Free cash flow remains inconsistent, swinging from a negative $4.2 million in 2023Q3 to a positive $944.7K in 2026Q1, while the OCF/NI ratio reached 8.51x due to significant non-cash depletion charges.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | May'20 | May'19 | May'18 | May'17 | May'16 | May'15 | May'14 | May'13 | May'12 | May'11 | May'10 | May'09 | May'08 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 4.73M | 1.32M | -2.59M | -35.04K | 298.97K | -1.12M | 1.69M | 2.19M | -678.08K | -197.5K | -387.63K | -344.51K | -705.24K | -766.85K | -287.22K | -189.45K | 21.13K | -394.62K |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 11.27% | -30.63% | -1.45% | 10.07% | -43.15% | 29.12% | 38.26% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 414.52% | 151.06% | -7292.98% | -111.72% | 126.61% | -166.47% | -22.69% | 422.41% | -243.33% | 49.05% | -12.52% | 51.15% | 8.03% | -166.99% | -51.61% | -996.57% | 105.35% | - |
| Net Income | -3.4M | -4.32M | -5.48M | -10.93M | -10.43M | -4.7M | -1.81M | -1.99M | -2.4M | -158.91K | -350.59K | -2.46M | -980.3K | -1.53M | -134.16K | -198.09K | -790.39K | -395.02K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.11M | 2.28M | 2.51M | 1.81M | 2.49M | 615.89K | 1.81M | 2.86M | 0 | 506 | 481 | 111.5K | 112.64K | 62.99K | 0 | 0 | 654 | 638 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 1.61M | 0 | 2.63M | 2.88M | 5.32M | 1.47M | 801.53K | 645.8K | 1.66M | 0 | 0 | 280.52K | 197.82K | 138.5K | 52.17K | 187.83K | 8.96K | 20.51K |
| Deferred Taxes | 474.45K | -13.23K | 52K | -11.14K | -111.82K | 371.35K | -38.5K | 153.02K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65.03K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 602.02K | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 4.63M | 3.65M | 1.39M | 7.04M | 3.64M | 973.56K | 361.76K | 261.64K | 126.51K | 11.6K | 89.29K | 1.83M | 0 | 811.95K | -319.12K | -119.94K | 3.06K | 0 |
| Working Capital Changes | -666.27K | -280.83K | -3.7M | -825.37K | -614.03K | 144.4K | 560.76K | 250.89K | -62.03K | -50.7K | -126.81K | -175.93K | -35.41K | -250.8K | 113.89K | -59.24K | 196.83K | -20.75K |
| Change in Receivables | -1.28M | -1.89M | -511K | -186.14K | 34.98K | 67.24K | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 990.34K | 2.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -96.38K | 111.19K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -3.56M | -2.48M | -2.09M | -1.31M | -36.02M | -3.24M | -9.64M | -243.91K | -3.09M | 0 | -29.2K | -1.67M | -1.66M | -1.12M | -1.99M | -713.94K | -181.51K | -640.76K |
| Capital Expenditures | -2.48M | -2.48M | -2.2M | -1.47M | -36.51M | -3.46M | -9.95M | -674.11K | -1.17M | 0 | -29.2K | -1.67M | -1.66M | -1.12M | -1.99M | -713.94K | -172.33K | -640.76K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 18.94% | 21.12% | 26% | 60.75% | 1229.29% | 133.05% | 171.39% | 11.8% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.92M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -1.08M | 0 | 105.58K | 156.64K | 483.85K | 224.43K | 310.1K | 430.2K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | -201.79K | 1.2M | 832.99K | 3.79M | 32.77M | 4.41M | 7.72M | 853.63K | 4.67M | 109.26K | 221.9K | 460.8K | 2.79M | 3.05M | 1.69M | 1.51M | 75.72K | 925.63K |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -847 | 1.2M | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 494.06K | 0 | 832.99K | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.17M | -1.34M | -290.26K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -875.8K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -695K | 0 | 0 | -282.37K | 6.11M | 7.5M | 6.38M | 1.14M | -93.69K | 0 | 221.9K | 0 | 0 | 3.05M | 1.69M | 0 | 75.72K | 925.63K |
| Net Change in Cash | 1.04M | 64.96K | -4.32M | 2.21M | -2.96M | 66.75K | -158.38K | 2.79M | 900.07K | -88.25K | 85.09K | -1.55M | 420.79K | 1.16M | -587.76K | 602.83K | -84.66K | -109.75K |
| Free Cash Flow | 2.25M | -1.16M | -4.68M | -1.5M | -36.21M | -4.59M | -8.26M | 1.51M | -1.85M | -197.5K | -416.83K | -2.01M | -2.37M | -1.89M | -2.27M | -903.39K | -151.2K | -1.04M |
