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HCW Biologics Inc. (HCWB)

NASDAQ / Healthcare / Biotechnology

Share price

1.23 USD Market dataClose of Oct 15, 2026

Market capitalisation

427.6K USD Market dataClose of Oct 15, 2026
Market data
Oct 15, 2026
Filed accounts
FY2025, filed Mar 31, 2026
Ratios computed
Oct 15, 2026
Filed years
6, FY2020 to FY2025
Four kinds of sourceSEC filingCompany statementMarket dataComputedWhat each means
SEC filingFiled with the SEC
Read from a statement the company filed with the SEC, with the form, fiscal year, filing date and accession beside it.
Company statementCompany statement
What the company says about itself in a filing: an 8-K item, the auditor, its own segment names.
Market dataMarket data
Prices, market value and what analysts publish, with the date they are as of.
ComputedComputed by ValueScreener
Worked out by us from the other three, with the inputs and the formula one press away. A score is a research output, not a rating or a recommendation.
Reading

1 of 10

Overview

What the business is, what it costs, and how it reads on four questions.

Market dataSEC filingComputed

Four questions, at a glance

Quality

Return on invested capital, after tax

-172.7% Computed

From the FY2025 filing

Read quality

Valuation

Price to book

0.15x Computed

FY2025 accounts, priced at the latest close

Read valuation

Cash generation

Free cash flow yield

n/m Computed

FY2025 accounts, priced at the latest close

Why n/m

Not meaningful for this company, such as a P/E on negative earnings or a bank's EV/EBIT.

Read cash generation

Revenue and net income, by fiscal year

FY2019 Net income: -7.3M USDFY2020 Revenue: 4.1M USDFY2020 Net income: -5.8M USDFY2021 Revenue: 0.00 USDFY2021 Net income: -12.9M USDFY2022 Revenue: 6.7M USDFY2022 Net income: -14.9M USDFY2023 Revenue: 2.8M USDFY2023 Net income: -25.0M USDFY2024 Revenue: 2.6M USDFY2024 Net income: -30.0M USDFY2025 Revenue: 54.2K USDFY2025 Net income: -8.0M USD
Revenue Net income7 fiscal years; a year whose statement names no SEC filing is market data, and the table in Filings says which.
Named tests met
1 of 30 Which tests
The business, and the score behind its five axes

The reading, in brief

Is it good

Return on invested capital was -172.7% in FY2025, in the band labelled "Likely below the cost of capital" (below 8.0%), on lines anchored on Damodaran's cost-of-capital data, suggesting returns below the usual cost of the capital employed.

Today, against the Biotechnology industry (78 companies), -172.7% sits at the 20th percentile; the middle half of that group runs from -124.0% to -4.0%.

Is it safe

Debt to equity was 2.46 in FY2025, in the band labelled "Heavily leveraged" (2.00 and above), on lines anchored on Graham's defensive-investor criteria, suggesting heavy reliance on borrowing.

Today, against the Biotechnology industry (252 companies), 2.46 sits at the 95th percentile; the middle half of that group runs from 0.01 to 0.29.

Year by year against peers
Whether HCW Biologics Inc.'s gross margin stayed above the median of the Biotechnology industry, year by year. (FY2022 to FY2025, 4 fiscal years of HCW Biologics Inc. with a comparable figure)
The direction
Which way HCW Biologics Inc.'s current ratio has moved, and how steadily. (FY2019 to FY2025, 7 filed years of HCW Biologics Inc.)
What could explain it
What in HCW Biologics Inc.'s filed statements could explain the movements. (8 readings drawn from the statement lines HCW Biologics Inc. filed)
What to check next
What to check next on HCW Biologics Inc., and where in its filings. (9 questions for HCW Biologics Inc.)
In one paragraph
One paragraph on HCW Biologics Inc.'s returns, cash, balance sheet and price. (10 of sixteen figures read for HCW Biologics Inc.)

These are HCWB’s filed figures. The research desk says what they mean, against peers and its own years, with what to check next.

Research HCWBPart of Serious. New accounts start with 30 days of Professional, free, no card.

2 of 10

What changed

The newest filing, what it moved, and when the next one is due.

SEC filingCompany statement

The newest accounts on file are the FY2025 annual report: 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, accession 0001193125-26-134934.

3 of 10

Quality

The returns the business earns on its capital, and the margins behind them.

