Free cash flow burn accelerated to -$105.2M in 2026Q2, with operating cash flow exceeding net loss by 26%, and cumulative losses outpacing cash burn by $130.3M over ten quarters.
Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (RLAY) cash flow statement — 8-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -214.02M | -235.46M | -249.11M | -300.32M | -229.49M | -74.41M | -102.49M | -66.13M | -44.13M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -1533.41% | -2489.33% | -1175.59% | -16617.67% | -2456.45% | -124% | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 51.82% | 5.48% | 17.05% | -30.86% | -208.43% | 27.4% | -54.97% | -49.84% | - |
| Net Income | -293.63M | -276.48M | -337.71M | -341.97M | -290.51M | -363.87M | -52.41M | -75.31M | -48.78M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 1.74M | 3.56M | 5.46M | 5.27M | 4.13M | 3.92M | 3.55M | 2.85M | 2.15M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 42.91M | 62.42M | 94.14M | 86.03M | 56.14M | 48.45M | 31.96M | 4.46M | 2.89M |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -135K | -1.65M | -25.62M | -17.18M | -10.49M | 139.74M | -416K | -2.44M | 9K |
| Working Capital Changes | 35.1M | -23.31M | 14.62M | -32.46M | 11.25M | 97.34M | -85.17M | 4.31M | -400K |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.22M | 97K | 77.79M | -75M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10.33M | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -2.58M | -11.44M | 0 | -2.39M | 1.99M | 930K | -410K | 3M | 1.23M |
| Cash from Investing | -222.29M | 192.8M | -41.08M | 257.63M | -188.75M | -479.51M | 81.67M | -319.02M | -1.68M |
| Capital Expenditures | -1K | -410K | -2.02M | -4.13M | -9.06M | -3.47M | -1.93M | -8M | -1.69M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.01% | 2.67% | 20.17% | 16.15% | 656.19% | 114.59% | 2.34% | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 179.68M | -25.3M | -83.6M | 0 | 7K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -179.68M | 0 | 83.6M | 20K | 7K |
| Cash from Financing | 467.87M | 1.6M | 270.15M | 34.75M | 289.91M | 388.09M | 426.51M | 5.61M | 394.97M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 467.87M | 1.6M | 265.89M | 30.28M | 284.74M | 382.21M | 425.29M | 4.99M | 394.25M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -82K |
| Other Financing | 0 | 0 | 4.26M | 4.47M | 5.17M | 5.88M | 1.22M | 613K | 717K |
| Net Change in Cash | 31.56M | -41.05M | -20.04M | -7.93M | -128.32M | -165.83M | 405.69M | -379.55M | 349.16M |
| Free Cash Flow | -214.02M | -235.87M | -251.13M | -304.44M | -238.55M | -77.88M | -104.42M | -74.14M | -45.82M |
| FCF Margin % | -2067.84% | -1536.08% | -2509.49% | -1191.74% | -17273.86% | -2571.05% | -126.33% | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 14% | 6.08% | 17.51% | -27.62% | -206.32% | 25.42% | -40.85% | -61.79% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.98 | -1.37 | -1.76 | -2.48 | -2.13 | -0.82 | -1.16 | -17.32 | -18.44 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.73x | 0.85x | 0.74x | 0.88x | 0.79x | 0.20x | 1.96x | 0.99x | 0.90x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying RLAY stock.
Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (RLAY) generated $-235.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (RLAY) reported negative free cash flow of $235.9M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (RLAY) spent $0.4M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Cash burn sustainability
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Cash Conversion Worsens as Losses Deepen
Operating cash flow averaged 0.84x net loss over the last five quarters, but 2026Q2 saw OCF exceed net loss by 26%, indicating deteriorating cash conversion, per reported quarterly data.
The OCF/NI ratio has been consistently below 1.0, with 2026Q2 at 1.26, meaning cash burn is outpacing accounting losses. This suggests that non-cash charges like stock-based compensation are not fully offsetting working capital outflows, and the company is consuming more cash than its income statement implies. Investors should monitor whether this trend persists as the company advances its pipeline.
Free Cash Flow Burn Accelerates
Free cash flow worsened from -$52.1M in 2024Q1 to -$105.2M in 2026Q2, a 102% increase, with FCF margin at -300.6% in the latest quarter, based on reported financials.
The trajectory shows a clear acceleration in cash burn, with the most recent quarter nearly doubling the burn from two years prior. This is despite minimal capital expenditures, indicating that operating losses are the primary driver. The lack of revenue in 2026Q2 amplifies the negative FCF margin, and the company appears to be in a high-burn phase as it invests in R&D.
Minimal Capex Signals Asset-Light Model
Capital expenditures have been negligible, averaging less than $0.5M per quarter over the past two years, with CapEx/Revenue often zero, indicating an asset-light biotech model, as per SEC filings.
The near-zero capex suggests that the company's cash burn is almost entirely operational, primarily R&D and SG&A. This implies that the company is not investing in physical assets but rather in intangible pipeline value. The lack of capex also means that depreciation is minimal, so the gap between net income and operating cash flow is driven by working capital and non-cash items like stock-based compensation.
Working Capital Swings Add Volatility
Working capital changes swung from +$32.6M in 2026Q2 to -$20.8M in 2024Q3, indicating significant quarter-to-quarter volatility that impacts cash flow, based on reported quarterly data.
The working capital adjustments are erratic, with positive contributions in some quarters and negative in others. This suggests that the company's cash flow is subject to timing of payments and receipts, possibly related to collaboration agreements or vendor terms. The positive $32.6M in 2026Q2 may indicate a temporary benefit from payables or receivables, but it is not a sustainable source of cash.
No Capital Returns, All Cash to Operations
Dividends and buybacks have been zero throughout the period, with the only deployment being operational cash burn, indicating a reinvestment strategy focused on R&D, as reported in financial statements.
The absence of shareholder returns is typical for a clinical-stage biotech, but it underscores that all available cash is being consumed by operations. The company is not returning capital to shareholders, and any future financing will likely be used to fund ongoing losses. This suggests that investors are funding the pipeline with the expectation of future value creation, but the cash burn rate is a key risk.
Cumulative Losses Outpace Cash Burn
Over the last ten quarters, cumulative net losses totaled -$771.2M, while operating cash flow was -$640.9M, a gap of $130.3M, indicating that accounting losses overstate cash consumption, per reported data.
The cumulative gap between net income and operating cash flow is positive, meaning that non-cash charges like stock-based compensation have been larger than working capital outflows. This suggests that the company's cash burn is less severe than its accounting losses, but the trend is not consistent. Investors should note that the gap is narrowing in recent quarters, which may indicate a shift toward more cash-intensive operations.
What Could Invalidate the Base Case
Despite the narrative of pipeline progress, the company's reliance on episodic collaboration revenue and escalating R&D costs could lead to persistent cash burn, with no clear path to profitability, as per reported figures.
The cash flow statement obscures the true sustainability of the business model. While stock-based compensation is a non-cash charge that reduces reported losses, it still represents a real economic cost to shareholders through dilution. Additionally, the positive working capital swings in some quarters may mask underlying operational inefficiencies. If collaboration revenue does not materialize consistently, the company may need to raise capital at dilutive terms, which could further pressure the stock.