MeritValue

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.

ACRSdata completeness 88%13 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. earns about -58% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 116% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$6.76M1$29.8M1$31.2M2$18.7M3$7.83M3
Net income−$90.9M4−$86.9M4−$88.5M5−$132.1M6−$64.9M6
Operating cash flow−$52.1M7−$67.6M7−$78.3M8−$20.1M9−$47.1M9
Capital expenditure$308,00010$605,00010$1.31M11$121,00012$111,00012
Free cash flow (derived)−$52.4M7−$68.2M7−$79.6M8−$20.2M9−$47.2M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$27.3M13$45.3M14$39.9M15$24.6M16$20M16
Diluted shares56.7M65.2M69.8M77.3M122.6M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$8.41
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$5.3
Free cash flow it threw off
−$3.85
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $8.41 of net worth that earned you −$5.3 and generated −$3.85 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-58% avg · 5y
FY21 -42%FY22 -45%FY23 -60%FY24 -80%FY25 -62%

It earned an average -58% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+116% shares · 5y

Share count is up 116% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001753 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001819 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-020540 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001753 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001819 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-020540 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001753 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001819 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-020540 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001753 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001819 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-020540 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-001829 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001753 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001819 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-020540 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)