SEC filingComputed

HCW Biologics Inc: returns on capital and margins, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Return on invested capital, after tax-172.7% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Return on equity-287.9% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Return on capital employed, pre-tax-380.7% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Return on assets-32.5% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Gross margin20.0% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Operating margin-24270.7% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Net margin-14677.1% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
HCWB -14677.1%
ASBP -394725.1%LNAI -6852.0%BRTX -3959.4%JUNS -39662.8%ONCO -1721.0%
-394725.1%-1721.0%
Net margin: HCWB against the 5 companies named under Valuation context, each as filed for its own latest year. Placement only: no average is drawn.

4 of 10

Financial strength

What it owes against what it owns, and whether it can meet what falls due.

SEC filingComputedCompany statement

HCW Biologics Inc: leverage, liquidity and distress, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Debt to equity2.46 ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Current ratio0.11 ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Quick ratio0.11 ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Interest coverage
Why n/m

Operating income is zero or below, so there is no operating profit to cover the interest bill and coverage is not meaningful (n/m).

n/m ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Altman Z-score-8.87 ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Net debt4.9M ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Total assets 24.5MTotal liabilities 21.8MShareholders' equity 2.8MOwnsOwes, and equity
Total assets Total liabilities Shareholders’ equity
The balance sheet, line by line

Financial health

What HCW Biologics Inc owned and owed at the end of fiscal 2025, from the balance sheet it filed (10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934).

HCW Biologics Inc: balance sheet position
Total assets24.5M FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026
Total liabilities21.8M FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026
Shareholders' equity2.8M FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026
Cash2.0M FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026
Total debt6.8M FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026
Net debt4.9M
Current ratio0.11
Debt to equity2.46
  • Interest cover: FY2025: Operating income is zero or below, so there is no operating profit to cover the interest bill and coverage is not meaningful (n/m).

Read from the filed balance sheet for each year, with the income statement of the same year supplying operating profit where a ratio needs it. Nothing here is a view on whether this company is sound.

5 of 10

Valuation context

What the market charges for it, against its own record and companies like it.

Market dataSEC filingComputed

HCW Biologics Inc: what the market charges, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Price to earnings
Why n/m

Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.

n/m ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
P/E on trailing twelve months
Why n/a

Fewer than twenty trading days carry a meaningful trailing price to earnings ratio, so no range is stated.

n/a ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · Trailing four quarters, each as known on the day; the quarterly filings are listed under Filings
Price to book0.15x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Price to sales7.88x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Enterprise value to EBIT
Why n/a

We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.

n/a ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Enterprise value to EBITDA
Why n/m

EBITDA is zero or negative, so a multiple of it is not meaningful.

n/m ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Price to earnings over growth
Why n/m

Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.

n/m ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Diluted earnings per share-63.78 USD FiledFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Graham number
Why n/m

Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.

n/m ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934

We publish no fair value or price target of our own. Value HCWB on your own assumptions in the DCF workbench, starting from the filed figures.

Its own record, and companies like it

Valuation

What the market charges for HCW Biologics Inc today, and the multiples it has carried. No value of ours: the figures are the filings’ and the market’s.

HCW Biologics Inc: valuation
Share price1.23 USD
Market capitalisation427.6K USD
Enterprise value to EBITDAn/m
Graham numbern/m
Diluted earnings per share, FY2025-63.78 USD

Diluted earnings per share, FY2025: -10.63 as filed, -63.78 after the 1-for-6 split on 30 Jun 2026.

Price to earnings on trailing twelve months: Fewer than twenty trading days carry a meaningful trailing price to earnings ratio, so no range is stated.

Companies like HCW Biologics Inc

  1. Aspire Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (ASBP)Market cap 996.8K USD
  2. Lunai Bioworks Inc. (LNAI)Market cap 3.7M USD
  3. BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. (BRTX)Market cap 2.0M USD
  4. Jupiter Neurosciences, Inc. (JUNS)Market cap 4.1M USD
  5. Onconetix, Inc. (ONCO)Market cap 2.0M USD

Same industry (Biotechnology) and size band (Nano, under 50M), nearest in market value, net margin and current ratio. Each of those counts equally, by how many of the companies considered sit between the two on it. Closest first: the order is likeness and nothing else.

6 of 10

Cash generation

Whether profit arrives as cash, and what is paid back to shareholders.

