Liquidity risks are intensifying as the company reported a negative free cash flow of $292,000 in 2026Q1, further depleting cash reserves to $720,000.
| 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 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -243.09K | -929K | -2.06M | -2.01M | -3.15M | -8.84M | 326K | -4.31M | -5.39M | -1.32M | -563K | 5.73M | 1.96M | 2.76M | 5.03M | -603K | 11.58M | 4.62M | 821K | -119.31K | 17.91K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -20.13% | -13.33% | -6.58% | -12% | -18.67% | 0.85% | -7.42% | -9.43% | -2.83% | -1.62% | 17.77% | 5.03% | 9.1% | 10.79% | -2.1% | 27.85% | 12.24% | 3.82% | -340.02% | 149.7% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 207.16% | 54.86% | -2.29% | 36.11% | 64.37% | -2811.04% | 107.56% | 20% | -308.26% | -134.46% | -109.82% | 192.75% | -28.95% | -45.19% | 933.83% | -105.21% | 150.86% | 462.36% | 788.13% | -766.19% | - |
| Net Income | -1.11M | -1.77M | -3.77M | -5.97M | -9.79M | -2.69M | -5.22M | -1.27M | -14.13M | -10.01M | -6.34M | -9.18M | -13.89M | -283K | 3.41M | 2.78M | 16.38M | 4.02M | 2.8M | -125.16K | -81.39K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 321K | 278K | 960K | 1.65M | 2.56M | 839K | 869K | 260K | 541K | 1.42M | 1.57M | 1.77M | 1.44M | 1.62M | 1.64M | 1.01M | 465K | 207K | 77K | 20.62K | 13.88K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 144K | 346K | 684K | 107K | 186K | 7.03M | 2.15M | 393K | 233K | 2.27M | 2.31M | 2.26M | 4.84M | 125K | 48K | 2.9M | 337K | 360K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -27K | -29K | 399K | -2K | -3K | 177K | 143K | -168K | 764K | 251K | 102K | -1.56M | -850K | -486K | -828K | 27K | 0 | -3.95M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -12.16K | 504K | 431K | 2.07M | 3.15M | -10.77M | 191K | 1.84M | 8.85M | 4.06M | 652K | 4.12M | 4.46M | 3.75M | 1.75M | 1.94M | -1.86M | 8.45M | 6K | 0 | 1.25K |
| Working Capital Changes | 446.07K | -257K | -763K | 135K | 757K | -3.43M | 2.19M | -5.36M | -1.65M | 687K | 1.15M | 8.33M | 5.96M | -1.96M | -989K | -9.27M | -3.73M | -4.47M | -2.06M | -14.77K | 84.17K |
| Change in Receivables | 1.91M | 852K | -1.67M | 593K | -217K | -986K | 116K | 699K | -232K | -4.86M | -975K | -580K | 5.23M | -3.68M | -5.52M | -2.1M | -1.01M | -2.26M | -741K | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.71M | 2.57M | -4.59M | 0 | 903K | 2.38M | 8.13M | 460K | 1.52M | 0 | -7.36M | -2.78M | -2.38M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 196.95K | 74K | -106K | -1K | -848K | 495K | 180K | -2.44M | 161K | 2.65M | -137K | -509K | 390K | 301K | -158K | 27K | -123K | 253K | -281K | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -574.29K | -144K | 895K | -1.54M | 552K | -5.47M | -3.47M | -2.16M | -3.05M | 1.06M | -2.58M | -4.63M | 891K | -5.73M | -9.92M | -6.08M | -9.37M | -930K | -497K | -18K | -27.84K |
| Capital Expenditures | 33.04K | 0 | 0 | -81K | 0 | -1.49M | -2M | -2.12M | -4.18M | -4K | -2.12M | -4.24M | -280K | -79K | -314K | -2.19M | -1.06M | -930K | -497K | -18K | -27.84K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.99% | 14.41% | 0.02% | 0.26% | - | 3.16% | 5.22% | 3.65% | 7.31% | 0.01% | 6.09% | 13.13% | 0.72% | 0.26% | 0.67% | 7.61% | 2.55% | 2.47% | 2.31% | 51.3% | 232.7% |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 362K | 0 | -2.27M | -28K | -36K | -1.44M | 444K | 28K | 0 | 0 | -2.26M | -5.78M | -3.9M | -1.33M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -607.33K | -144K | 748K | -1.82M | 540K | 958K | -1.44M | -2.16M | 2.57M | -2.52M | 1.95M | 772K | 1.19M | -3.36M | -3.83M | -6.08M | -60K | -930K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 742.19K | 1.23M | 1.15M | 0 | -40K | 17.11M | 5.82M | 4.35M | 9.49M | -741K | 753K | -131K | -1.26M | 807K | -385K | 1.48M | -767K | 7.54M | 1.98M | 154.75K | 10K |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -40K | 0 | -435K | -435K | 151K | 0 | 753K | -803K | 0 | 807K | -222K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 1.23M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.11M | 6.25M | 4.79M | 10.26M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.54M | 0 | 8.86M | 0 | 151.75K | 10K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5K | -657K | -912K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -300K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 742.19K | 0 | 1.15M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -922K | 0 | 0 | 672K | -1.26M | 0 | -158K | 594K | 145K | -1.32M | 1.85M | 3K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | -87K | 158K | -5K | -3.57M | -2.78M | 2.88M | 2.69M | -2.14M | 790K | -83K | -2.47M | 466K | 1.59M | -2.04M | -5.21M | -4.89M | 1.67M | 11.24M | 2.36M | 17.44K | 71 |
