MeritValue

LISATA THERAPEUTICS, INC.

LSTAdata completeness 88%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

LISATA THERAPEUTICS, INC. earns about -90% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 136% 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$1M3$170,0003
Net income−$27.5M4−$54.2M5−$20.8M6−$20M7−$16.6M7
Operating cash flow−$22.2M8−$21.2M9−$20M10−$19.4M11−$15.9M11
Capital expenditure$60,00012$285,00013$013$014$28,00014
Free cash flow (derived)−$22.3M8−$21.5M9−$20M10−$19.4M11−$16M11
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$24.6M15$32.2M16$22.6M17$16.2M18$16M18
Diluted shares3.7M5.2M8.1M8.3M8.7M

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
$17.1
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$19.09
Free cash flow it threw off
−$18.39
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $17.1 of net worth that earned you −$19.09 and generated −$18.39 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-90% avg · 5y
FY21 -34%FY22 -130%FY23 -72%FY24 -123%FY25 —

It earned an average -90% 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
+136% shares · 5y

Share count is up 136% 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 2022-12-31 · accession 0000320017-24-000007 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000320017-25-000011 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000320017-26-000023 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000320017-23-000011 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000320017-24-000007 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000320017-25-000011 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000320017-26-000023 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000320017-23-000011 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000320017-24-000007 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000320017-25-000011 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000320017-26-000023 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000320017-23-000011 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000320017-24-000007 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000320017-26-000023 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000320017-23-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000320017-24-000007 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000320017-25-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000320017-26-000023 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)