Cash flow generation remains highly erratic, highlighted by a negative free cash flow margin of -88.4% in 2025Q4 and a volatile OCF/NI ratio that reached a low of 0.08 in 2023Q4.
| 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 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -1.06M | -1.4M | -1.3M | -2.44M | -6.71M | -9.77M | -2.45M | -6.62M | -6.79M | -5.87M | -16.55M | 4.45M | -1.43M | -7.21M | -6.97M | -2.62M | 1.49M | -10.56M | -5.83M | -7.5M | -7.18M | -3.47M | -2.47M | 929K | -1.87M | -221K | -645K | 1.2M | 800K | 800K | 900K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -39.44% | -26.69% | -42.66% | -112.48% | -98.99% | -14.56% | -52.14% | -37.53% | -29.6% | -53.4% | 6.9% | -4.92% | -33.51% | -23.35% | -10.16% | 4.25% | -84.57% | -25.4% | -32.76% | -26.57% | -12.25% | -8.3% | 3.41% | -6.05% | -0.76% | -1.75% | 3.6% | 3.52% | 4.47% | 5.77% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 35.45% | -8.25% | 46.82% | 63.67% | 31.25% | -298.41% | 63% | 2.52% | -15.68% | 64.51% | -472.31% | 412% | 80.25% | -3.57% | -166.18% | -275.28% | 114.14% | -81.17% | 22.29% | -4.43% | -106.91% | -40.62% | -365.77% | 149.63% | -747.06% | 65.74% | -153.75% | 50% | 0% | -11.11% | 200% |
| Net Income | -899K | -1.03M | -1.58M | -4.29M | -10.28M | -7.89M | -5.98M | -7.37M | -9.11M | -11.27M | -16.88M | 9.47M | -5.82M | -6.28M | -5.71M | -6.05M | -8.52M | -9.81M | -14.45M | -11.32M | -9.65M | -7.42M | -704K | -608K | -3.52M | -2.13M | -454K | 1.4M | 800K | 600K | 500K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 36K | 37K | 37K | 33K | 159K | 188K | 184K | 326K | 522K | 681K | 805K | 266K | 281K | 888K | 1.06M | 1.24M | 1.86M | 987K | 1.23M | 1.24M | 1.2M | 1.15M | 989K | 961K | 1.09M | 1.43M | 1.51M | 900K | 600K | 500K | 300K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 125K | 121K | 4K | 44K | 117K | 429K | 131K | 616K | 908K | 537K | 1.36M | 813K | 532K | 201K | 200K | 426K | 878K | 624K | 715K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -876K | 0 | 0 | 61K | 0 | 2.99M | 1.51M | 88K | 915K | 816K | 678K | 134K | -377K | -255K | 177K | 63K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.04M | -808K | -821K | -200K | 100K | 400K | 300K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 961K | 231K | 1K | 183K | 647K | -341K | 890K | 219K | 4K | -1.36M | 2.22M | 40K | 2.96M | -278K | 247K | -339K | 3.42M | 149K | 4.25M | 1.26M | 1.27M | 405K | 56K | -16K | -629K | 259K | 1.87M | 100K | 200K | 100K | 200K |
| Working Capital Changes | -615K | -766K | 243K | 1.59M | 2.64M | -1.28M | 2.33M | -412K | 821K | 5.54M | -7.05M | -7.65M | 534K | -2.67M | -3.58M | 1.44M | 3.71M | -2.13M | 2.67M | 1.07M | -10K | 2.4M | -2.81M | 592K | -955K | 1.03M | -2.75M | -1.1M | -1M | -800K | -500K |
| Change in Receivables | 101K | 266K | 1.04M | -1.33M | 783K | 783K | 377K | -131K | 1.4M | 2.24M | 4.31M | -9.67M | -2.63M | -808K | -3.16M | 3.41M | -1.69M | -906K | 825K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | -1.11M | -262K | 829K | 1.01M | 2.36M | -2.38M | 1.14M | 1.88M | -2.36M | 5.15M | -5.73M | 1.93M | -4.96M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.04M | 947K | 351K | 363K | -1.67M | 398K | -1.24M | 218K | -1.37M | -200K | -300K | -900K | -300K |
| Change in Payables | 314K | -638K | -1.54M | 1.57M | -1K | -423K | 1.1M | -2.21M | 2.05M | -1.76M | -4.04M | 135K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 553K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -192K | -197K | -19K | -69K | -16K | -443K | -223K | -129K | 189K | -65K | -1.6M | -2.24M | -121K | 4.6M | -329K | -237K | -282K | -917K | -395K | 11.84M | 2.06M | -19.92M | -724K | -717K | -793K | -530K | -856K | -700K | 300K | -1.9M | -1.1M |
