diff --git a/docs/tutorials/FlowTutorial.md b/docs/tutorials/FlowTutorial.md
index ecd403461b..4752e8eb72 100644
--- a/docs/tutorials/FlowTutorial.md
+++ b/docs/tutorials/FlowTutorial.md
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ abc.constr klayout.lyt klayout_tech.lef lib
 | `congestion.rpt`  | `VDD.rpt`           | `VSS.rpt`              |
 | `5_route_drc.rpt` | `final_clocks.webp` | `final_placement.webp` |
 | `antenna.log`     | `final_clocks.webp` | `final.webp`           |
-| `synth_stat.txt`  | `synth_check.txt`   | `final_resizer.webp`   |
+| `synth_stat.json` | `synth_check.txt`   | `final_resizer.webp`   |
 
 The table below briefly describes the reports directory files.
 
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ The table below briefly describes the reports directory files.
 | `antenna.log`          | Antenna check log report.                                |
 | `final_placement.webp` | Extracted image after final placement.                   |
 | `final.webp`           | Extracted image after routing.                           |
-| `synth_stat.txt`       | Post synthesis design statistics log saved here.         |
+| `synth_stat.json`      | Post synthesis design statistics in JSON format.         |
 
 The flow completes with the message below by creating a merged final GDS file.
 
diff --git a/flow/scripts/synth.tcl b/flow/scripts/synth.tcl
index 8554f6d61c..fbe763b3c5 100644
--- a/flow/scripts/synth.tcl
+++ b/flow/scripts/synth.tcl
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ if { $::env(SYNTH_INSBUF) } {
 # Reports
 tee -o $::env(REPORTS_DIR)/synth_check.txt check
 
-tee -o $::env(REPORTS_DIR)/synth_stat.txt stat {*}$lib_args
+tee -o $::env(REPORTS_DIR)/synth_stat.json stat -json {*}$lib_args
 
 # check the design is composed exclusively of target cells, and
 # check for other problems
diff --git a/flow/util/genMetrics.py b/flow/util/genMetrics.py
index fbf746cdfc..07151a59ee 100755
--- a/flow/util/genMetrics.py
+++ b/flow/util/genMetrics.py
@@ -231,20 +231,50 @@ def extract_metrics(
     # Synthesis
     # =========================================================================
 
-    # The new format (>= 0.57) is: <count> <area> cells
-    extractTagFromFile(
-        "synth__design__instance__count__stdcell",
-        metrics_dict,
-        "^\\s+(\\d+)\\s+[-0-9.]+\\s+cells$",
-        rptPath + "/synth_stat.txt",
-    )
+    synth_stat_file = rptPath + "/synth_stat.json"
+    try:
+        with open(synth_stat_file) as f:
+            content = f.read()
+        # yosys may emit log messages (e.g. "Found gzip magic in file...")
+        # before the JSON when reading compressed liberty files. Skip them.
+        synth_stat = json.loads(content[content.index("{") :])
+        modules = synth_stat.get("modules", {})
+        # Prefer lookup by design name; yosys may prefix module names with a
+        # backslash in JSON output, so try both forms. Fall back to the last
+        # module in the output, which yosys emits last for the top-level module.
+        top_module = (
+            modules.get(design)
+            or modules.get("\\" + design)
+            or (list(modules.values())[-1] if modules else None)
+        )
+
+        num_cells = top_module.get("num_cells") if top_module else None
+        if num_cells is None:
+            print(
+                "[WARN] Tag synth__design__instance__count__stdcell not found in {}.".format(
+                    synth_stat_file
+                ),
+                "Will use N/A.",
+            )
+            metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__count__stdcell"] = "N/A"
+        else:
+            metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__count__stdcell"] = int(num_cells)
 
-    extractTagFromFile(
-        "synth__design__instance__area__stdcell",
-        metrics_dict,
-        "Chip area for (?:top )?module.*: +(\\S+)",
-        rptPath + "/synth_stat.txt",
-    )
+        area = top_module.get("area") if top_module else None
+        if area is None:
+            print(
+                "[WARN] Tag synth__design__instance__area__stdcell not found in {}.".format(
+                    synth_stat_file
+                ),
+                "Will use N/A.",
+            )
+            metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__area__stdcell"] = "N/A"
+        else:
+            metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__area__stdcell"] = float(area)
+    except (IOError, json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError):
+        print("[ERROR] Failed to open file:", synth_stat_file)
+        metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__count__stdcell"] = "ERR"
+        metrics_dict["synth__design__instance__area__stdcell"] = "ERR"
 
     # Clocks
     # =========================================================================