MeritValue

STANDARD BIOTOOLS INC.

LABdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

STANDARD BIOTOOLS INC. earns about -40% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 404% 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$130.6M1$97.9M2$106.3M3$91M3$85.3M3
Net income−$59.2M4−$190.1M5−$74.7M6−$138.9M6−$74.9M6
Operating cash flow−$44.1M7−$89.4M8−$43.3M9−$143.5M9−$74.3M9
Capital expenditure$13.3M10$3.83M11$2.83M12$8.36M12$8.3M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$57.3M7−$93.2M8−$46.1M9−$151.8M9−$82.6M9
Total debt—$64.9M13$63.5M14$299,00014—
Cash & equivalents$28.5M15$81.3M16$51.7M17$166.7M18$120.9M18
Diluted shares75.8M78.3M79.2M353.2M381.6M

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
$11.12
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$1.96
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.17
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $11.12 of net worth that earned you −$1.96 and generated −$2.17 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-40% avg · 5y
FY21 -71%FY22 —FY23 —FY24 -23%FY25 -25%

It earned an average -40% 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
+404% shares · 5y

Share count is up 404% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 100% — deleveraging.

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 0001162194-23-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108326 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001162194-23-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108326 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001162194-23-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108326 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001162194-23-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108326 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023845 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001162194-23-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023845 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-036608 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-108326 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)