At a glance
Vericel Corp Ord is worth $2.10B, about 128 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 16.5% to $276.3M in fiscal 2025, with 6.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 17.3% a year. It pays no dividend. The stock returned +11.6% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −4.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 62.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 47.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 7 months and 17 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Vericel sells specialized treatments for sports medicine and severe burns in the U.S. It has three FDA-approved products: two autologous cell therapies, made from the patient's own cells, and one specialty biologic. MACI, its knee cartilage repair product, is the center of its growth plans. A surgeon takes a small cartilage sample, and Vericel grows more cells and seeds them onto a pig-derived collagen membrane for the surgeon to implant. Since August 2024, MACI can also be placed through small incisions with Vericel's MACI Arthro instruments.
In burn care, Epicel is a permanent skin replacement for adults and children with deep burns covering at least 30% of the body's surface. The FDA classes it as a Humanitarian Use Device, a pathway for products that treat small patient groups. Vericel also holds exclusive North American rights to NexoBrid from MediWound, which makes it mostly in Israel. Its enzymes remove eschar, the dead tissue that forms over severe burns.
Vericel makes money selling these products, plus MACI biopsy kits and MACI Arthro instruments. It targets sports medicine orthopedic surgeons and burn centers, and most large U.S. health insurers cover MACI. Revenue was $276.3 million for 2025, up 16.5%. About 34% of MACI volume usually comes in the fourth quarter, after many patients meet insurance deductibles. A UK launch is planned for 2027 if regulators approve.
Price history
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VCEL +11.6% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $77.5M, up 22.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $2.2M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $276.3M (+16.5% year over year; +17.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 6% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +17.3% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 9% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 4.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 3.4% watch |
| Cash and investments | $227.4M (debt isn’t tagged in a standard way in the filings, so net cash can’t be shown) |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $124.2M | $2.9M | $14.9M |
| FY2021 | $156.2M | $-7.5M | $21.1M |
| FY2022 | $164.4M | $-16.7M | $10.1M |
| FY2023 | $197.5M | $-3.2M | $15.3M |
| FY2024 | $237.2M | $10.4M | $-5.8M |
| FY2025 | $276.3M | $16.5M | $24.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.10B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 128.4 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Vericel Corp Ord’s market value went from $1.40B at the end of 2020 to $2.10B on Oct 28, 2026, up 50%; since the end of 2025 it is up 16%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.10B | +15.5% |
| 2025 | $1.82B | -32.8% |
| 2024 | $2.71B | +59.5% |
| 2023 | $1.70B | +36.6% |
| 2022 | $1.24B | -32.4% |
| 2021 | $1.84B | +31.2% |
| 2020 | $1.40B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCEL price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +14.1% | +11.6% | +7.8% | -4.3% | +33.1% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +14.1% |
| 2025 | -34.4% |
| 2024 | +54.2% |
| 2023 | +35.2% |
| 2022 | -33.0% |
| 2021 | +27.3% |
| 2020 | +77.5% |
| 2019 | 0.0% |
| 2018 | +219.3% |
| 2017 | +81.7% |
| 2016 | +16.3% |
| 2015 | -15.1% |
| 2014 | -5.9% |
| 2013 | -87.2% |
| 2012 | -30.8% |
| 2011 | -28.9% |
| 2010 | +8.2% |
| 2009 | -38.5% |
| 2008 | -3.9% |
| 2007 | -57.7% |
| 2006 | -41.7% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 65.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 87.7%, not recovered by the end of the data |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 61.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 62.3%, back to its old high 6.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 41% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 47.7%, back to its old high 16.8 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 26 sales ($6.3M), 24 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | Sean C. Flynn Chief Legal Officer | sell (plan) | $685K |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Sean C. Flynn Chief Legal Officer | sell (plan) | $603K |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Sean C. Flynn Chief Legal Officer | sell (plan) | $530K |
| Mar 23, 2026 | Heidi Hagen Director | sell (plan) | $486K |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Michael Halpin Chief Operating Officer | sell (plan) | $468K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15.1% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.6% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.11% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Brown Capital Management, LLC | 3.87% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Soleus Capital Master Fund, L.P. | 2.8% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in VCEL
| WDNA WisdomTree BioRevolution Fund | 2.6% |
| SBIO ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF | 2.06% |
| RZG Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Growth ETF | 0.52% |
| VIOG Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.37% |
| SLYG SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF | 0.36% |
| DWAS Invesco Dorsey Wright SmallCap Momentum ETF | 0.35% |
| IJT iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.34% |
| OASC OneAscent Small Cap Core ETF | 0.33% |
What could go wrong
- One factory makes its cell therapies. MACI and Epicel are made at one facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Damage or production problems there could halt supply. A larger site in Burlington must be validated before it takes over manufacturing.
- MACI depends on Matricel's membranes. Matricel makes the pig-derived collagen membranes MACI is built on, under a supply deal running to December 31, 2030. A supply failure, a regulatory problem at Matricel, or limits on animal-derived materials could disrupt production.
- NexoBrid rests on MediWound's supply chain. MediWound makes NexoBrid mainly in Israel, with a key ingredient sourced from Taiwan. Conflict in the Middle East or China-Taiwan tensions could disrupt supply. Vericel's success depends partly on NexoBrid selling well.
- Thin patent protection invites competition. Epicel has no patent protection, and some MACI patents have already expired. Vericel relies partly on trade secrets and know-how, and new FDA fast-track programs could help rivals bring competing cell therapies to market faster.
- Insurance approval drives MACI demand. Vericel estimates about 125,000 U.S. patients are clinically suitable for MACI, but only about 60,000 are likely to win insurance approval. Weaker coverage or payment rates, including from most-favored-nation pricing efforts, would hurt sales.
- Profits are thin and uneven. Vericel posted net income in 2024 and 2025 after losses from 2021 through 2023. Its 2025 operating margin, profit from core operations as a share of sales, was 4%. Seasonal swings make quarterly results uneven.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Vericel does not pay a dividend, and it made no share buybacks from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025. For an income investor, that means the stock produces no cash payments. Any return comes only from the share price, so drawing income would mean selling shares. The share count also grew 9.8% between July 2021 and July 2026, which slightly dilutes each owner's stake. The price has swung hard in downturns. During the 2008 financial crisis, the stock fell about 88% from peak to trough and had not regained that peak as of October 28, 2026. It fell 62% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered about six and a half months after its low. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 48% and took nearly 17 months from its low to recover. Single stocks like Vericel carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Vericel make money?
Vericel makes money by selling three FDA-approved products in the U.S. MACI repairs knee cartilage using the patient's own cells. Epicel is a permanent skin replacement for deep burns covering at least 30% of the body's surface. NexoBrid uses enzymes to remove dead tissue from severe burns. Vericel also sells MACI biopsy kits and MACI Arthro surgical instruments. Revenue was $276.3 million in fiscal 2025, up 16.5%. Its gross margin was 74.4%, meaning about 74 cents of each sales dollar remained after direct production costs.
Does Vericel pay a dividend?
No. Vericel paid no dividends and made no share buybacks from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2025, and it had no dividend yield as of October 28, 2026. Its share count rose 9.8% between July 2021 and July 2026. The company's stated priorities are growing MACI, including a planned UK launch, and generating positive operating income and cash flow. For income investors, any return comes from the share price, so turning the investment into cash would require selling shares.
Is Vericel profitable?
Yes, but modestly. Vericel earned net income of $16.5 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in fiscal 2025, after losses from 2021 through 2023. Free cash flow, the cash left after capital spending, was $24.7 million. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue rose 22.5% to $77.5 million and net income was $2.2 million. Profits are small next to the share price. The price-to-earnings ratio (share price divided by earnings per share) was 128.4 as of October 28, 2026, based on 2025 earnings.
Why are Vericel's sales strongest in the fourth quarter?
Because many MACI patients schedule treatment late in the year. Over the five years through 2025, the fourth quarter averaged 34% of annual MACI volume, against 21% to 23% in each earlier quarter. Vericel says patients have often met their insurance deductibles by then, and many prefer to start rehabilitation at that time of year. This pattern can make quarterly revenue and cash flow swing, so comparing a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier gives a clearer picture.
How has Vericel stock performed over the long term?
It depends on the time frame. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained about 33% a year over 10 years, a total rise of about 1,649%. Over five years it lost about 4% a year, and over one year it gained 11.6%. Over about 21 years, it was down about 11%. Swings are large: the stock rose 54% in 2024 and fell 34% in 2025. Because Vericel pays no dividend, price changes are its whole return.