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The Moat Index

ARDELYX, INC.

ARDX · Healthcare · $1.3B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

39/ 100
No moat

The four filters

Pricing power96

Median gross margin 88.6% over 9y, very stable.

Returns on capital0

Median ROIC -80.6%, above the 9% hurdle in 0% of years.

Balance-sheet safety28

Net debt/EBITDA n/ax, interest coverage -2x.

Capital discipline24

Owner earnings trend unclear, share count growing (dilution).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
No price data
Owner earnings (normalized)
—
Est. intrinsic value / share
—
Recent price
$5.20
Discount to value
No price data

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

15 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

ARDELYX, INC. booked $407.3M of revenue in FY2025 in the Healthcare sector and kept 90.3% of it as gross profit — a high-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, −15.1% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $5.4M (FY2012) to $407.3M (FY2025) — about 39.4% a year compounded over 13 years.

It earned −10.7% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of −80.7% across 11 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 0/100.

The balance sheet carried $202.8M of total debt in FY2025. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 28/100.

The share count rose 19839.2% between FY2013 and FY2025 — existing owners have been diluted over the record. Capital Discipline scores it 24/100.

Put together: Pricing Power is the strongest of the four filters (96/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (0/100), which is how ARDX lands at 39/100 — a None moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2011–FY2025 · 15 fiscal years, normalized from ARDX’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$407.3M FY2025
$0$200M$400M2011201620212025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods90.3% FY2025
0%50%100%2011201620212025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed−10.7% FY2025
−1000%−500%0%2011201620212025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out−$60.0M FY2025
−$100M$02011201620212025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in ARDX’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale39.2 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — ARDX has read No moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Healthcare context

#258 of 440 scored Healthcare companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #256APYX APYX MEDICAL CORPORATION39.5No moat
  2. #257ARQT ARCUTIS BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC.39.4No moat
  3. #259LH LABCORP HOLDINGS INC.39.1No moat
  4. #260CTSO CYTOSORBENTS CORPORATION39.1No moat

Compare ARDX with its nearest peers →All Healthcare companies on the Index →

Common questions about ARDX

Does ARDELYX, INC. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores ARDELYX, INC. (ARDX) 39.2 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 96, returns on capital 0, balance-sheet safety 28, capital discipline 24.
How has ARDX's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 39.2 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell ARDX. See the disclaimer.

ARDELYX, INC. (ARDX) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett