MeritValue

VACCINEX, INC.

VCNXdata completeness 100%8 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

VACCINEX, INC. earns about -342% on equity, and has bought back 91% 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 2020FY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024
Revenue$625,0001$900,0002$275,0003$570,0004$601,0004
Net income−$28.9M5−$22.4M5−$19.8M6−$20.3M7−$18.6M7
Operating cash flow−$28.6M8−$25.3M9−$19.1M10−$21.4M11−$16.2M11
Capital expenditure$290,00012$32,00013$99,00014$67,00015$22,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$28.9M8−$25.3M9−$19.2M10−$21.4M11−$16.2M11
Total debt$1.13M16$249,00017$175,00018$101,00019$25,00019
Cash & equivalents$10.6M20$8.59M21$6.39M22$1.54M23$1.11M23
Diluted shares22.4M28.8M202,082463,6532.1M

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
−$11.85
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$88.78
Free cash flow it threw off
−$77.22
Debt you’d be carrying
$0.12

10 shares is a claim on −$11.85 of net worth that earned you −$88.78 and generated −$77.22 of cash last year, against $0.12 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-342% avg · 5y
FY20 —FY21 -302%FY22 -382%FY23 —FY24 —

It earned an average -342% 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
−91% shares · 5y

Share count is down 91% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 98% — 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 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-011354 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-011354 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-011354 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-011354 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-012778 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-011354 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-048163 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-054318 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)