Owner Scorecard


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CBLL, CeriBell Inc.

Medical Devices & Equipment consumer brand UnprofitableDistress / turnaroundNet current asset value

We are a medical technology company focused on transforming the diagnosis and management of patients with serious neurological conditions.

We have developed the Ceribell System, a novel, point-of-care EEG platform specifically designed to address the unmet needs of patients in the acute care setting.

By combining proprietary, highly portable, and rapidly deployable hardware with sophisticated artificial intelligence ("AI")-powered algorithms, the Ceribell System enables rapid diagnosis and continuous monitoring of patients with neurological conditions.

Latest annual: FY2025 10-K
CBLL · CeriBell Inc.
I

The business

What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.

Revenue · FY2025
$89M
+36.1% YoY
Vital signs · TTM, with 3-yr average
Revenue $95M 3-yr avg $67M
Gross margin 88% 3-yr avg 86%
Operating margin −68.3% 3-yr avg −64.2%
ROIC −44% 3-yr avg −113%
Owner-earnings margin −52% 3-yr avg −56%
Free cash flow margin −52% 3-yr avg −56%

The business in brief

read the 10-K →

What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.

What it is
Revenue is Products (76%) and Subscription (24%).
Situation
Unprofitable. No sustained operating profit across the record; an earnings multiple has nothing to rest on. What the record does show is revenue, the gross-margin trajectory, and the burn against the cash on hand. Distress / turnaround. Thin interest coverage, or operating cash burned against real debt, across the record. The balance sheet carries this situation; the debt schedule sets the clock. Net current asset value. Current assets alone exceed every liability combined, and the surplus is most of the balance sheet: the shape Graham called a net-net.
What moves the needle
Operating margin has run around −66% through the cycle on a 87% gross margin, the operating line in the red even at its best — so the lever is whether the spending below the gross line can come down enough to clear a profit: revenue growth against the cost curve, and the cash runway until it does. Stock-based pay runs about 8.3% of sales, a real and recurring claim on owners that the GAAP margin understates. Read this kind of business on the installed base and what follows it. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on pricing power & competition, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.

Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.

Where the money comes from

read the 10-K →

Products is 76% of revenue, with Subscription the other meaningful line at 24%.

Revenue by product line, FY2025
  • Products76%$67M
  • Subscription24%$22M

From the segment footnote of the company's own 10-K. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.

II

The record

Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.

The record, 2023–2025

realized figures from each filing · older years to the left
2023’232024’242025’25TTMTTMMar 2026
Income statement
$45M$65M$89M$95MRevenueRevenue
84%87%88%88%Gross marginGross mgn
45%52%50%52%SG&A / revenueSG&A/rev
20%21%21%22%R&D / revenueR&D/rev
($30M)($40M)($58M)($65M)Operating incomeOp. inc.
−66.4%−60.7%−65.6%−68.3%Operating marginOp. mgn
($29M)($40M)($53M)($60M)Net incomeNet inc.
Cash flow & returns
($29M)($35M)($41M)($49M)Operating cash flowOp. cash
$847K$1M$1M$1MDepreciationDeprec.
($3M)($1M)($960K)($3M)Working capital & otherWC & other
$983K$1M$767K$744KCapexCapex
2.2%2.0%0.9%0.8%Capex / revenueCapex/rev
($30M)($36M)($42M)($49M)Owner earningsOwner earn.
−66.6%−55.6%−46.7%−52.0%Owner earnings marginOE mgn
($30M)($36M)($42M)($49M)Free cash flowFCF
−66.6%−55.6%−46.7%−52.0%Free cash flow marginFCF mgn
-192%-34%-44%ROICROIC
-21%-34%-43%Return on equityROE
−21%−34%−43%Retained to equityRetained/eq
Balance sheet
$34M$194M$159M$141MCash & investmentsCash+inv
$8M$11M$15M$16MReceivablesReceiv.
$6M$7M$7M$7MInventoryInvent.
$732K$1M$3M$2MAccounts payablePayables
$13M$17M$20M$21MOperating working capitalOper. WC
$52M$217M$187M$169MCurrent assetsCur. assets
$22M$13M$19M$16MCurrent liabilitiesCur. liab.
2.4×16.7×9.7×10.4×Current ratioCurr. ratio
$59M$225M$196M$178MTotal assetsAssets
$12M$20M$20M$20MTotal debtDebt
($23M)($175M)($139M)($121M)Net debt / (cash)Net debt
-14.3×-19.9×-30.9×-35.0×Interest coverageInt. cov.
($112M)$191M$155M$141MShareholders’ equityEquity
5.9%8.3%13.7%14.3%Stock comp / revenueSBC/rev
Per share
5.3M11.9M36.5M37.7MShares out (diluted)Shares
$8.53$5.48$2.44$2.52Revenue / shareRev/sh
$-5.56$-3.39$-1.46$-1.60EPS (diluted)EPS
$-5.68$-3.04$-1.14$-1.31Owner earnings / shareOE/sh
$-5.68$-3.04$-1.14$-1.31Free cash flow / shareFCF/sh
$0.19$0.11$0.02$0.02Cap. spending / shareCapex/sh
$-21.16$16.00$4.25$3.74Book value / shareBVPS

