MeritValue

NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS

NKTRdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS earns about -228% on invested capital, and has bought back 91% of its shares over 5 years. 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$101.9M1$92.1M1$90.1M2$98.4M3$55.2M3
Net income−$523.8M4−$368.2M4−$276.1M5−$119M6−$164.1M6
Operating cash flow−$412.7M7−$304M7−$192.6M8−$175.7M9−$208.5M9
Capital expenditure$15M10$5.68M10$865,00011$1.47M12$171,00012
Free cash flow (derived)−$427.6M7−$309.7M7−$193.5M8−$177.2M9−$208.7M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$25.2M13$88.2M14$35.3M15$44.3M16$15.1M16
Diluted shares183.3M187.1M190.0M13.7M16.9M

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
$53.25
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$97.25
Free cash flow it threw off
−$123.69
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $53.25 of net worth that earned you −$97.25 and generated −$123.69 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-228% avg · 5y
FY21 -63%FY22 -104%FY23 -228%FY24 -571%FY25 -174%

It earned an average -228% 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
−91% shares · 5y

Share count is down 91% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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 0000950170-24-026249 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-039389 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-104547 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-026249 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-039389 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-104547 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-026249 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-039389 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-104547 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-026249 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-039389 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-104547 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000906709-23-000004 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-026249 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-039389 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-104547 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)