reports negative net income alongside operating cash flow deficits, with an OCF/NI ratio that frequently fluctuates, suggesting that accruals and non-cash expenses provide little relief from the underlying cash burn inherent in the current clinical-stage business model.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow indicates that the company's accounting losses are closely mirrored by actual cash outflows. Investors should monitor this relationship, as the lack of significant non-cash add-backs suggests that the reported losses are not merely accounting artifacts but represent real-time consumption of capital.
Negative Free Cash Flow Trajectory
As reported in recent financial statements, Clearside Biomedical maintains a consistently negative free cash flow trajectory, with FCF margins reaching -27.3% in 2025Q3, underscoring the company's inability to generate self-sustaining cash flow while funding its ongoing research and development pipeline through internal operations.
The negative FCF trend reflects a business model that remains entirely dependent on external financing to bridge the gap between limited royalty revenue and heavy clinical trial expenditures. This trajectory suggests that without a major inflection in commercial adoption or milestone receipts, the company will continue to erode its cash reserves at a rapid pace.
Volatile Working Capital Management Trends
Based on the provided cash flow tables, working capital changes have been highly erratic, swinging from a $2.1 million outflow in 2025Q2 to a $665,000 inflow in 2025Q3, which indicates significant instability in the timing of partner payments and operational cash requirements.
These fluctuations in working capital likely stem from the lumpy nature of milestone-based revenue recognition and the timing of clinical trial vendor payments. Such volatility complicates cash flow forecasting and suggests that the company's liquidity position is highly sensitive to the timing of specific contractual events.
Stock-Based Compensation Masks Cash Reality
As indicated by the company's cash flow statements, stock-based compensation consistently adds over $700,000 to $1.2 million per quarter, effectively masking the true extent of the cash burn required to retain talent while the company remains in a pre-commercial or early-commercial growth phase.
While stock-based compensation is a non-cash expense, it represents a significant dilution risk for shareholders that is not captured in the headline cash burn figures. Analysts should interpret these adjustments as a necessary but costly component of the company's operational structure that does not alleviate the fundamental need for external capital.