| Capital Expenditures | -49K | -54K | -19K | -69K | -41K | -443K | -223K | -132K | -57K | -162K | -1.62M | -2.24M | -221K | -213K | -332K | -256K | -332K | -182K | -395K | -542K | -3.7M | -1.92M | -724K | -717K | -793K | -530K | 0 | -1.3M | -3.7M | -600K | -400K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.26% | 1.52% | 0.39% | 1.21% | 0.69% | 4.49% | 1.33% | 1.04% | 0.31% | 0.82% | 5.24% | 3.48% | 0.76% | 0.99% | 1.11% | 0.99% | 0.95% | 1.46% | 1.72% | 2.37% | 13.7% | 6.78% | 2.44% | 2.63% | 2.56% | 1.82% | - | 3.9% | 16.3% | 3.35% | 2.56% |
| Acquisitions | 13K | 13K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 246K | 97K | 27K | 0 | -30K | 4.82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.5M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -935K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | 0 | 3K | 246K | 97K | 27K | -956K | 130K | -38K | 3K | 19K | 50K | 765K | 0 | 33K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79K | 600K | 400K | 0 | 200K |
| Cash from Financing | 1.9M | 2.1M | -149K | 4.49M | 4.1M | 10.71M | 4.16M | 1.09M | 2.19M | 81K | 146K | 25.96M | 6.38M | 4.28M | 6.33M | 875K | 1.83M | 1.92M | 8.49M | 407K | 2.91M | 25.75M | 2.51M | 3.45M | 2.21M | 174K | 873K | 0 | -300K | 100K | 0 |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | -1M | -2.03M | 1.04M | 1.33M | 1.23M | 1.41M | 2.22M | 0 | 0 | -466K | -223K | 4.23M | 1.5M | 414K | 1.15M | -1.16M | -870K | -619K | 2.26M | 1.07M | -67K | -1.32M | 1.21M | 55K | -101K | 0 | -500K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 1.9M | 2.1M | 851K | 6.08M | 3.5M | 9.5M | 2.75M | 0 | -62K | 0 | -309K | 23.57M | 0 | 0 | 4.8M | 408K | 669K | 3.51M | 9.34M | 964K | 651K | 24.68M | 2.35M | 4.92M | 1M | 119K | 974K | 100K | 200K | 100K | 100K |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -62K | -49K | -309K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 434K | -442K | -119K | 185K | -318K | 28K | 81K | 455K | 2.85M | 6.6M | 48K | 25K | 53K | 8K | -428K | 28K | 62K | 0 | 0 | 224K | -149K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100K | 0 | 0 | -100K |
| Net Change in Cash | 638K | 499K | -1.47M | 1.98M | -2.63M | 504K | 1.49M | -5.64M | -4.43M | -5.87M | -18.01M | 27.2M | 4.67M | 1.68M | -955K | -1.97M | 3.04M | -9.51M | 2.16M | 4.71M | -1.85M | 1.95M | -645K | 4.02M | -353K | -646K | -674K | 600K | 800K | -1M | -200K |
| Free Cash Flow | -1.11M | -1.46M | -1.32M | -2.51M | -6.75M | -10.21M | -2.67M | -6.76M | -6.85M | -6.04M | -18.18M | 2.2M | -1.65M | -7.43M | -7.3M | -2.87M | 1.16M | -10.74M | -6.22M | -8.04M | -10.89M | -5.39M | -3.19M | 212K | -2.67M | -751K | -645K | -100K | -2.9M | 200K | 500K |
| FCF Margin % | -28.56% | -40.96% | -27.08% | -43.87% | -113.17% | -103.48% | -15.89% | -53.18% | -37.84% | -30.41% | -58.64% | 3.42% | -5.68% | -34.5% | -24.46% | -11.16% | 3.31% | -86.03% | -27.12% | -35.13% | -40.27% | -19.03% | -10.74% | 0.78% | -8.61% | -2.58% | -1.75% | -0.3% | -12.78% | 1.12% | 3.21% |
| FCF Growth % | 27.56% | -10.79% | 47.53% | 62.87% | 33.84% | -281.75% | 60.42% | 1.4% | -13.52% | 66.79% | -924.73% | 233.9% | 77.84% | -1.78% | -154.02% | -347.46% | 110.81% | -72.59% | 22.61% | 26.11% | -101.91% | -68.87% | -1606.13% | 107.95% | -254.86% | -16.43% | -545% | 96.55% | -1550% | -60% | 600% |
