Vericel Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results: total revenue $276.3M, MACI revenue $239.5M (+21% YoY), and record Q4 gross margin of 79%. Full-year adjusted EBITDA rose to $70.9M (26% margin) and the company holds approximately $200M cash with no debt. Management provided 2026 guidance: total revenue of $316–$326M, MACI revenue of $280–$286M, and ~75% gross margin.
Q4 highlights included record MACI implants and salesforce expansion; the company remains on track for commercial manufacturing and a UK MHRA submission in 2026.
Positive
- Total revenue $276.3M in 2025, a 16% increase year-over-year
- MACI revenue $239.5M, up 21% year-over-year
- Adjusted EBITDA $70.9M in 2025, a 33% increase (26% margin)
- Approximately $200M cash and no debt at year-end
- Record fourth-quarter gross margin 79% and adjusted EBITDA margin 40%
Negative
- Total operating expenses rose to $194.6M in 2025, a 16% increase year-over-year
- Epicel revenue declined to $32.1M from $36.6M in 2024 (≈12% decrease)
- Increased costs related to the new Burlington facility, including depreciation and manufacturing start-up activities
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
Biotech peers show mixed action: 2 in momentum scan up (e.g., AUPH +4.64%), 2 down (SRPT -4.01%). Broader sector dynamics appear relevant alongside VCEL’s stock-specific earnings news.
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-13 | Prelim 2025 earnings | Positive | +1.3% | Preliminary 2025 revenue ~$276M, MACI $239.5M, 74% gross margin, EBITDA margin 26%. |
| 2025-11-06 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | +4.2% | Record Q3 revenue $67.5M, MACI up 25% to $55.7M, gross margin 73.5%. |
| 2025-07-31 | Q2 2025 earnings | Positive | -14.1% | Q2 revenue grew 20% to $63.2M, MACI up 21% to $53.5M, margins expanding. |
| 2025-05-08 | Q1 2025 earnings | Positive | +3.5% | Q1 revenue $52.6M, record MACI $46.3M, 69% gross margin, guidance raised. |
| 2025-02-27 | FY 2024 earnings | Positive | -6.1% | FY 2024 revenue $237.2M, MACI up 20%, Burn Care up 22%, strong 2025 outlook. |
Earnings releases have generally been positive fundamentally, but share reactions have been mixed, with both strong rallies and notable selloffs.
Over the past year, Vericel has delivered multiple earnings reports highlighting consistent double-digit revenue growth, expanding MACI sales, and improving margins. Full-year 2024 revenue reached $237.2M, with MACI up 20%, and subsequent 2025 quarters showed continued growth and margin expansion. Preliminary 2025 results in January 2026 already previewed today’s numbers, including ~$276M revenue and MACI at $239.5M. Price reactions around these earnings have varied, with both positive and negative moves despite fundamentally strong updates.
Historical Comparison
In the last 5 earnings-related releases, VCEL’s average next-day move was -2.26%, despite consistently strong MACI-driven growth and margin expansion.
Earnings updates show steady progression: rising MACI revenue, improving gross margins, and movement from mixed profitability toward sustained net income and higher EBITDA margins.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights continued momentum in Vericel’s core MACI franchise, with full-year 2025 revenue of $276.3M, MACI revenue of $239.5M, and record Q4 gross margin of 79%. Adjusted EBITDA reached $70.9M for the year, supported by strong operating cash flow of $52M and roughly $200M in cash and investments with no debt. Historically, earnings updates have shown consistent growth but mixed share-price reactions, underscoring the importance of monitoring execution versus 2026 guidance and future MACI milestones.
Key Terms
adjusted EBITDA financial
gross margin financial
operating cash flow financial
marketing authorization application regulatory
mhra regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Total Revenue of
Net Income Growth of
Fourth Quarter Total Revenue and MACI Revenue Growth of
Record Fourth Quarter Gross Margin of
Conference Call Today at 8:30am Eastern Time
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), a leader in advanced therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care markets, today reported financial results and business highlights for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025.
Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights
- Total net revenue growth of
23% to$92.9 million - MACI® net revenue growth of
23% to$84.1 million - Burn Care net revenue of
$8.8 million - Gross margin of
79% - Net income increased
17% to$23.2 million - Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA increased
25% to$37.3 million , or40% of revenue - Approximately
$200 million in cash and investments, and no debt
Full-Year 2025 Financial Highlights
- Total net revenue of
$276.3 million - MACI net revenue growth of
21% to$239.5 million - Burn Care net revenue of
$36.8 million - Gross margin of
74% - Net income increased
59% to$16.5 million - Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA increased
33% to$70.9 million , or26% of revenue - Operating cash flow of
$52 million
Business Highlights and Updates
- Record fourth quarter total revenue and MACI revenue
- Highest number of MACI implants, implanting surgeons, surgeons taking biopsies and MACI biopsies in any quarter since launch in the fourth quarter
- MACI revenue growth of
20% or more for the third consecutive year - Completed MACI sales force expansion
- Approximately1,000 MACI Arthro® trained surgeons to date
- Initiated MACI Ankle™ MASCOT clinical study
- Remain on track to begin MACI commercial manufacturing in new facility in 2026
- On track to submit MACI marketing authorization application to U.K. MHRA in 2026
“The Company delivered outstanding financial and business results in the fourth quarter, as we generated strong revenue and profit growth and completed a number of key business initiatives,” said Nick Colangelo, President and CEO of Vericel. “We are entering 2026 with a great deal of momentum and expect another year of high revenue and profit growth, an inflection in cash generation, and continued progress on our long-term growth initiatives.”
2026 Financial Guidance
- Total revenue of
$316 t o$326 million - MACI revenue of
$280 t o$286 million - Gross margin of approximately
75% - Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately
27%
Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
Total net revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 increased
Gross profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 was
Total operating expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 were
Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 was
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 was
Full-Year 2025 Results
Total net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased
Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2025 was
Total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2025 were
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2025 was
Conference Call Information
Today’s conference call will be available live at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The live webcast can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of the Vericel website at http://investors.vcel.com/events-presentations. Presentation slides for the conference call will be available on the webcast and on the website. A replay of the webcast will be available until February 25, 2027.
To participate by telephone, dial 800-330-6730 or +1-312-471-1351 if connecting from outside the U.S. When connected, please use passcode: 476633.
About Vericel Corporation
Vericel is a leading provider of advanced therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care markets. The Company combines innovations in biology with medical technologies, resulting in a highly differentiated portfolio of innovative cell therapies and specialty biologics that repair injuries and restore lives. Vericel markets three products in the United States. MACI (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is an autologous cellularized scaffold product indicated for the repair of symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults. Epicel (cultured epidermal autografts) is a permanent skin replacement for the treatment of patients with deep dermal or full thickness burns greater than or equal to
Epicel®, MACI® and MACI Arthro® are registered trademarks of Vericel Corporation. NexoBrid® is a registered trademark of MediWound Ltd. and is used under license to Vericel Corporation. © 2026 Vericel Corporation. All rights reserved.
GAAP v. Non-GAAP Measures
Vericel’s reported earnings are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, and represent earnings as reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Vericel has provided in this release certain financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Vericel’s management believes that the non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA described in this release, which includes adjustments for specific items that are generally not indicative of our core operations, provides additional information that is useful to investors in understanding Vericel’s underlying performance, business and performance trends, and helps facilitate period-to-period comparisons and comparisons of its financial measures with other companies in Vericel’s industry. However, the non-GAAP financial measures that Vericel uses may differ from measures that other companies may use. Non-GAAP financial measures are not required to be uniformly applied, are not audited and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for results prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Forward-Looking Statements
Vericel cautions you that all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for the forward-looking statements contained herein, they are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks, assumptions, uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. These statements are often, but are not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expects,” “continues,” “believe,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “target,” “future,” “potential,” “goals” and similar words or phrases, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” or similar expressions.
Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with our expectations regarding future revenue, growth in revenue, market penetration for MACI®, MACI Arthro®, Epicel®, and NexoBrid®, growth in profit, gross margins and operating margins, the ability to continue to scale our manufacturing operations to meet the demand for our cell therapy products, including the timely qualification of a new manufacturing facility in Burlington, Massachusetts, the ability to sustain profitability, contributions to adjusted EBITDA, the expected target surgeon audience, potential fluctuations in sales and volumes and our results of operations over the course of the year, timing and conduct of clinical trial and product development activities, timing and likelihood of the FDA’s potential approval of the use of MACI to treat cartilage defects in the ankle, the timing and likelihood of obtaining market approval for MACI in the United Kingdom, the estimate of the commercial growth potential of our products and product candidates, competitive developments, changes in third-party coverage and reimbursement, including recent and future healthcare reform measures and private payor initiatives, surgeon adoption of MACI Arthro, physician and burn center adoption of NexoBrid, labor strikes, supply chain disruptions or other events or factors that might affect our ability to manufacture MACI or Epicel or affect MediWound’s ability to manufacture and supply sufficient quantities of NexoBrid to meet customer demand, including but not limited to conflicts in the Middle East region involving Israel, negative impacts on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and political and military developments in South America, including those associated with potential further involvement by the U.S., changes in trade policies and regulations, including the potential for increases or changes in duties, current and potentially new tariffs or quotas, lingering effects of adverse developments affecting financial institutions, companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, changes in governmental monetary and fiscal policies, including, but not limited to, Federal Reserve policies in connection with continued inflationary pressures, the impact from future regulatory, judicial and legislative changes to our industry or to the broader landscape, including those included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA”), a U.S. government shutdown and global geopolitical tensions.
