MeritValue

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc.

LENZdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file

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

The thesis, from the filings

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. earns about -24% on equity, with a roughly flat share count. 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$19.1M1
Net income−$70.8M2−$101.1M3−$70M4−$49.8M5−$82.1M5
Operating cash flow−$52.9M6−$88M7−$60.4M8−$59.4M9−$69.2M9
Capital expenditure$5.74M10$6.59M11$30,00012$468,00013$827,00013
Free cash flow (derived)−$58.6M6−$94.6M7−$60.4M8−$59.9M9−$70M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$377M14$47.7M15$35.1M16$20.2M17$25.2M17
Diluted shares28.9M54.9M2.0M21.3M28.8M

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
$98.68
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$28.5
Free cash flow it threw off
−$24.29
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $98.68 of net worth that earned you −$28.5 and generated −$24.29 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-24% avg · 5y
FY21 -18%FY22 —FY23 —FY24 -24%FY25 -29%

It earned an average -24% 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
−0% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback.

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 0001815776-26-000011 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008764 (NetIncomeLoss)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021135 (NetIncomeLoss)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001815776-25-000019 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001815776-26-000011 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008764 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021135 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001815776-25-000019 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001815776-26-000011 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008764 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021135 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001815776-25-000019 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001815776-26-000011 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008764 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021135 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001815776-25-000019 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001815776-26-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)