| FCF Margin % | 17.2% | -9.86% | -55.39% | -62.2% | -1219.22% | -176.21% | -142.27% | 26.46% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 169.39% | 75.3% | -211.99% | 95.85% | -689.3% | 44.44% | -646.08% | 181.88% | -835.06% | 52.62% | 79.27% | 15.14% | -25.28% | 16.81% | -151.69% | -497.47% | 85.4% | - |
| FCF per Share | 0.02 | -0.01 | -0.05 | -0.03 | -0.85 | -0.14 | -0.32 | 0.08 | -0.19 | -0.03 | -0.06 | -0.30 | -0.39 | -0.35 | -0.93 | -0.74 | -0.22 | -0.22 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -0.66x | -0.31x | 0.50x | 0.00x | -0.03x | 0.24x | -0.94x | -1.10x | 0.28x | 1.24x | 0.09x | 0.14x | 0.72x | 0.50x | 2.14x | 0.96x | -0.03x | 1.00x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Operational scale and dilution
Based on reported financial statements, MTA exhibits a significant disconnect between net income and operating cash flow, with the OCF/NI ratio fluctuating wildly, including an 8.51x multiple in 2026Q1, which highlights the heavy impact of non-cash depletion charges on the company's bottom-line profitability.
The persistent gap between accounting losses and positive operating cash flow suggests that net income is a poor proxy for the company's underlying economic health. Investors should monitor whether this cash generation remains sustainable as the company continues to integrate new royalty acquisitions.
As reported in recent quarterly filings, MTA's free cash flow trajectory remains highly inconsistent, swinging from a negative $4.2 million in 2023Q3 to a positive $944.7K in 2026Q1, reflecting the lumpy nature of royalty receipts and the impact of periodic capital expenditures.
The lack of a stable FCF trend indicates that the company is still in a capital-intensive growth phase where cash flow is frequently reinvested or consumed by acquisition-related costs. This volatility warrants further investigation into the predictability of future royalty streams.
According to historical data, MTA's capital expenditure profile is erratic, with a notable spike in 2025Q4 where CapEx reached 74.6% of revenue, suggesting that the company occasionally incurs significant costs to secure or maintain its royalty interests rather than operating as a purely passive entity.
While the royalty model is theoretically low-maintenance, these periodic capital outlays suggest that MTA must actively deploy cash to protect its portfolio value. Analysts should interpret these spikes as necessary investments to prevent the long-term erosion of the company's asset base.
Based on the provided cash flow statements, working capital changes have frequently acted as a drag on liquidity, with a $937,000 outflow in 2025Q2, indicating that timing lags in royalty collections can create temporary pressure on the company's available cash reserves.
These fluctuations appear to be driven by the reporting cycles of third-party mine operators, which can delay cash inflows. Investors should monitor these working capital swings as they may mask the true underlying cash-generating capacity of the royalty portfolio.
Analysis of recent SEC filings reveals that stock-based compensation, which reached $897,000 in 2023Q1, consistently obscures the true cost of operations, effectively acting as a non-cash expense that supports management retention while diluting the economic value of existing shareholders' cash flow claims.
By excluding these equity-based costs from cash flow metrics, the company presents a more favorable liquidity picture than the GAAP net income suggests. This practice warrants further investigation into the long-term impact of share-based dilution on per-share cash flow growth.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying MTA stock.
Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd. (MTA) generated $1.3M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd. (MTA) reported negative free cash flow of $1.2M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd. (MTA) spent $2.5M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.