These and other significant factors are discussed in greater detail in Vericel’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 26, 2026, and in other filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements reflect our views as of the date hereof and Vericel does not assume and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release except as required by law.
Investor Contact:
Eric Burns
ir@vcel.com
+1 (734) 418-4411
| VERICEL CORPORATION | ||||||||||||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts - unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Product sales, net | $ | 92,918 | $ | 75,376 | $ | 276,259 | $ | 237,224 | ||||||||
| Total revenue | 92,918 | 75,376 | 276,259 | 237,224 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of product sales | 19,790 | 16,877 | 70,660 | 65,117 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 73,128 | 58,499 | 205,599 | 172,107 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 7,253 | 4,923 | 27,563 | 24,797 | ||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 43,460 | 35,097 | 166,992 | 142,791 | ||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 50,713 | 40,020 | 194,555 | 167,588 | ||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 22,415 | 18,479 | 11,044 | 4,519 | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,885 | 1,560 | 7,007 | 6,410 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (162 | ) | (154 | ) | (630 | ) | (614 | ) | ||||||||
| Other (expense) income | (36 | ) | 70 | (44 | ) | 195 | ||||||||||
| Total other income | 1,687 | 1,476 | 6,333 | 5,991 | ||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 24,102 | 19,955 | 17,377 | 10,510 | ||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 859 | 148 | 859 | 148 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 23,243 | $ | 19,807 | $ | 16,518 | $ | 10,362 | ||||||||
| Net income per common share: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.40 | $ | 0.33 | $ | 0.21 | ||||||||
| Diluted | $ | 0.45 | $ | 0.38 | $ | 0.32 | $ | 0.20 | ||||||||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 50,591 | 49,469 | 50,340 | 48,848 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | 52,071 | 52,210 | 52,151 | 51,679 | ||||||||||||
| VERICEL CORPORATION | ||||||||||||||||
| RECONCILIATION OF REPORTED NET INCOME (LOSS) (GAAP) | ||||||||||||||||
| TO ADJUSTED EBITDA (NON-GAAP MEASURE) | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands - unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 23,243 | $ | 19,807 | $ | 16,518 | $ | 10,362 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 8,423 | 7,917 | 38,767 | 36,495 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 3,088 | 1,477 | 11,544 | 5,504 | ||||||||||||
| Net interest income | (1,723 | ) | (1,406 | ) | (6,381 | ) | (5,796 | ) | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 859 | 148 | 859 | 148 | ||||||||||||
| Pre-occupancy lease expense and tech transfer | 3,391 | 1,924 | 9,571 | 6,725 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 37,281 | $ | 29,867 | $ | 70,878 | $ | 53,438 | ||||||||
| VERICEL CORPORATION | ||||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||||
| (in thousands - unaudited) | ||||||
| December 31, | ||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| ASSETS | ||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 100,092 | $ | 74,520 | ||
| Restricted cash | — | 10,529 | ||||
| Short-term investments | 37,407 | 41,693 | ||||
| Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of | 84,634 | 61,375 | ||||
| Inventory | 17,560 | 17,373 | ||||
| Other current assets | 7,744 | 7,287 | ||||
| Total current assets | 247,437 | 212,777 | ||||
| Property and equipment, net | 108,397 | 103,161 | ||||
| Intangible assets, net | 5,625 | 6,250 | ||||
| Right-of-use assets | 64,774 | 70,098 | ||||
| Long-term investments | 61,395 | 39,880 | ||||
| Other long-term assets | 341 | 556 | ||||
| Total assets | $ | 487,969 | $ | 432,722 | ||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 15,828 | $ | 23,848 | ||
| Accrued expenses | 19,236 | 17,065 | ||||
| Current portion of operating lease liabilities | 13,969 | 9,257 | ||||
| Other current liabilities | 116 | 116 | ||||
| Total current liabilities | 49,149 | 50,286 | ||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 82,284 | 89,593 | ||||
| Other long-term liabilities | 1,896 | 876 | ||||
| Total liabilities | 133,329 | 140,755 | ||||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 354,640 | 291,967 | ||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | 487,969 | $ | 432,722 | ||
FAQ
What were Vericel's (VCEL) full-year 2025 revenues and MACI sales?
How did Vericel (VCEL) perform in Q4 2025 on margin and profitability?
What 2026 financial guidance did Vericel (VCEL) provide on February 26, 2026?
How strong is Vericel's (VCEL) balance sheet after 2025 results?
What operational milestones did Vericel (VCEL) report alongside its FY2025 results?
