Persistent negative free cash flow remains a critical concern, with quarterly outflows reaching as high as $15.6 million in 2023Q4, highlighting a heavy reliance on external capital.
| Cash from Operations | -34.12M | -42.85M | -43.47M | -59.57M | -66.6M | -56.09M | -26.53M | 0 |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 21.93% | 1.42% | 27.03% | 10.56% | -18.74% | -111.41% | - | - |
| Net Income | -319.86M | 0 | -81.94M | -73.78M | -170.96M | -141.3M | -56.63M | -9.04K |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 117K | 252K | 362K | 360K | 418K | 452K | 563K | 0 |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 66.99M | 96.67M | 25.31M | 12.36M | 20.08M | 0 | 27.1M | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 183.93M | -139.81M | 396K | 2.3M | 67.7M | 66.19M | 61K | 9.04K |
| Working Capital Changes | 11.47M | 36K | 12.4M | -813K | 16.16M | 18.57M | 2.38M | 0 |
| Change in Receivables | 1.92M | -1.2M | 127K | 748K | 960K | -3.48M | -110K | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 1.02M | 1.23M | 0 | -1.56M | 0 | 22.05M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | 482K | 447K | -515K | -578K | -1.17M | -3.84M | -607K | 0 |
| Capital Expenditures | -105K | 0 | -515K | -578K | -1.17M | -402K | -607K | 0 |
| CapEx % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 241K | 447K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.44M | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 151.01M | 156.59M | 40.69M | 20.07M | 29.72M | 134.7M | 21.29M | 0 |
| Debt Issued (Net) | -14.25M | -11.78M | 11.78M | 5M | 0 | 26M | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 160.99M | 168.36M | 28.77M | 15.07M | 30.4M | 4.24M | 20.37M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 4.28M | 0 | 145K | 0 | -677K | 104.47M | 919K | 0 |
| Net Change in Cash | 117.34M | 114.15M | -3.36M | -40M | -38M | 74.78M | -5.86M | 0 |
| Free Cash Flow | -34.08M | -42.85M | -43.98M | -60.15M | -67.77M | -56.49M | -27.14M | 0 |
| FCF Margin % | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 17.29% | 2.57% | 26.88% | 11.25% | -19.96% | -108.17% | - | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.11 | -0.11 | -0.14 | -0.21 | -0.28 | -0.28 | -0.15 | - |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.11x | 0.13x | 0.53x | 0.81x | 0.39x | 0.40x | 0.47x | - |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Regulatory and liquidity dependency
As reported in financial statements, TMC's operating cash flow consistently trails net income, with OCF/NI ratios fluctuating significantly, reaching a low of 0.03 in 2026Q1, which suggests that non-cash charges and accounting adjustments are masking the true extent of the company's ongoing cash burn.
The wide divergence between net income and operating cash flow indicates that reported losses are heavily influenced by non-cash items, such as stock-based compensation. Investors should monitor this gap closely, as it suggests that the company's operational reality is defined by cash outflows rather than the accounting-based losses presented in the income statement.
Based on recent SEC filings, TMC has maintained a persistent negative free cash flow trajectory over the last ten quarters, with quarterly outflows ranging from $0.65 million to $15.6 million, reflecting the company's ongoing reliance on external capital to fund its pre-revenue exploration activities.
The lack of positive free cash flow is expected given the company's pre-revenue status, but the consistency of these outflows highlights the high cost of maintaining subsea exploration capabilities. This trajectory implies that the company remains entirely dependent on capital markets to sustain its operations until commercial extraction begins.
According to the company's cash flow statements, working capital changes have been highly volatile, swinging from a $12.3 million inflow in 2023Q4 to a $2.9 million outflow in 2025Q1, which suggests that timing differences in payables and accruals are significantly impacting the company's quarterly liquidity position.
The erratic nature of working capital movements appears to be a byproduct of managing complex, project-based vendor relationships and regulatory compliance costs. This volatility warrants further investigation, as it may indicate that the company is managing its cash position by timing payments to partners like Allseas.
As evidenced by the provided financial data, stock-based compensation has been a recurring and substantial non-cash expense, peaking at $43.0 million in 2025Q3, which effectively obscures the underlying cash burn rate and complicates the assessment of the company's true operational efficiency.
By adding back significant non-cash charges, the company's cash flow statement reveals a different picture than the net income line suggests. Analysts should be wary of these adjustments, as they may lead to an underestimation of the actual capital required to reach the commercialization phase.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying TMC stock.
TMC the metals company Inc. (TMC) generated $-42.9M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
TMC the metals company Inc. (TMC) reported negative free cash flow of $42.9M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
TMC the metals company Inc. (TMC) spent $0.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.