SEC filingComputed

HCW Biologics Inc: cash generation and what is paid out, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Free cash flow yield
Why n/m

Not meaningful for this company, such as a P/E on negative earnings or a bank's EV/EBIT.

n/m ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Free cash flow-13.4M USD ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Free cash flow margin-24693.2% ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Dividend yield
Why n/a

We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.

n/a ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Payout ratio
Why n/a

We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.

n/a ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
FY2019 Free cash flow: -8.2M USDFY2019 Net income: -7.3M USDFY2020 Free cash flow: -10.6M USDFY2020 Net income: -5.8M USDFY2021 Free cash flow: -11.0M USDFY2021 Net income: -12.9M USDFY2022 Free cash flow: -20.7M USDFY2022 Net income: -14.9M USDFY2023 Free cash flow: -28.7M USDFY2023 Net income: -25.0M USDFY2024 Free cash flow: -14.5M USDFY2024 Net income: -30.0M USDFY2025 Free cash flow: -13.4M USDFY2025 Net income: -8.0M USD
Free cash flow Net incomeProfit that arrives as cash stands level with net income; a gap year after year is worth reading about.

7 of 10

Filings

Every figure, the year it is for and the document it was read from.

SEC filingMarket data

The filed figures

Computed from the accounts this company filed with the SEC and, in a ratio with a price in it, the last close, dated on this page. Every filed figure below carries the fiscal year and the filing date its accounts were read from, and every blank carries the reason it is blank. Nothing here is a view on this company.

HCW Biologics Inc.: the eight ratios, with the fiscal year and filing date behind each.
FigureValueYearAs of
n/mFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/m Not meaningful for this company, such as a P/E on negative earnings or a bank's EV/EBIT.
0.15xFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/aFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/a Operating profit is zero or negative, so there is no profit for a buyer's price to be a multiple of.
n/mFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/m Not meaningful for this company, such as a P/E on negative earnings or a bank's EV/EBIT.
-172.7%FY2025Mar 31, 2026
n/aFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/a The filed cash flow statement reports no dividend paid at all. That is not the same as a filed zero, and we will not read it as one.
2.46FY2025Mar 31, 2026
0.11FY2025Mar 31, 2026
7.88xFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/mFY2025Oct 15, 2026
n/m Not meaningful for this company, such as a P/E on negative earnings or a bank's EV/EBIT.
-8.87FY2025Oct 15, 2026
-9.02FY2025Mar 31, 2026
2/9FY2025Mar 31, 2026

The figures are computed from the accounts for fiscal 2025, the newest full year on file. 6 filed fiscal years on record, FY2020 to FY2025, from SEC EDGAR. Prices as of Oct 15, 2026. Ratios recomputed Oct 15, 2026. Two facts, because a recompute is not a fresh quote.

The year and the filing date name the statement each figure’s accounts are read from, and they stand even where the figure itself could not be computed: the line beneath a blank says what that statement did not carry. A figure’s name opens its formula and the filings behind it; a statement that names no SEC filing has no filing date, and reads n/a.

Ten years of filed figures, year by year

Ten years of filed figures

7 fiscal years, FY2019 to FY2025. 6 read from the annual reports HCW Biologics Inc filed with the SEC, each naming its filing; the rest from statements that name none, which are market data. Amounts in USD, as reported.

HCW Biologics Inc: revenue, earnings, free cash flow and returns, by fiscal year, with the filing each year was read from
YearRevenueOperating incomeNet incomeEPS, dilutedFree cash flowOperating marginReturn on equityFiling
FY202554.2K-13.2M-8.0M-63.78-13.4M-24270.7%-287.9%10-K, Mar 31, 20260001193125-26-134934
FY20242.6M-29.5M-30.0M-185.76-14.5M-1147.6%n/m10-K, Mar 28, 20250000950170-25-046724
FY20232.8M-25.7M-25.0M-168.00-28.7M-905.0%-185.7%10-K, Apr 1, 20240000950170-24-039384
FY20226.7M-15.1M-14.9M-100.80-20.7M-224.3%-39.8%10-K, Mar 28, 20230000950170-23-010315
FY20210.00-13.4M-12.9M-165.60-11.0Mn/m-25.1%10-K, Mar 29, 20220000950170-22-004847
FY20204.1M-5.8M-5.8M-357.60-10.6M-142.1%n/m10-K, Mar 29, 20220000950170-22-004847
FY2019n/a-7.4M-7.3Mn/a-8.2Mn/a-81.0%Market data, supplied Oct 15, 2026accession n/a
  • Revenue, compound annual growth FY2020 to FY2025: -57.9%
  • Earnings: Earnings was not positive in both 2019 and 2025, so a compound rate across the window is not defined. Both figures are in the table.
  • Earnings per share: Earnings per share was not positive in both 2020 and 2025, so a compound rate across the window is not defined. Both figures are in the table.
  • Free cash flow: Free cash flow was not positive in both 2019 and 2025, so a compound rate across the window is not defined. Both figures are in the table.