| FCF per Share | -0.18 | -0.26 | -0.27 | -0.77 | -5.83 | -15.67 | -5.72 | -19.21 | -19.99 | -17.89 | -54.50 | 7.17 | -7.37 | -54.40 | -61.82 | -40.76 | 17.83 | -238.56 | -153.63 | -244.82 | -334.70 | -229.51 | -153.75 | 12.38 | -185.52 | -55.27 | -49.38 | -8.58 | -274.70 | 19.46 | 50.46 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.24x | 1.37x | 0.82x | 0.57x | 0.65x | 1.24x | 0.41x | 0.90x | 0.75x | 0.52x | 0.98x | 0.51x | 0.24x | 3.06x | 1.22x | 0.43x | -0.18x | 0.96x | 0.40x | 0.66x | 0.74x | 0.47x | 3.51x | -1.53x | 0.53x | 0.10x | 1.42x | 0.86x | 1.00x | 1.33x | 1.80x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 5K | 380K | 364K | 381K | 269K | 215K | 4K | 2K | 5K | 84K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1K | 4K | 4K | 15K | 7K | 14K | 51K | 200K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Liquidity and project dependency
According to quarterly financial data, Energy Focus exhibits a volatile relationship between net income and operating cash flow, with the OCF/NI ratio fluctuating wildly from 0.08 to 2.42, suggesting that accruals and working capital swings are masking the underlying lack of consistent cash generation from core operations.
The frequent divergence between net losses and cash flow suggests that the company's reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash items and timing differences in revenue recognition. Investors should monitor whether these fluctuations represent genuine operational improvements or merely temporary shifts in the timing of government contract payments.
As reported in financial statements, Energy Focus has struggled to maintain positive free cash flow, with FCF margins reaching a low of -88.4% in 2025Q4, indicating that the company is consistently consuming cash to support its operations rather than generating value for shareholders through its core business activities.
The persistent negative FCF trajectory underscores the company's inability to achieve the scale necessary to cover its fixed operating costs. This trend suggests that without a significant pivot in revenue generation or a drastic reduction in overhead, the firm may continue to deplete its limited cash reserves.
Based on reported figures, working capital changes have been a primary driver of cash flow instability, with a significant $653K inflow in 2023Q4 contrasting sharply with a $761K outflow in 2025Q4, highlighting the company's extreme sensitivity to the timing of project-based receivables and inventory management cycles.
The erratic nature of these working capital swings suggests that the company lacks a predictable cash conversion cycle, likely due to its reliance on lumpy government procurement. This volatility makes it difficult to forecast future liquidity needs and suggests that the company is highly vulnerable to delays in project milestones.
As evidenced by the provided financial data, the cash flow statement reveals that stock-based compensation and other adjustments are insufficient to offset the core operational burn, leaving the company reliant on external financing or cash reserves to sustain its ongoing business operations in a challenging market environment.
The reliance on non-cash adjustments to bridge the gap between net income and operating cash flow warrants further investigation into the sustainability of the company's current cost structure. Investors should be wary that the cash flow statement may be masking the true extent of the company's operational distress.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying EFOI stock.
Energy Focus, Inc. (EFOI) generated $-1.4M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Energy Focus, Inc. (EFOI) reported negative free cash flow of $1.5M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Energy Focus, Inc. (EFOI) spent $0.1M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.