The company continues to experience a significant free cash flow burn, with quarterly outflows reaching $69.5 million in 2026Q1 as it funds pilot manufacturing lines.
| Cash from Operations | -241.24M | -242.47M | -274.56M | -240.03M | -218.02M | -127.91M | -61.26M | -41.73M | -35.72M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 42.72% | 11.69% | -14.39% | -10.09% | -70.45% | -108.79% | -46.8% | -16.82% | - |
| Net Income | -421.43M | -435.05M | -477.94M | -445.08M | -411.9M | -45.98M | -1.68B | -51.26M | -44.15M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 70.16M | 73.22M | 65.79M | 49.75M | 36.12M | 14.7M | 8.08M | 5.86M | 5.68M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 117.33M | 127.46M | 144.65M | 166.3M | 127.11M | 52.17M | 17.02M | 6.81M | 5.88M |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -8.58M | 3.56M | -15.86M | 3.09M | 18.52M | -155.93M | 1.6B | -1.96M | -2.96M |
| Working Capital Changes | 1.28M | -11.67M | 8.8M | -14.08M | 12.12M | 7.12M | -8.28M | -1.18M | -174K |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -5.33M | 0 | 14.96M | -2.9M | 5.61M | 13.18M | 2.45M | 319K | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -72.79M | 14.93M | 128.87M | -152.53M | 124.12M | -385.83M | -802.65M | 33.3M | -74.69M |
| Capital Expenditures | -40.42M | -36.28M | -62.13M | -84.51M | -158.84M | -127.18M | -24.09M | -9.85M | -7.4M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 1.11M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 1.46M | 51.21M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -67.29M |
| Cash from Financing | 301.14M | 312.81M | 144.03M | 300.21M | 8.6M | 736.56M | 953.72M | 394K | 120.76M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -3.32M | -3.23M | -2.91M | -1.97M | -809K | 5.51M | 0 | 0 | -578K |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 280.69M | 296.51M | 128.53M | 288.16M | 9.41M | 562.86M | 276.26M | 394K | -4.19M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4.19M |
| Other Financing | 23.78M | 19.53M | 18.41M | 14.02M | 0 | 168.19M | 677.46M | 0 | 125.52M |
| Net Change in Cash | -12.88M | 89.66M | -1.66M | -92.34M | -85.31M | 222.81M | 89.81M | -8.04M | 10.34M |
| Free Cash Flow | -281.66M | -278.75M | -336.69M | -324.54M | -376.87M | -255.09M | -85.36M | -51.58M | -43.12M |
| FCF Margin % | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 14.96% | 17.21% | -3.74% | 13.89% | -47.74% | -198.85% | -65.49% | -19.6% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.46 | -0.48 | -0.66 | -0.70 | -0.87 | -0.62 | -0.34 | -0.22 | -3.88 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.67x | 0.56x | 0.57x | 0.54x | 0.53x | 2.78x | 0.04x | 0.81x | 0.81x |
| Interest Paid | 516K | 2.04M | 2.22M | 1.78M | 1.61M | 330K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pre-revenue commercialization delay
As reported in financial statements, QuantumScape's operating cash flow consistently trails net income, with the OCF/NI ratio hovering between 0.48 and 0.78, indicating that non-cash charges like stock-based compensation significantly obscure the actual cash resources being consumed to sustain the company's pre-commercial development phase.
The persistent divergence between net losses and operating cash outflows suggests that accounting-based profitability metrics are poor proxies for the company's true financial health. Investors should monitor this gap, as it highlights the reliance on non-cash adjustments to mitigate the appearance of operational losses while the underlying cash burn remains substantial.
Based on recent quarterly data, QuantumScape continues to experience a steady free cash flow burn, with quarterly outflows ranging from $66.6 million to $110.7 million, underscoring the company's ongoing dependence on external financing to fund its capital-intensive research and development activities without any offsetting revenue streams.
The lack of positive free cash flow is an expected outcome for a pre-revenue entity, yet the consistency of these outflows suggests that the company has not yet reached a pivot point in its capital requirements. This trajectory implies that the firm remains highly sensitive to capital market conditions and the timing of its commercialization milestones.
According to historical quarterly filings, QuantumScape's capital expenditures have fluctuated between $5.8 million and $18.9 million, reflecting the ongoing investment in pilot manufacturing lines and the Cobra heat-treatment equipment necessary to transition from laboratory-scale prototypes to viable, automotive-grade solid-state battery production.
These capital outlays represent the physical manifestation of the company's technical roadmap, yet they remain secondary to the massive operating expenses required for R&D. The variability in these expenditures may indicate shifting priorities in manufacturing strategy, which warrants further investigation into the efficiency of current asset deployment.
As indicated by the provided financial data, working capital changes have been erratic, swinging from a $37.5 million inflow in 2024Q1 to a $26.3 million outflow in 2024Q3, suggesting that the company's cash position is susceptible to timing differences in vendor payments and inventory-related development costs.
Such volatility in working capital is typical for a firm in the pre-revenue stage, where procurement cycles are not yet synchronized with steady-state production. Investors should monitor these fluctuations as they may indicate underlying challenges in managing the supply chain for specialized ceramic materials and pilot-line components.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying QS stock.
QuantumScape Corporation (QS) generated $-242.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
QuantumScape Corporation (QS) reported negative free cash flow of $278.8M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
QuantumScape Corporation (QS) spent $36.3M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.