CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) — Fundamental Analysis
Data sourced from SEC 10-K and 10-Q filings. Annual figures cover fiscal years ending 2023–2025; the most recent quarterly data covers Q1 2026 (period ending March 31, 2026).
Snapshot & Big Picture
CRISPR Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene-editing biotech built around the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. Its most visible milestone was the landmark FDA approval of Casgevy (exa-cel), a functional cure for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, developed in partnership with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Beyond that, the company maintains a pipeline spanning oncology (CAR-T cell therapies), cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Like most pre-commercial-scale biotechs, CRSP is still largely in a cash-spending phase — revenue is small and lumpy, driven primarily by collaboration milestones rather than product royalties at scale, and losses remain substantial.
Latest Quarter Snapshot (Q1 2026 — Most Current Data)
The table below reflects the most recent available financial data, for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, filed May 4, 2026. This is more current than the annual figures and should be treated as the freshest read on the business.
| Metric | Q1 2026 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,458,000 |
| EBITDA | -$125,929,000 |
| Gross Margin | Not available in filings |
| Operating Margin | -8,933% |
| Net Margin | -8,431% |
| Current Ratio | 17.96x |
| Debt-to-Equity | 0.50x |
Q1 2026 revenue of just $1.46 million is extremely thin, reflecting the absence of any large collaboration milestone payments during the quarter. The operating and net margin percentages appear alarming in isolation, but they are a mathematical artifact of near-zero revenue against a roughly $126 million quarterly operating cost base — a common dynamic for clinical-stage biotechs. Notably, the debt-to-equity ratio jumped to 0.50x from 0.16–0.18x in recent annual periods, a trend worth monitoring in subsequent filings.
Profitability — Multi-Year Annual Trend
The table below shows annual figures from the 10-K filings for fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Operating Margin | Net Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $371,206,000 | -$202,701,000 | -0.60% | -0.41% |
| 2024 | $37,314,000 | -$447,307,000 | -1,250% | -982% |
| 2025 | $3,510,000 | -$645,092,000 | -18,934% | -16,570% |
Trend: Declining. The revenue picture tells an important story. In 2023, CRSP recognized $371 million — a large figure driven by collaboration milestone payments tied to the Casgevy approval and partnership terms with Vertex. Since then, revenue has collapsed: $37.3 million in 2024 and just $3.5 million in 2025. Meanwhile, EBITDA losses have widened significantly, from -$203 million in 2023 to -$645 million in 2025. This reflects the company continuing to invest heavily in its pipeline (R&D spend, clinical trials, infrastructure) at a time when large one-time milestone payments are no longer flowing in. Gross margin data was not available in the filings for any of the three years. The extreme margin percentages for 2024 and 2025 are, again, a mathematical result of very small revenue denominators — the underlying dollar losses are what matter most here.
Financial Health
| Period | Current Ratio | Debt-to-Equity |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2023 | 17.54x | 0.18x |
| FY 2024 | 22.07x | 0.16x |
| FY 2025 | 13.32x | 0.18x |
| Q1 2026 | 17.96x | 0.50x |
Despite widening operating losses, CRSP's balance sheet has remained a relative strength. Current ratios consistently above 13x — and as high as 22x — indicate the company holds significant liquid assets relative to near-term obligations, giving it a substantial cash runway. This is typical for biotechs that raise capital ahead of commercial milestones. However, the debt-to-equity ratio's jump to 0.50x in Q1 2026 (from a stable 0.16–0.18x range across 2023–2025) is a notable shift that warrants attention in upcoming filings to determine whether this reflects new borrowings, equity erosion, or both.
Growth
Revenue growth for CRSP cannot be evaluated in a traditional sense. The company's top line is not driven by recurring product sales at scale but by lumpy, event-driven collaboration payments. The 2023 revenue spike was exceptional, tied to Casgevy's approval. The sharp declines in 2024 and 2025 — and the minimal Q1 2026 revenue of $1.46 million — reflect the absence of comparable milestone triggers, not a deterioration in the underlying business per se. True commercial growth will become measurable only as Casgevy patient uptake scales (with Vertex as the commercializing partner) and as CRSP's own pipeline programs advance toward potential approval and royalty/milestone triggers. Until then, investors are effectively betting on pipeline execution and future milestone events.
Plain English Summary
CRISPR Therapeutics is a biotech company that helped create one of the world's first approved gene-editing medicines (Casgevy, for sickle cell disease), but it is still in early commercial territory and is spending far more money than it brings in. Its revenue is tiny and unpredictable — it spiked in 2023 when a big partnership payment came through, then fell sharply in 2024 and 2025 when those one-time payments dried up. Losses have grown wider each year, hitting $645 million in EBITDA terms in 2025. The good news is the company appears to be sitting on a healthy cash cushion — its current ratio (a measure of short-term financial safety) has stayed very high, meaning it likely has enough liquid assets to keep the lights on and fund research for some time. The recent jump in debt-to-equity in Q1 2026 is a flag to watch. In short, CRSP is a high-risk, high-potential-reward story: the science is real and validated, but investors are being asked to fund an expensive pipeline with no guarantee of when — or whether — the next major revenue catalyst will arrive.
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