MeritValue

TALPHERA, INC.

TLPHdata completeness 75%20 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

TALPHERA, INC. earns about -39% on equity, but has diluted owners by 608% 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$2.82M1$02$651,0003$04$28,0004
Net income−$35.1M5$47.8M6−$18.4M7−$13M8−$14.3M8
Operating cash flow−$30M9−$28.3M10−$17.5M11−$12.7M12−$11.4M12
Capital expenditure$1.83M13$364,00014$100,00015$015—
Free cash flow (derived)−$31.8M9−$28.7M10−$17.6M11−$12.7M12—
Total debt$27.6M16$11.1M16$017——
Cash & equivalents$7.66M18$15.3M19$5.72M20$8.86M21$5.89M21
Diluted shares6.0M7.4M14.3M25.8M42.4M

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
$4.02
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.37
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $4.02 of net worth that earned you −$3.37 last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-39% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 219%FY23 -130%FY24 -163%FY25 -84%

It earned an average -39% 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
+608% shares · 5y

Share count is up 608% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-010250 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-009387 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-010250 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-009387 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-010250 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-009387 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-010250 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008737 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006849 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-010250 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-009387 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)