MeritValue

Twist Bioscience Corp

TWSTdata completeness 88%9 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Twist Bioscience Corp earns about -57% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 24% 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$132.3M1$203.6M2$245.1M3$313M3$376.6M3
Net income−$152.1M4−$217.9M5−$204.6M6−$208.7M6−$77.7M6
Operating cash flow−$112.2M7−$124.4M8−$142.5M9−$64.1M9−$47.6M9
Capital expenditure$27.1M10$101.9M11$27.8M12$5.08M12$28M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$139.3M7−$226.2M8−$170.3M9−$69.2M9−$75.6M9
Total debt$1.55M13$013———
Cash & equivalents$465.8M14$378.7M15$286.5M16$226.3M17$183M17
Diluted shares48.3M53.9M56.9M58.0M59.8M

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
$79.08
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$12.99
Free cash flow it threw off
−$12.65
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $79.08 of net worth that earned you −$12.99 and generated −$12.65 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-57% avg · 5y
FY21 -104%FY22 -44%FY23 -48%FY24 -67%FY25 -21%

It earned an average -57% 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
+24% shares · 5y

Share count is up 24% 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 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-039767 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001628280-24-048262 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001581280-25-000025 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-039767 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001628280-24-048262 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001581280-25-000025 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-039767 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001628280-24-048262 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001581280-25-000025 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-039767 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001628280-24-048262 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001581280-25-000025 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-020881 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  14. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-020881 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001628280-23-039767 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001628280-24-048262 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001581280-25-000025 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)