Operational liquidity is severely constrained, as demonstrated by a 2025Q4 OCF/NI ratio of 0.03 and a persistent negative free cash flow margin of -2.7%.
| Cash from Operations | -1.97M | -2.37M | -30.16M | -7.51M | -11.59M | -1.82M | 148.54K | -2.92M | 3.72M |
| Operating CF Margin % | -5.54% | -4.65% | -52.1% | -18.69% | -58.41% | -14.58% | 1.36% | -36.04% | 271.65% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 16.85% | 92.14% | -301.42% | 35.18% | -537.36% | -1324.53% | 105.09% | -178.33% | - |
| Net Income | -11.14M | -14.04M | -5.63M | 2.23M | 1.3M | 2.34M | 1.67M | 1.56M | -811.99K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.3M | 2.61M | 2.76M | 1.54M | 1.23M | 1.04M | 1.06M | 1.14M | 1.11M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | -8.98K | -961.51K | -9.03K | 83.89K | -8.41K | -1.92K | 112.63K | -113.11K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 9.01M | 8.61M | 1.65M | 235.91K | -2.33K | 96.2K | -104.59K | -114.95K | -86.84K |
| Working Capital Changes | -1.13M | 454.59K | -27.99M | -11.51M | -14.2M | -5.29M | -2.47M | -5.66M | 3.64M |
| Change in Receivables | -7.49M | 10.86M | -11.27M | -8.5M | -3.16M | -4.22M | -1.29M | -1.9M | 1.77M |
| Change in Inventory | 6.41M | 183.9K | -23.91M | 248.68K | 1.83M | -231.16K | 104.03K | 1.5M | -1.58M |
| Change in Payables | -32.39K | -4.02M | 5.45M | 6.36M | -3.28M | -1.06M | -4.11M | -1.46M | 2.02M |
| Cash from Investing | -10.4M | 1.57M | -1.45M | 2.17M | -27.92M | -875.83K | -1.21M | 4.83M | -1.44M |
| Capital Expenditures | 0 | 0 | -683.39K | -3.92M | -4.19M | -19.36K | -1.46M | -1.93K | -94.72K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | - | 1.18% | 9.74% | 21.1% | 0.16% | 13.4% | 0.02% | 6.91% |
| Acquisitions | -4.47K | 1.57M | 613 | -17.75M | 77.53K | 0 | 0 | 418.39K | 71.95K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -4.75M | 0 | -769.88K | 20.79M | -20.66M | -856.48K | -573.4K | 4.83M | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 12.45M | 925.83K | 13.43M | 24.94M | 38.02M | 2.62M | 790.27K | 0 | -2.23M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 5.92M | 780.54K | 4.49M | 1.41M | 360.7K | 850.73K | 790.27K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 6.52M | 145.29K | 8.95M | 23.53M | 41M | 1.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | -430 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.34M | -26.93K | 0 | 0 | -2.23M |
| Net Change in Cash | 73.38K | 121.82K | -17.85M | 17.86M | -1.38M | 9.7K | -336.47K | 1.82M | 54.77K |
| Free Cash Flow | -1.97M | -2.37M | -30.85M | -11.43M | -15.78M | -1.84M | -1.31M | -2.92M | 3.63M |
| FCF Margin % | -5.54% | -4.65% | -53.28% | -28.43% | -79.51% | -14.73% | -12.04% | -36.07% | 264.74% |
| FCF Growth % | 16.85% | 92.31% | -169.9% | 27.57% | -758.44% | -40.16% | 55.06% | -180.43% | - |
| FCF per Share | -3.80 | -11.87 | -427.75 | -395.77 | -778.78 | -137.87 | -98.37 | -218.89 | 235.78 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.18x | 0.17x | 5.36x | -3.37x | -8.94x | -0.78x | 0.09x | -1.87x | -4.59x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 36.73K | 241.48K | 45.22K | 58.7K | 27.87K | 6.73K | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 59 | 28.76K | 71.85K | 387.6K | 93.09K | 15.18K | 13.49K | 0 |
Imminent liquidity and insolvency
As reported in recent financial filings, CNEY's operating cash flow consistently fails to track with net income, evidenced by a 2025Q4 OCF/NI ratio of 0.03, which highlights a profound inability to convert accounting profits into tangible liquidity for the firm's ongoing operational requirements.
The recurring gap between net income and operating cash flow suggests that the company's reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash items or accruals that do not materialize into actual cash. This divergence indicates that the quality of earnings is extremely low, leaving the business reliant on external financing rather than internal cash generation to fund its daily operations.
Based on the company's latest quarterly data, free cash flow margins have remained deeply negative, reaching -2.7% in 2025Q4, which underscores a structural inability to generate surplus cash after accounting for the necessary capital expenditures required to maintain its biomass and carbon production facilities.
The persistent negative FCF trajectory suggests that the business model is currently incapable of self-funding, regardless of the scale of operations. Investors should monitor whether this trend is a result of temporary operational inefficiencies or a permanent impairment of the company's ability to generate positive returns on its invested capital.
According to historical cash flow statements, CNEY has experienced extreme swings in working capital, including a massive $28.5 million outflow in 2023Q2, which suggests that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of collections and inventory management within its supply chain.
The erratic nature of these working capital changes implies that the company lacks a stable cash conversion cycle, likely due to the complexities of dealing with state-regulated energy contracts and biomass procurement. This volatility creates significant uncertainty for cash forecasting and exacerbates the firm's already precarious liquidity position.
Analysis of the multi-year cash flow data reveals a significant cumulative divergence where operating cash flow has consistently lagged behind reported net income, suggesting that the company's historical accounting performance has not been supported by actual cash inflows from its core industrial activities.
This long-term gap between cumulative net income and operating cash flow warrants further investigation into the company's revenue recognition practices and the potential for significant non-cash adjustments. The persistent failure to bridge this gap suggests that the business may be overstating its economic value relative to its actual cash-generating capacity.
As indicated by the provided financial statements, the company's cash flow is frequently impacted by significant, non-transparent adjustments, such as the $1.1 million in stock-based compensation recorded in 2023Q4, which masks the true extent of the firm's cash burn and dilutes shareholder value.
The reliance on non-cash expenses and the lack of clarity regarding capitalized costs suggest that the cash flow statement may be obscuring the true cost of maintaining the company's operations. Investors should be wary of these adjustments, as they often serve to hide the underlying operational distress that is not immediately apparent in the headline figures.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CNEY stock.
CN Energy Group. Inc. (CNEY) generated $-2.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
CN Energy Group. Inc. (CNEY) reported negative free cash flow of $2.0M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
CN Energy Group. Inc. (CNEY) 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.