MeritValue

ESTABLISHMENT LABS HOLDINGS INC.

ESTAdata completeness 100%9 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

ESTABLISHMENT LABS HOLDINGS INC. earns about -34% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 24% 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$126.7M1$161.7M2$165.2M3$166M3$211.1M3
Net income−$41.1M4−$75.2M5−$78.5M6−$84.6M6−$51.1M6
Operating cash flow−$27.5M7−$52.2M8−$88.5M9−$58.5M9−$50.9M9
Capital expenditure$2.43M10$2.85M11$7.91M12$6.11M12$6.05M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$30M7−$55M8−$96.4M9−$64.6M9−$56.9M9
Total debt—$175.5M13$188.7M14$219.6M15$247.5M15
Cash & equivalents$53.4M16$66.4M17$40M18$90.3M19$75.6M19
Diluted shares24.0M24.5M25.6M28.2M29.6M

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
$7.95
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$17.24
Free cash flow it threw off
−$19.22
Debt you’d be carrying
$83.57

10 shares is a claim on $7.95 of net worth that earned you −$17.24 and generated −$19.22 of cash last year, against $83.57 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-34% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -48%FY23 -30%FY24 -37%FY25 -23%

It earned an average -34% 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
+24% shares · 5y

Share count is up 24% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 41% over the same window.

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 0001688757-24-000034 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001688757-24-000034 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001688757-24-000034 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001688757-24-000034 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-24-000034 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001688757-24-000034 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001688757-25-000019 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001688757-26-000022 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)