MeritValue

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

ZNTLdata completeness 88%7 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'; no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. earns about -50% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 68% 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—$01$02$67.4M2$02
Net income−$158.7M3−$236.8M4−$292.2M5−$165.8M5−$137.1M5
Operating cash flow−$154.1M6−$163.8M7−$207.8M8−$170.9M8−$125.2M8
Capital expenditure$6.11M9$2.55M10$583,00011$221,00011$011
Free cash flow (derived)−$160.2M6−$166.3M7−$208.4M8−$171.1M8−$125.2M8
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$59.7M12$43.1M13$28M14$33.9M14$36M14
Diluted shares42.7M52.9M65.4M71.1M71.9M

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
$30.08
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$19.07
Free cash flow it threw off
−$17.43
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $30.08 of net worth that earned you −$19.07 and generated −$17.43 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-50% avg · 5y
FY21 -43%FY22 -48%FY23 -57%FY24 -43%FY25 -60%

It earned an average -50% 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
+68% shares · 5y

Share count is up 68% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

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 2022-12-31 · accession 0001725160-25-000067 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001725160-26-000014 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001725160-24-000080 (NetIncomeLoss)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001725160-25-000067 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001725160-26-000014 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001725160-24-000080 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001725160-25-000067 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001725160-26-000014 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001725160-24-000080 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001725160-25-000067 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001725160-26-000014 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001725160-24-000080 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001725160-25-000067 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001725160-26-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)