The diluted share count moved ×2.25 into 2024 — shares issued, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.

The diluted share count moved ×3.06 into 2025 — shares issued, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.

The year, in the company's words

the filing →

Verbatim from the 10-K's management discussion. Each sentence is shown only because its subject, direction, and stated figures check out against the filed numbers on this page. The words are the company's; the arithmetic is the record's.

  • Revenue+36.1%
    “Sales and Marketing Expenses Sales and marketing expenses increased $24.0 million, or 49%, for fiscal year 2025, compared to fiscal year 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in personnel and related expenses directly associated with an increase in headcount and commissions.”
    ✓ figure matches the filed record
  • Subscription+41.4%
    “Subscription cost of revenue for fiscal year 2025 increased $0.2 million, or 36%, compared to fiscal year 2024. The increase in subscription cost of revenue was primarily due to increased hosting costs for new active accounts for subscriptions and incremental recorder depreciation associated with new subscriptions. 81 Gross Profit and Gross Margin The following table sets forth our gross profit and gross margin for the periods presented (in thousands, except percentages).”
    ✓ direction matches the filed record

The record, charted

FY2023–2025

Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.

Share count
37Mpeak FY2025
Gross margin
88%low FY2023

Owner earnings vs. net income

Owner earningsNet income

The accountant's number, and the cash an owner can take; the gap is the tell.

($42M)owner earningsvs.($53M)net incomelow FY2025

Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.

In fiscal 2025 the business turned a $53M loss into ($42M) of owner earnings: more cash than the profit line showed, after the non-cash charges and the capital it put back in.

FY2025FY2024FY2023
Reported net income($53M)($40M)($29M)
Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back+$1M+$1M+$847K
Stock-based compensationreal costnon-cash, but a real cost+$12M+$5M+$3M
Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items−$960K−$1M−$3M
Cash from operations($41M)($35M)($29M)
Capital expenditurecash put back in to keep running and to grow−$767K−$1M−$983K
Owner earnings($42M)($36M)($30M)
Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue-47%-56%-67%

Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position . The cash-flow statement also adds stock comp back as non-cash, but it is a real cost paid in shares; counted as the expense it is (less $12M), owner earnings is nearer ($54M).

Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.

III

Quality & stewardship

Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.

Owner’s Scorecard

FY2025 10-K · source on SEC EDGAR →

Will it survive?

  • Does not cover its interest
    Operating income ($58M) ÷ interest expense $2M
    What this means

    A full year of operating profit didn't cover the interest bill. This is the zombie zone: the business depends on refinancing, asset sales, or forbearance to service its debt.

  • Net cash
    Cash $40M + ST investments $119M − debt $20M
    What this means

    Cash and short-term investments exceed every dollar of debt by $139M, on net the company owes nothing, and can act from strength when others can't. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.

  • Long (60+ days)
    DSO 62 + DIO 247 − DPO 96 days
    What this means

    Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. Lower is better; a long cycle means growth itself eats cash.

Is it a good business?

  • Below average
    NOPAT ($46M) ÷ invested capital $135M (debt + equity − cash)
    Industry peers: median -22%
    What this means

    The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.

  • Consumes cash through the cycle
    3-yr median margin, range -67%–-47%; latest ($42M) = operating cash ($41M) − maintenance capex $767K
    Industry peers: median -42%
    What this means

    What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's -47% of revenue this year, a -56% median across 3 years. Treating stock comp as the real expense it is (less $12M of SBC) leaves ($54M).

