The paper examines how cash flow affects the demand for additional funding among listed companies in Vietnam, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial constraints. Hypotheses are developed using the self-ranking match theory framework and prior research insights. The study uses data from 5,894 observations from 2010 to 2020 and employs the general regression model (GLS) to evaluate the proposed hypotheses. The findings suggest that cash flow plays an important role in shaping firms’ external financing needs, with its impact becoming more pronounced under financial constraints and pandemic-related challenges. Notably, businesses facing financial limitations sought increased funding when experiencing cash flow shortages during the COVID crisis. In addition, a high financial leverage ratio from the preceding year emerged as a potential obstacle for firms attempting to access diverse external financing options. This research provides valuable insights into the financial difficulties faced by listed companies, and future studies could expand the scope by examining businesses in the financial sector and assessing macroeconomic factors affecting corporate funding sources.