| Free Cash Flow | -206.48K | -1.59M | -2.06M | -2.09M | -3.15M | -10.33M | -1.68M | -6.43M | -9.57M | -1.32M | -2.68M | 1.5M | 1.68M | 2.68M | 4.71M | -2.79M | 10.52M | 3.69M | 324K | -137.31K | -9.93K |
| FCF Margin % | -6.17% | -34.55% | -13.35% | -6.84% | -12% | -21.83% | -4.37% | -11.08% | -16.74% | -2.84% | -7.71% | 4.64% | 4.31% | 8.84% | 10.12% | -9.71% | 25.3% | 9.77% | 1.51% | -391.31% | -83% |
| FCF Growth % | 93.79% | 22.66% | 1.53% | 33.53% | 69.52% | -516.1% | 73.93% | 32.77% | -622.73% | 50.6% | -279.14% | -10.85% | -37.32% | -43.21% | 269.02% | -126.51% | 185.35% | 1037.96% | 335.97% | -1282.9% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.06 | -0.60 | -1.02 | -0.29 | -0.44 | -1.56 | -0.39 | -1.88 | -3.02 | -0.55 | -1.18 | 0.70 | 0.94 | 1.50 | 2.66 | -1.86 | 6.29 | 3.11 | 0.29 | -0.17 | -0.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.19x | 0.52x | 0.55x | 0.34x | 0.32x | 3.21x | -0.06x | 3.42x | 0.38x | 0.13x | 0.09x | -0.63x | -0.14x | -11.78x | 1.68x | -0.20x | 0.70x | 1.15x | 0.29x | 0.95x | -0.22x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13K | 47K | 52K | 25K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2K | 131K | 204K | 39K | 75K | 319K | 1.43M | 1.13M | 673K | 13K | 0 |
Liquidity and business model failure
According to the company's reported financial statements, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is highly erratic, with OCF/NI ratios frequently swinging between extreme positive and negative values, suggesting that reported earnings provide little insight into the actual cash-generating capacity of the business.
The persistent divergence between net losses and operating cash flow suggests that accruals and non-cash adjustments are masking the underlying cash burn. Investors should monitor this volatility as it indicates that the company's reported profitability metrics are not currently anchored to tangible cash inflows.
Based on historical cash flow data, CNET has struggled to generate positive free cash flow, with FCF margins frequently deep in negative territory, including a -76.2% margin in 2026Q1, which highlights the company's inability to fund its operations through internal cash generation.
The consistent failure to achieve positive free cash flow suggests that the business model is currently incapable of self-sustainment. This trajectory implies that the company remains reliant on external capital or existing cash reserves to cover its ongoing operating deficits.
As reported in recent filings, working capital changes have been highly inconsistent, with significant quarterly swings such as the -$965,000 impact in 2025Q1, indicating that the company's cash conversion cycle is likely suffering from inefficient collection processes or unpredictable payment terms with its SME client base.
These erratic working capital movements suggest that the company lacks a stable rhythm in managing its receivables and payables. Such instability may indicate that the firm is struggling to collect cash from its advertising clients in a timely manner, further straining its limited liquidity.
Financial data indicates that stock-based compensation and other non-cash adjustments have historically played a significant role in the cash flow statement, with figures like the $1.6 million SBC adjustment in 2024Q3 potentially obscuring the true extent of the company's operational cash requirements.
The reliance on non-cash items to reconcile the cash flow statement warrants further investigation into the quality of the company's reported expenses. Investors should be wary that these adjustments may be masking the true economic cost of maintaining the business's current operational footprint.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CNET stock.
ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. (CNET) generated $-0.9M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. (CNET) reported negative free cash flow of $1.6M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. (CNET) 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.