MeritValue

Clene Inc.

CLNNdata completeness 100%7 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Clene Inc. earns about -457% on equity, and has bought back 84% 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$723,0001$473,0001$654,0002$342,0003$200,0003
Net income−$9.74M4−$29.9M5−$49.5M6−$39.4M7−$26.2M7
Operating cash flow−$34.6M8−$39M9−$30.2M10−$21.3M11−$18.5M11
Capital expenditure$1.33M12$5.18M13$330,00014$15,00015$39,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$36M8−$44.2M9−$30.5M10−$21.3M11−$18.6M11
Total debt————$17.8M16
Cash & equivalents$50.3M17$18.3M18$28.8M19$12.2M20$5.19M20
Diluted shares61.6M65.2M5.2M7.0M9.9M

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
−$17.84
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$26.55
Free cash flow it threw off
−$18.85
Debt you’d be carrying
$18.04

10 shares is a claim on −$17.84 of net worth that earned you −$26.55 and generated −$18.85 of cash last year, against $18.04 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-457% avg · 5y
FY21 -77%FY22 -924%FY23 -370%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -457% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−84% shares · 5y

Share count is down 84% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has held roughly steady.

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 0001437749-23-006264 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-008956 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006264 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007542 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-008956 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006264 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007542 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-008956 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006264 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007542 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-008956 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (LongTermDebt)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006264 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007542 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-008956 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008502 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)