MeritValue

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.

VRCAdata completeness 100%9 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. earns about -145% on equity, and has bought back 61% 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$12M1$9.03M2$5.12M3$7.57M3$35.6M4
Net income−$35.1M5−$24.5M6−$67M7−$76.6M8−$17.9M8
Operating cash flow−$27.6M9−$18.7M10−$38.6M11−$60.9M12−$17.6M12
Capital expenditure$883,00013$302,00014$362,00015$27,00016$016
Free cash flow (derived)−$28.5M9−$19M10−$38.9M11−$61M12−$17.6M12
Total debt$41.7M17$018$42.9M19$43.9M20$020
Cash & equivalents$15.8M21$34.3M22$69.5M23$46.3M24$30.1M24
Diluted shares27.0M34.2M45.3M5.2M10.7M

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
$23.23
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$16.79
Free cash flow it threw off
−$16.55
Debt you’d be carrying
$0

10 shares is a claim on $23.23 of net worth that earned you −$16.79 and generated −$16.55 of cash last year, against $0 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-145% avg · 5y
FY21 -108%FY22 -61%FY23 -339%FY24 —FY25 -72%

It earned an average -145% 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
−61% shares · 5y

Share count is down 61% 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (Revenues)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006118 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022659 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-037172 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001660334-26-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)