MeritValue

Design Therapeutics, Inc.

DSGNdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'; no data for concept 'interestExpense'; no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

Design Therapeutics, Inc. earns about -21% on equity, but has diluted owners by 25% 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———$01$02
Net income−$35.5M3−$63.3M4−$66.9M5−$49.6M6−$69.8M6
Operating cash flow−$29.4M7−$51.3M8−$58.6M9−$43.1M10−$54.4M10
Capital expenditure$1.54M11$918,00012$256,00013$340,00014$193,00014
Free cash flow (derived)−$30.9M7−$52.2M8−$58.8M9−$43.4M10−$54.6M10
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$298.6M15$26.5M16$21.2M17$22.6M18$16.9M18
Diluted shares45.9M55.7M56.0M56.6M57.3M

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
$37.07
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$12.17
Free cash flow it threw off
−$9.52
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $37.07 of net worth that earned you −$12.17 and generated −$9.52 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-21% avg · 5y
FY21 -9%FY22 -19%FY23 -24%FY24 -20%FY25 -33%

It earned an average -21% 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
+25% shares · 5y

Share count is up 25% 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 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035910 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-098491 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007869 (NetIncomeLoss)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-033492 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035910 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-098491 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007869 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-033492 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035910 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-098491 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007869 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-033492 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035910 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-098491 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007869 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-033492 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035910 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-098491 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)