MeritValue

Zymeworks Inc.

ZYMEdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file

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

The thesis, from the filings

Zymeworks Inc. earns about -62% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 45% 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$26.7M1$412.5M2$76M3$76.3M3$106M3
Net income−$211.8M4$124.3M5−$118.7M6−$122.7M6−$81.1M6
Operating cash flow−$192.5M7$144.1M8−$118.3M9−$110.1M9−$33M9
Capital expenditure$12.4M10$8.15M11$2.47M12$1.99M12$1.52M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$204.9M7$136M8−$120.8M9−$112M9−$34.5M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$201.9M13$400.9M14$157.6M15$66.1M16$41.2M16
Diluted shares52.1M65.2M68.9M75.9M75.4M

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
$35.6
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$10.76
Free cash flow it threw off
−$4.58
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $35.6 of net worth that earned you −$10.76 and generated −$4.58 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-62% avg · 5y
FY21 -355%FY22 135%FY23 -31%FY24 -34%FY25 -28%

It earned an average -62% 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
+45% shares · 5y

Share count is up 45% 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001937653-24-000019 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001937653-25-000014 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001937653-26-000015 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001937653-24-000019 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001937653-25-000014 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001937653-26-000015 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001937653-24-000019 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001937653-25-000014 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001937653-26-000015 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001937653-24-000019 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001937653-25-000014 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001937653-26-000015 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001937653-23-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001937653-24-000019 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001937653-25-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001937653-26-000015 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)