Free cash flow remains deeply negative, with quarterly outflows reaching as high as $136.5 million in 2025Q1, highlighting the extreme capital intensity of the current research pipeline.
| Cash from Operations | -412.34M | -412.6M | -347.69M | -357.99M | -244.72M | -211.39M | 416.15M | -151.58M | 50.12M | -76.64M | -72.36M | -15.05M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | - | - | -108.31% | -225.62% | -434.41% | 123.98% | -568.17% | 38.8% | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | -81.48% | -18.67% | 2.88% | -46.29% | -15.77% | -150.8% | 374.55% | -402.45% | 165.4% | -5.91% | -380.73% | - |
| Net Income | -508.02M | -512.54M | -422.77M | -145.22M | -325.99M | -290.58M | 71.14M | -197.61M | -36.24M | -88.19M | -86.65M | -16.79M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 13.54M | 14.81M | 8.99M | 16.73M | 10.38M | 8.59M | 8.53M | 7.99M | 7.42M | 3.08M | 1.47M | 121K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 47.04M | 99.63M | 102.88M | 108.1M | 99.85M | 85.25M | 50.35M | 38.38M | 18.79M | 4.41M | 2.95M | 479K |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 307K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 40.52M | -14.65M | -53.73M | -47.67M | -4.92M | 5.76M | -2.32M | -3.25M | -2.74M | 754K | 5.28M | 710K |
| Working Capital Changes | -5.41M | 149K | 16.94M | -289.93M | -24.03M | -20.41M | 288.4M | 2.92M | 62.89M | 3.31M | 4.29M | 426K |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | 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 |
| Change in Payables | -1.01M | -7.52M | 1.44M | 2.43M | 2.27M | 3.71M | -1.62M | 1.03M | -526K | 207K | 161K | 1.68M |
| Cash from Investing | 330.99M | 255.28M | -88.76M | 249.31M | -141.39M | -21.63M | -623.21M | 147.71M | -287.42M | -41.17M | -219M | -3.06M |
| Capital Expenditures | -6.89M | -9.5M | -15.91M | -12.94M | -17.83M | -8.5M | -3.1M | -17.92M | -3.39M | -2.88M | -6.13M | -3.06M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | - | - | 3.91% | 16.44% | 17.47% | 0.92% | 67.17% | 2.63% | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 123.55M | 0 | 620.11M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -123.55M | 0 | -620.11M | 0 | -284.03M | -38.29M | -212.87M | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 412.02M | 189.22M | 484.3M | 17.82M | 310.67M | 19.35M | 634.75M | 6.19M | 97.02M | 296.32M | 300.48M | 48.85M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -3.83M | -8.17M | -32.34M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 215.85M | 197.38M | 499.25M | 17.82M | 296.21M | 0 | 614.09M | 0 | 94.41M | 295.59M | 300.37M | 43.34M |
| Dividends Paid | 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 |
| Other Financing | 200M | 0 | 17.39M | 0 | 14.46M | 19.35M | 20.66M | 6.19M | 2.61M | 733K | 111K | 510K |
| Net Change in Cash | 330.68M | 31.9M | 47.85M | -90.94M | -75.43M | -213.67M | 427.69M | 2.33M | -140.29M | 178.52M | 9.11M | 30.74M |
| Free Cash Flow | -419.23M | -422.1M | -363.61M | -370.93M | -262.55M | -219.89M | 413.06M | -169.5M | 46.72M | -79.51M | -78.49M | -18.11M |
| FCF Margin % | - | - | - | -112.22% | -242.06% | -451.88% | 123.06% | -635.34% | 36.17% | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | -9.06% | -16.09% | 1.97% | -41.28% | -19.4% | -153.23% | 343.7% | -462.77% | 158.76% | -1.3% | -333.33% | - |
| FCF per Share | -2.25 | -2.41 | -2.21 | -2.70 | -2.09 | -1.81 | 3.67 | -1.77 | 0.50 | -5.31 | -12.22 | -6.03 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.83x | 0.81x | 0.82x | 2.47x | 0.75x | 0.73x | 5.85x | 0.77x | -1.38x | 0.87x | 0.84x | 0.90x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47K | 210K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Clinical milestone funding dependency
As reported in financial statements, the OCF/NI ratio frequently fluctuates near parity, with the company recording an OCF/NI of 1.02 in 2026Q1, which suggests that operating cash outflows are tracking closely with net losses rather than reflecting any underlying operational self-sufficiency or earnings quality.
The tight correlation between net losses and operating cash outflows indicates that the company lacks the non-cash revenue or margin buffers typical of mature entities. Investors should monitor this relationship, as the absence of a meaningful divergence suggests that every dollar of accounting loss translates directly into a depletion of the company's cash reserves.
Based on Denali's reported figures, the company has sustained a consistent negative free cash flow trajectory, with quarterly outflows reaching as high as $136.5 million in 2025Q1, highlighting the extreme capital intensity required to maintain its current clinical-stage research and development pipeline without commercial revenue.
The lack of positive free cash flow is a structural reality of the current business model, which relies entirely on external funding to bridge the gap between R&D spending and potential future milestones. This trajectory implies that the company remains entirely dependent on capital markets or partner-funded injections to sustain its ongoing operations.
According to recent SEC filings, working capital changes have been highly erratic, swinging from a $30.4 million inflow in 2024Q3 to a $27.5 million outflow in 2026Q1, which reflects the lumpy nature of milestone-based revenue recognition and the timing of clinical trial-related vendor payments.
These fluctuations suggest that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of partnership receipts and the settlement of large-scale clinical research obligations. The inability to stabilize these working capital swings may indicate a lack of predictable cash management, forcing the company to maintain higher liquidity buffers than would otherwise be necessary.
As indicated by the provided data, stock-based compensation consistently exceeds $25 million per quarter, effectively masking the true cash cost of talent retention and suggesting that the company's reported operating cash flow would be significantly more negative if these non-cash expenses were settled in actual currency.
While SBC is a standard tool for biotech talent retention, its magnitude relative to the total cash burn warrants further investigation by investors. This practice effectively dilutes existing shareholders to fund the operational burn, which may obscure the true economic cost of the company's research-heavy business model.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying DNLI stock.
Denali Therapeutics Inc. (DNLI) generated $-412.6M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Denali Therapeutics Inc. (DNLI) reported negative free cash flow of $422.1M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Denali Therapeutics Inc. (DNLI) spent $9.5M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.