MeritValue

Verastem, Inc.

VSTMdata completeness 75%15 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Verastem, Inc. earns about -189% on equity, but has diluted owners by 377% 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$2.05M1$2.6M2—$10M2$30.9M3
Net income−$71.2M4−$73.8M5−$87.4M6−$130.6M6−$209.5M6
Operating cash flow−$53.5M7−$63.7M8−$86.5M9−$104.8M9−$137.5M9
Capital expenditure$196,00010——$28,00011—
Free cash flow (derived)−$53.7M7——−$104.8M9—
Total debt—$24.5M12$40.1M13$40.7M14—
Cash & equivalents$21.3M15$74.9M16$77.9M17$88.8M18$205M18
Diluted shares14.5M16.1M22.1M35.7M69.3M

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
$8.25
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$30.22
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $8.25 of net worth that earned you −$30.22 last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-189% avg · 5y
FY21 -81%FY22 -156%FY23 -152%FY24 —FY25 -366%

It earned an average -189% 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
+377% shares · 5y

Share count is up 377% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 66% 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 0001558370-23-003738 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003372 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003250 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003372 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003250 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003372 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003250 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003250 (LongTermDebt)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003372 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003738 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-003250 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003372 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-023444 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)