  • Loss, and burning cash
    Net income ($53M) · cash from operations ($41M)
    What this means

    The company reported a net loss, so a conversion ratio isn't meaningful. What matters then is whether operations still threw off cash, here, they did not.

How is the cash used?

  • Not enough data
    What this means

    The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.

  • Investing or harvesting? 0.57×
    Harvesting
    Capex $767K ÷ depreciation $1M
    What this means

    Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.

Graham’s defensive tests · 2 of 3 met

Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.

  • Adequate size Miss
    Revenue ≥ $2B · $89M
    What this means

    Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.

  • Strong liquidity Pass
    Current ratio ≥ 2× · 9.73×
    What this means

    Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.

  • Conservative debt Pass
    Debt ≤ working capital · $20M vs $168M WC
    What this means

    Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.

  • Moderate price
    P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
    What this means

    Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $-1.08/share (latest year $-1.41), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $4.09/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.

Does AI threaten the moat?

Low contestability

The moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.

In its own filing Named as a competitive risk

Its FY2025 10-K names artificial intelligence as a competitive threat.

“For us to remain competitive, it is essential to be at the forefront of new technologies, including in the rapidly evolving area of AI.”

AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat, and the company is using it that way.

Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.

All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.

Current Position

as of the latest quarter, Mar 31, 2026

Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.

Current assets$169M
  • Cash & short-term investments$141M
  • Receivables$16M
  • Inventory$7M
  • Other current assets$5M
Current liabilities$16M
  • Accounts payable$2M
  • Other current liabilities$14M
Current ratio10.44×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio10.01×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio8.72×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital$153Mthe cushion left after near-term bills
Cash runway2.9 yrsthe business is consuming cash; this is how long the cash on hand lasts at that rate
Revenue, latest quarter vs. a year ago+29.3%the freshest read on whether the business is still growing
Current ratio, recent quarters2.7× → 10.4×
Deeper floors
Tangible book value$141Mequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset value$132MGraham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leases$2M$2M of it operating leases
Deferred revenue$88Kcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float

From the company's latest filing.

Management, ownership & pay

read the proxy →

From the proxy: how much of the business the people running it own, and how they are paid.

  • Insider ownership17.7%

    The stake all directors and executive officers hold together, per the 2026 proxy: skin in the game, the first thing Munger reads.

  • Stock-based compensation$12M

    The slice of the business handed to employees in shares this year, 14% of revenue. Buffett's oldest accounting fight: this is compensation, compensation is an expense, real whether or not the headline earnings admit it. One trap: the cash-flow statement adds SBC back, so the operating cash, and the owner earnings drawn from it, are flattered by exactly this amount; counted as the cost it is, what an owner keeps is lower.

What an owner would ask, FY2025

read the 10-K →
  • Which reported numbers are a judgment call?
    Management names Revenue recognition, Stock compensation as critical estimates

    each rests partly on management's judgment; the filing's note sets out the assumptionsverify →

The questions the record and the charts do not answer on their own; each carries the figure and the place to look.

Peers, Medical Devices & Equipment

The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.

CompanyRevenueGross marginOp. marginROICOwner earn. margin
AXGNAxogen Inc.$225M81%-19.9%-17%-13%
SIBNSI-BONE Inc.$201M88%-36.2%-21%-38%
BBNXBeta Bionics Inc.$100M55%-71.5%-22%-76%
NPCENeuropace Inc.$100M74%-36.6%-32%-42%
CBLLCeriBell Inc.$89M87%-65.6%-34%-56%
DCTHDelcath Systems Inc.$85M81%-690.0%-127%-640%
ELMDElectromed Inc.$64M77%10.8%11%7%
CLPTClearPoint Neuro Inc.$37M63%-75.4%-228%-65%
Group median79%-51.1%-27%-49%
IV

The price

What a price has to assume.

What the price implies

reverse-DCF

CeriBell Inc. is profitable, but owner earnings are negative this year because capital spending currently outruns operating cash, a build-out, so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no positive base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the steady-state profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.

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The assumptions

Enter a price to run it.

Owner earnings it must reach
Margin the price demands
Owner-earnings margin today−52%

Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.

Cite: Owner Scorecard, "CeriBell Inc. (CBLL), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/CBLL, data as of 2026-07-09.

Manual order: ← CBL its page in the Manual CBNK →

Industry order: ← BWAY the Medical Devices & Equipment chapter CDRE →