Every figure in this section is a line of a filed annual statement or a ratio of two of them. Nothing here is estimated or smoothed. Earnings per share filed before a share split are put on today's share count, and say so. Nothing here is a verdict on the company.

8 of 10

Risks and guardrails

The accounting screens, the published tests, and the lines you can set to be told.

ComputedCompany statement

HCW Biologics Inc: accounting screens and published tests, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Beneish M-score-9.02 ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Piotroski F-score2/9 ComputedFY2025 10-K, filed Mar 31, 2026, 0001193125-26-134934
Named tests met1 of 30 Computed
Beta2.60 ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026

The named tests

Of 30 tests value investors published: 1 met, 25 not met, 4 we could not complete. Counts, never a score: a single figure would have to decide that meeting one investor’s criteria and meeting another’s are worth the same.

Which tests, by name(all 30)
Meets
Cheapest quarter on P/B (David Dreman)
Does not
Defensive investor (Benjamin Graham); Deep value; Large cap, low P/E; Earnings yield and ROIC (Joel Greenblatt); High F-score, low P/B (Joseph Piotroski); Three forensic scores; Low PEG, low debt (Peter Lynch); High returns and growth; Gross margin, turnover (Robert Novy-Marx); EV/EBITDA and coverage; High yield, low payout; Dividends and buybacks; Low beta, profitable; ROIC at or above WACC; Near the 52-week low; Z-score and coverage (Edward Altman); Two thirds of NCAV (Benjamin Graham); High returns, low debt; Owner earnings yield; High return on tangibles; Low P/S, rising earnings (James O'Shaughnessy); Book or below, low debt (Walter Schloss); Tangible book or below; Cash-flow yield and ROIC; Clean books, high ROIC
Not measured
P/E times P/B (Benjamin Graham); Cash-covered dividend; Cheapest quarter on P/E (David Dreman); Low P/E, growth, yield (John Neff). A test with a figure we could not read is incomplete, never met and never failed.
Figures we could not read(12)
  • P/E Ratio: Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.
  • EV/EBIT: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.
  • PEG Ratio: Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.
  • Eps Growth 5Y: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.
  • Asset Turnover: The stored figure is a zero that can stand for data we do not hold, so this test is not measured.
  • EV/EBITDA: EBITDA is zero or negative, so a multiple of it is not meaningful.
  • Interest Coverage: Operating income is zero or below, so there is no operating profit to cover the interest bill and coverage is not meaningful (n/m).
  • Dividend Yield: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.
  • Payout Ratio: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.
  • Price To Graham: Earnings are zero or negative, so a price to earnings multiple is not meaningful. A negative P/E is not a cheap company and a large positive one from a near-zero denominator is not an expensive one.
  • Dividend Coverage Ratio: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.
  • Dividend Streak: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.

9 of 10

Declared positions

Whether anybody here owns this company.

Positions declared by the founder: no holding in any company shown here, as of October 3, 2026.

10 of 10

Next step

What to do with what you have read.

A thesis is your reason for owning it, in your words, with the figures that must stay true. Checking those figures every night against the newest filed accounts, and telling you once when one breaks, is what the subscription adds.

More on this company

What this cannot tell you

  • 12 figures could not be read on this company, among them P/E Ratio, EV/EBIT, PEG Ratio. Each blank in the table above names the rest, with its reason. 4 named tests come back incomplete because of them, which is neither met nor missed.
  • We hold 6 filed fiscal years rather than 10, so the run above is shorter than a full decade and is counted as what it is.

And the one that is true of all of it: This is what the numbers say today. It cannot tell you the day one of them stops being true. Nothing here can, because the reasons are not written down.

Running this once is arithmetic on public documents and you are welcome to it. Writing down why you own each company, in your own words and with the numbers that have to stay true for it to hold, and then having those numbers re-checked every night against the newest filed accounts, and against the latest close where a rule watches a price, is Professional, the plan a new account starts on for 30 days, one trial per person. It writes to you the day one breaks, and stays quiet when nothing does. The check runs every night at 23:30 UTC. A filing is picked up the night after it is published.

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ValueScreener · valuescreener.ai · Computed from accounts filed with the SEC by this company, read from EDGAR, and from dated closing prices. On this page a filed figure opens into its formula, its inputs and the statement, fiscal year and filing date it was read from, and a price into the day of its close. A figure that cannot show that trail says so.

A computation on accounts filed with the SEC, not a recommendation and not advice. Past filings do not indicate future results. Risk disclaimer.

Margin Notes

Once a week, what changed in the filings of US-listed companies, why it can matter to a thesis, and what deserves a closer review. Grounded in filings, not market noise.

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