Cash generation is deteriorating, with free cash flow margin plunging to -21.7% in Q2 2026, and volatile working capital swings, such as a $50.1M inflow followed by a $44.8M outflow, make it difficult to assess the core operational burn rate.
Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE) cash flow statement — 13-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | -184.68M | -187.49M | -151.03M | -19.43M | -127.78M | -88.99M | -115.98M | -188.23M | -22.86M | -83.67M | -31.87M | -12.53M | -4.43M | -3.55M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | -438.82% | -139.45% | -17.15% | -3501.81% | -217.25% | -577.69% | -1177.7% | -158.61% | -2258.94% | -2146.26% | -8241.45% | - | - |
| Operating CF Growth % | 30.78% | -24.15% | -677.24% | 84.79% | -43.59% | 23.27% | 38.38% | -723.34% | 72.68% | -162.52% | -154.43% | -183.03% | -24.64% | - |
| Net Income | -202.47M | -204.38M | -97.01M | -57.51M | -161.82M | -122.25M | -149.91M | -193.64M | -146.65M | -102.03M | -55.4M | -19.2M | -5.23M | -3.32M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 7.47M | 8.85M | 8.66M | 9.21M | 10.11M | 9.84M | 9.98M | 9.2M | 5.58M | 2.15M | 784K | 594K | 281K | 276K |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 26.27M | 0 | 13.14M | 9.79M | 17.19M | 16.41M | 14.3M | 19.51M | 15.6M | 12.14M | 6.85M | 4.02M | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12.64M | -9.14M | 0 | 44K | 774K | -874K | 36K | 84K | -330K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -31.87M | 24.97M | 0 | 0 | 12K | 12.64M | 9.14M | 0 | 183K | 3.59M | 565K | 88K | -6K | -6K |
| Working Capital Changes | 15.93M | -16.94M | -75.82M | 19.08M | 6.72M | 7.01M | 9.65M | -23.3M | 102.39M | -299K | 16.21M | 1.93M | 430K | -173K |
| Change in Receivables | 906.77K | 146K | 19.66M | -21.09M | 0 | 30M | 20M | 10M | -59M | -1M | 0 | 193K | -129K | -102K |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.04M | 4.61M | 0 | -4.08M | 0 | 0 | 242K | 398K | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 6.1M | -561K | 3.42M | -3.76M | 9.35M | -6.57M | 5.12M | -3.5M | 4.94M | 3.89M | 3.37M | 1.65M | 9K | -152K |
| Cash from Investing | -124.13M | -718K | -938K | -1.11M | -1.25M | -560K | -1.34M | -3.92M | -9.94M | -18.9M | -8.16M | -2.91M | -257K | -47K |
| Capital Expenditures | -851K | -718K | -938K | -1.11M | -1.36M | -560K | -1.34M | -3.92M | -9.94M | -18.89M | -5.57M | -1.86M | -590K | -47K |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 1.3% | 1.68% | 0.87% | 0.98% | 37.3% | 1.37% | 6.66% | 24.51% | 68.95% | 509.91% | 374.88% | 1221.71% | - | - |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4K | 3K | 0 | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -708.99K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 106K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9.94M | -9K | -2.6M | -1.05M | 333K | 0 |
| Cash from Financing | 475.65M | 488.24M | 253.89M | 132.53M | 67.19M | 55.83M | 154.54M | 164.4M | 65.09M | 94.37M | 29.12M | 175.59M | 5.62M | 3.67M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -16K | -62K | -62K | -126K | 0 | 0 |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 472.84M | 488.24M | 236.18M | 131.28M | 52.33M | 54.97M | 153.63M | 161.79M | 60M | 93.51M | 30M | 175.61M | 5.58M | 0 |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | 2.81M | 0 | 17.71M | 1.26M | 14.86M | 858K | 912K | 2.61M | 5.11M | 927K | -817K | 112K | 34K | 3.67M |
| Net Change in Cash | 162.27M | 300.04M | 101.79M | 111.89M | -62.06M | -33.93M | 37.34M | -27.64M | 32.33M | -7.79M | -10.93M | 160.17M | 609K | 60K |
| Free Cash Flow | -186.24M | -187.49M | -151.96M | -20.55M | -129.14M | -89.55M | -117.32M | -192.15M | -32.8M | -102.56M | -37.44M | -14.38M | -5.02M | -3.6M |
| FCF Margin % | -284.9% | -438.82% | -140.31% | -18.13% | -3539.11% | -218.61% | -584.35% | -1202.21% | -227.56% | -2768.84% | -2521.14% | -9463.16% | - | - |
| FCF Growth % | 6.93% | -23.38% | -639.63% | 84.09% | -44.21% | 23.67% | 38.94% | -485.82% | 68.02% | -173.93% | -160.28% | -186.76% | -39.41% | - |
| FCF per Share | -0.92 | -1.11 | -1.10 | -0.19 | -1.64 | -1.73 | -2.99 | -5.67 | -1.13 | -3.87 | -1.64 | -0.67 | -0.24 | -1.01 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 0.92x | 0.92x | 1.56x | 0.34x | 0.79x | 0.73x | 0.77x | 0.97x | 0.16x | 0.82x | 0.58x | 0.65x | 0.85x | 1.07x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37K | 29K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11K | 554K | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WVE stock.
Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE) generated $-187.5M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE) reported negative free cash flow of $187.5M in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE) spent $0.7M 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
Persistent cash burn funded by financing
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Negative Earnings Quality Masked by Working Capital
According to recent SEC filings, Wave's operating cash flow consistently lags its net loss, with the OCF/NI ratio averaging 0.96 over ten quarters, indicating that reported losses are not fully translating into cash outflows due to non-cash adjustments and volatile working capital.
The persistent gap between net income and operating cash flow is driven by significant non-cash charges, most notably the rising stock-based compensation which reached $10.7M in Q2 2026. While this adds back to operating cash flow, the underlying operational cash deficit remains severe, as seen in the Q2 2026 result where a $69.4M net loss converted to only a $48.3M operating cash outflow, suggesting the cash burn is somewhat mitigated by non-cash items but is fundamentally uncontrolled.
FCF Deterioration Accelerates
As reported in financial statements, Wave's free cash flow margin has plunged to -21.7% in Q2 2026, a significant deterioration from the -2.7% margin seen in Q1 2024, confirming that cash consumption is intensifying faster than the company's revenue generation.
The trajectory of FCF is a clear deterioration, with the company posting negative free cash flow in every single quarter provided. The recent Q2 2026 FCF of -$49.2M, despite modest CapEx, highlights that operational cash flow is deeply negative and widening. This pattern contradicts any notion of approaching cash flow breakeven and indicates the business model is currently consuming capital at an accelerating rate relative to its top line.
Volatile Working Capital Obscures Core Burn
Based on reported figures, Wave's working capital changes are highly erratic, with a $50.1M inflow in Q2 2026 directly following a $44.8M outflow in Q1 2026, making it difficult to discern the true operational cash trend from quarter to quarter.
The massive swings in working capital, such as the -$78.3M usage in Q4 2024 followed by a $10.2M source in Q4 2025, appear driven by large, lumpy movements in receivables or payables rather than efficient operational management. This volatility masks the underlying cash burn from operations and introduces significant noise into the cash flow statement, warranting investor scrutiny into the nature of these flows, which are likely tied to the company's irregular revenue recognition and partnership settlements.
Zero Shareholder Returns, All Cash Burn
As reported in financial statements, Wave has returned zero capital to shareholders via dividends or buybacks over the last ten quarters, with all available cash and external financing directed towards funding its substantial operational deficit.
The capital deployment strategy is singularly focused on funding operations. With no acquisitions, dividends, or repurchases, the cash flow statement reveals a company entirely dependent on raising capital to cover its negative free cash flow. The absence of any shareholder-friendly activities underscores the priority of cash preservation and the remote nature of any return of capital to investors in the foreseeable future.
Stock-Based Compensation Flatters Cash Burn
A key counter-analysis is that Wave's operating cash flow is artificially bolstered by non-cash stock-based compensation, which added back $10.7M in Q2 2026, potentially overstating the cash generation from core operations if not viewed as a real economic cost.
While SBC is added back to arrive at operating cash flow, it represents a genuine dilutive cost to shareholders. Excluding this non-cash add-back, the cash deficit from core operations would be materially larger. For instance, in Q2 2026, operating cash flow was -$48.3M; without the $10.7M SBC add-back, the cash loss would have been $59.0M. Investors must monitor SBC as a percentage of operating expenses, as its growth from $2.9M in Q1 2024 to over $10M in Q2 2026 indicates the cash burn is being partially offset by dilution, not operational improvement.