MeritValue

Caribou Biosciences, Inc.

CRBUdata completeness 88%7 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Caribou Biosciences, Inc. earns about -50% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 195% 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$9.6M1$13.9M2$34.5M3$9.99M4$11.2M4
Net income−$66.9M5−$99.4M6−$102.1M7−$149.1M8−$148.1M8
Operating cash flow−$32.5M9−$91M10−$93.3M11−$138.2M12−$111M12
Capital expenditure$2.12M13$6.45M14$11.6M15$4.88M16$1.36M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$34.6M9−$97.4M10−$104.9M11−$143.1M12−$112.4M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$240.4M17$58.3M18$51.2M19$16.3M20$12.4M20
Diluted shares31.7M60.8M73.8M90.3M93.4M

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
$13.08
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$15.86
Free cash flow it threw off
−$12.03
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $13.08 of net worth that earned you −$15.86 and generated −$12.03 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-50% avg · 5y
FY21 -36%FY22 -32%FY23 -25%FY24 -50%FY25 -107%

It earned an average -50% 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
+195% shares · 5y

Share count is up 195% 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 0001619856-23-000037 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001619856-24-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001619856-25-000015 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001619856-26-000008 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001619856-23-000037 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001619856-24-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001619856-25-000015 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001619856-26-000008 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001619856-23-000037 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001619856-24-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001619856-25-000015 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001619856-26-000008 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001619856-23-000037 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001619856-24-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001619856-25-000015 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001619856-26-000008 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001619856-23-000037 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001619856-24-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001619856-25-000015 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001619856-26-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)