MeritValue

TELA Bio, Inc.

TELAdata completeness 100%9 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

TELA Bio, Inc. earns about -112% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 224% 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$29.5M1$41.4M2$58.5M3$69.3M3$80.3M3
Net income−$33.3M4−$44.3M5−$46.7M6−$37.8M6−$38.8M6
Operating cash flow−$30.4M7−$40.7M8−$40.9M9−$41.6M9−$28.2M9
Capital expenditure$627,00010$872,00011$611,00012$989,00012$448,00012
Free cash flow (derived)−$31.1M7−$41.6M8−$41.5M9−$42.6M9−$28.7M9
Total debt$31.5M13$79.8M14$81M15$82.2M16$55.7M16
Cash & equivalents$43.9M17$42M18$46.7M19$52.7M20$50.8M20
Diluted shares14.5M16.3M22.9M28.5M46.9M

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
$1.34
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$8.27
Free cash flow it threw off
−$6.11
Debt you’d be carrying
$11.85

10 shares is a claim on $1.34 of net worth that earned you −$8.27 and generated −$6.11 of cash last year, against $11.85 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-112% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -61%FY23 -62%FY24 -52%FY25 -274%

It earned an average -112% 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
+224% shares · 5y

Share count is up 224% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 77% over the same window.

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 0001558370-24-003782 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003782 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003782 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003782 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-004468 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003782 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-004468 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003782 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003460 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034507 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)