MeritValue

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.

ATRAdata completeness 88%13 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. earns about -327% on invested capital, and has bought back 86% of its shares over 5 years. 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—$63.6M1$8.57M2$128.9M3$120.8M3
Net income−$340.1M4−$228.3M5−$276.1M6−$85.4M7$32.7M7
Operating cash flow−$220.5M8−$270.4M9−$193M10−$68.7M11−$50.9M11
Capital expenditure$10.6M12$4.19M13$1.22M14$246,00015$015
Free cash flow (derived)−$231.1M8−$274.6M9−$194.2M10−$69M11−$50.9M11
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$106.1M16$92.9M17$25.8M18$25M19$8.48M19
Diluted shares93.7M102.0M4.2M7.5M12.7M

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
−$30.27
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$25.7
Free cash flow it threw off
−$40.05
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$30.27 of net worth that earned you $25.7 and generated −$40.05 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-327% avg · 5y
FY21 -155%FY22 -534%FY23 -292%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -327% 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
−86% shares · 5y

Share count is down 86% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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
book value / share count missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-037644 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035507 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108361 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-002185 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-037644 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035507 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108361 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-002185 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-037644 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035507 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108361 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-002185 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-037644 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035507 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108361 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-002185 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-037644 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035507 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108361 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)