Cash conversion remains problematic, as evidenced by a $3.8M operating cash outflow in 2026Q1 despite a reported net income of $1.8M, highlighting a persistent disconnect between accounting profits and actual liquidity.
| Cash from Operations | -5.34M | -2.79M | 865.5K | -10.77M | -14.31M | -22.1M | -14.68M | -9.44M | -9.46M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -5.58% | 2% | -31.46% | -39.95% | -60.03% | -56.95% | -72.05% | -114.05% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -512.21% | -421.83% | 108.04% | 24.78% | 35.23% | -50.48% | -55.54% | 0.16% | - |
| Net Income | -1.35M | -3.25M | -1.82M | -10.16M | -40.34M | -23.87M | -12.85M | -8.5M | -8.46M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 358.87K | 253.72K | 270.27K | 306.18K | 1.12M | 981.6K | 484.77K | 300.56K | 138.8K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 1.75M | 1.88M | 1.64M | 1.09M | 631.23K | 4.04M | 2.38M | 0 | 905.84K |
| Deferred Taxes | -4.75M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.35M | 1.45M | 732.5K | 1.63M | 19.91M | 560.8K | 253.66K | 801.82K | 285K |
| Working Capital Changes | -2.71M | -3.12M | 45.1K | -3.63M | 4.37M | -3.81M | -4.95M | -2.04M | -2.33M |
| Change in Receivables | -1.15M | -2.13M | -719.45K | 306.12K | -303.19K | -384K | -454.85K | -9.93K | -283.37K |
| Change in Inventory | -483.82K | -2.51M | -253.02K | -1.9M | 1.76M | -3.62M | -3.86M | -1.25M | -487.12K |
| Change in Payables | -68.05K | 956.82K | 513.07K | 570.09K | 191.5K | -474.52K | 591.21K | -60.74K | 620.54K |
| Cash from Investing | -40.21M | -76.45K | -24.78K | 690.31K | 8.97M | -12.64M | -4.28M | -7.92M | -717.66K |
| Capital Expenditures | 306 | -76.45K | -24.78K | -144.02K | -1.15M | -2.04M | -1.06M | -2.44M | -717.66K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0% | 0.15% | 0.06% | 0.42% | 3.22% | 5.55% | 4.11% | 18.61% | 8.66% |
| Acquisitions | -40.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10.45M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -8.42K | 0 | 0 | 834.33K | 1.61M | -143.13K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 48.91M | -331.68K | -33.38K | -27.42K | 102.27K | 576.25K | 75.17M | 1.03M | 24.17M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 48.91M | -331.68K | -70.93K | -27.42K | 9.46K | 795.4K | 76.09M | 1.03M | 24.53M |
| Dividends Paid | -98.31K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | -70.93K | -27.42K | 0 | 0 | -20.53K | -8.65M | -1.53M |
| Other Financing | 102.14K | 0 | 37.55K | 0 | 92.8K | -219.16K | -921.06K | 0 | 25.8M |
| Net Change in Cash | 3.36M | -3.19M | 807.35K | -10.1M | -5.24M | -34.16M | 56.2M | -16.34M | 14M |
| Free Cash Flow | -5.42M | -2.86M | 840.73K | -10.91M | -15.47M | -24.3M | -15.74M | -11.88M | -10.17M |
| FCF Margin % | -12.82% | -5.74% | 1.94% | -31.88% | -43.18% | -66.01% | -61.06% | -90.66% | -122.7% |
| FCF Growth % | -46200.56% | -440.4% | 107.71% | 29.47% | 36.34% | -54.33% | -32.53% | -16.77% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.47 | -0.27 | 0.08 | -1.17 | -1.69 | -2.70 | -2.84 | -1.35 | -1.89 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 4.03x | 0.86x | -0.48x | 1.06x | 0.35x | 0.93x | 1.14x | 1.11x | 1.12x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 16.03K | 13.99K | 8.34K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 63.85K | 17.63K | 5.4K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Liquidity and cash burn
As reported in recent financial statements, LSF's operating cash flow frequently diverges from net income, evidenced by a 2026Q1 operating cash outflow of $3.8M despite a reported net income of $1.8M, highlighting a significant disconnect between accounting profitability and actual cash generation for the business.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow suggests that reported earnings are heavily influenced by non-cash items or timing differences that do not translate into liquidity. Investors should monitor whether this divergence is a recurring structural issue or merely a byproduct of aggressive inventory management and working capital volatility.
Based on the provided cash flow data, LSF's free cash flow trajectory remains highly erratic, swinging from a positive $1.3M in 2025Q3 to a negative $3.8M in 2026Q1, which indicates that the company has yet to establish a predictable or sustainable internal funding mechanism for its operations.
The inability to maintain positive free cash flow suggests that the company's growth initiatives are currently being subsidized by external capital or cash reserves rather than organic operations. This inconsistency warrants further investigation into whether the business model can achieve self-sustaining cash flow at its current scale.
According to historical cash flow filings, LSF experiences significant quarterly fluctuations in working capital, such as the $1.4M outflow in 2026Q1 following a $1.1M inflow in 2025Q4, suggesting that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the timing of inventory procurement and retail account collections.
These sharp reversals in working capital suggest that the company may be struggling to optimize its cash conversion cycle, potentially due to the complexities of managing both DTC and wholesale channels. Analysts should scrutinize whether these swings represent operational inefficiencies or strategic inventory builds ahead of anticipated demand.
As evidenced by the company's cash flow statements, stock-based compensation remains a consistent non-cash expense, while the $40.2M acquisition outflow in 2026Q1 significantly distorts the underlying cash reality, making it difficult to assess the true recurring cash burn of the core functional food business.
The reliance on stock-based compensation to manage cash expenses may be masking the true cost of talent, while large, infrequent acquisition outflows complicate the assessment of organic cash flow health. Investors should strip out these non-recurring items to determine if the core business is moving toward a break-even state.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying LSF stock.
Laird Superfood, Inc. (LSF) generated $-2.8M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Laird Superfood, Inc. (LSF) reported negative free cash flow of $2.9M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Laird Superfood, Inc. (LSF) 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.