Moderna, Inc.

Worth knowing

• Paying shareholders without free cash flow. Paid out $1.2B over the 3 fiscal years to 2025 with -$9.9B of free cash flow.

  Moderna returned $1.2B in buybacks and dividends over three fiscal years while its free cash flow totalled -$9.9B. The money came from its cash pile or from borrowing.

• Stock pay outran buybacks. Stock-based pay expense $1.2B vs $1.2B spent repurchasing shares over the 3 fiscal years to 2025. Shares outstanding changed +3.7% from December 2022 to July 2026.

  Over three fiscal years Moderna recorded $1.2B of stock-based pay expense and spent $1.2B repurchasing shares (repurchases can include shares withheld to cover employees' taxes). Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.Over three fiscal years Moderna recorded $1.2B of stock-based pay expense and spent $1.2B repurchasing shares. Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.

• Stock-based pay is a large cost. Stock pay was 25% of revenue in 2025.

  Moderna paid employees $483M in stock in 2025, 25% of its $1.9B revenue. It doesn't use cash, so it flatters cash flow, but it is a real cost to shareholders through dilution.

• Investment surge. Capital spending 9.9% of revenue, up from 2.1% in 2022.

  Moderna is spending 9.9% of revenue on facilities and equipment, up from 2.1% in 2022. That weighs on free cash flow today; whether it pays off depends on the returns those investments earn.