MeritValue

PLIANT THERAPEUTICS, INC.

PLRXdata completeness 100%7 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

PLIANT THERAPEUTICS, INC. earns about -55% on equity, but has diluted owners by 71% 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$7.57M1$9.69M2$1.58M2$03$03
Net income−$97.3M4−$123.3M5−$161.3M5−$210.3M6−$149.3M6
Operating cash flow−$75.4M7−$94.6M8−$116.4M8−$155.5M9−$128.3M9
Capital expenditure$1.95M10$1.76M11$921,00011$3.85M12$374,00012
Free cash flow (derived)−$77.4M7−$96.4M8−$117.3M8−$159.4M9−$128.7M9
Total debt$013$9.93M14$10.1M15$30.2M16$016
Cash & equivalents$51.7M17$33.7M18$63.2M19$71.2M20$45.4M20
Diluted shares35.8M42.0M58.7M60.5M61.4M

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
$29.53
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$24.34
Free cash flow it threw off
−$20.97
Debt you’d be carrying
$0

10 shares is a claim on $29.53 of net worth that earned you −$24.34 and generated −$20.97 of cash last year, against $0 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-55% avg · 5y
FY21 -49%FY22 -39%FY23 -34%FY24 -69%FY25 -82%

It earned an average -55% 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
+71% shares · 5y

Share count is up 71% 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-23-000008 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (LongTermDebt)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (LongTermDebt)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001746473-23-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001746473-24-000043 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001746473-25-000054 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001746473-26-000037 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)