MeritValue

SPRUCE BIOSCIENCES, INC.

SPRBdata completeness 88%7 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

SPRUCE BIOSCIENCES, INC. earns about -89% on equity, and has bought back 97% 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—$01$10.1M2$4.91M3$03
Net income−$42.3M4−$46.2M5−$47.9M6−$53M7−$39M7
Operating cash flow−$35.9M8−$41.7M9−$33.3M10−$56M11−$33.3M11
Capital expenditure$93,00012$8,00013$7,00014$014—
Free cash flow (derived)−$36M8−$41.7M9−$33.3M10−$56M11—
Total debt$9.76M15$10.6M16$7.05M17$3.59M18$018
Cash & equivalents$42.7M19$24.5M20$96.3M21$38.8M22$48.9M22
Diluted shares23.4M23.5M38.5M550,146766,598

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
$554.61
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$508.3
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$0

10 shares is a claim on $554.61 of net worth that earned you −$508.3 last year, against $0 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-89% avg · 5y
FY21 -38%FY22 -67%FY23 -63%FY24 -184%FY25 -92%

It earned an average -89% 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
−97% shares · 5y

Share count is down 97% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 100% — deleveraging.

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 0000950170-24-032819 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-097558 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008456 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032819 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-097558 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008456 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032819 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-097558 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008456 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032819 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008456 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032819 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-097558 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008456 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032819 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053945 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-097558 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)