MeritValue

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.

RNACdata completeness 88%12 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. earns about -38% on equity, and has bought back 77% 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$85.1M1$110.8M1$26M2$38.3M3$400,0003
Net income−$25.7M4$35.4M4−$219.7M5−$77.4M6−$130.3M6
Operating cash flow−$60.4M7−$31.6M7−$51.2M8−$23.7M9−$73.9M9
Capital expenditure$1.09M10$1.2M10$206,00011$9.09M12$5.45M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$61.5M7−$32.8M7−$51.4M8−$32.8M9−$79.4M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$114.1M13$106.4M13$76.9M14$212.6M15$125.1M15
Diluted shares114.3M145.9M5.2M17.4M26.0M

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
−$48.6
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$50.17
Free cash flow it threw off
−$30.57
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$48.6 of net worth that earned you −$50.17 and generated −$30.57 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-38% avg · 5y
FY21 -114%FY22 38%FY23 —FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -38% 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
−77% shares · 5y

Share count is down 77% 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 0001453687-24-000036 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453687-25-000060 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001453687-26-000064 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453687-24-000036 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453687-25-000060 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001453687-26-000064 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453687-24-000036 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453687-25-000060 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001453687-26-000064 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453687-24-000036 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453687-25-000060 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001453687-26-000064 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453687-24-000036 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453687-25-000060 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001453687-26-000064 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)