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Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

IONS · Healthcare · $7.0B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

No moat
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The five investor questions

33

2021–2025 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $810M to $944M, increasing; diluted EPS -0.20 to -2.38, decreasing.

100

Median gross margin 98.8% over 10y, very stable.

8

Median ROIC -16.1%, above the 12% hurdle in 22% of years.

28

Net debt/EBITDA n/ax, interest coverage -22x.

24

Owner earnings changed trend unclear over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
No price data
Not reported
Unavailable — insufficient owner-earnings data
Unavailable — insufficient growth-model data
$42.70
No price data

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 240% above the zero-growth estimate across 49 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Oct 15, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, IBEX, META, MEDP, MSFT, GOOG, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, CPRT, VEEV, RMD, GRMN, PCTY, EAT, UI, SSD, MNST, DOCS, LRCX, MCO, NTAP, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, ROL, CTAS, PAYC, IRMD, DECK, MORN, INTU, JKHY, TPR, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, LOPE

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 0% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

19 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. booked $944M of revenue in FY2025 in the Healthcare sector and kept 98.3% of it as gross profit — a high-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, −40.4% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $107M (FY2008) to $944M (FY2025) — about 13.7% a year compounded over 17 years.

It earned −16.1% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 16-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was −20.2%. Over the v3 recent window (9 measurable filed years), median ROIC was −16.1%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 8/100.

The balance sheet carried $1.8B of total debt in FY2025. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 28/100.

Put together: Pricing Power is the strongest of the five filters (100/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (8/100), which is how IONS lands at 38/100 — 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.

FY2007–FY2025 · 19 fiscal years, normalized from IONS’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$944M FY2025
$0$500M$1B2007201320192025
Revenue kept after cost of goods98.3% FY2025
0%50%100%2007201320192025
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICStandard ROIC −22.3% FY2025

Exact FY and FY-1 financing invested-capital inputs are required.

−50%0%2007201320192025
Cash an owner could take out−$381M FY2025
−$500M$02007201320192025

The explained ROIC gaps have filed inputs but no meaningful positive invested-capital denominator. Other gaps mean the item is not in the 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.

Flagship explainer

How Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. makes its money

Start with a dollar of revenue and follow what the filing says remains.

revenueBranching filed flows with values and percentages directly labeled. Missing filing concepts are omitted rather than estimated.Revenue$944M · 100%Cost of revenue$15.9M · 2%Gross profit$928M · 98%Operating income−$382M · −40%Income before tax−$380M · −40%Income tax$1.8M · 0%Net income−$381M · −40%As of 2025-12-31 · 2 SEC filing sourcesBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com

Honest partial: the filing did not provide a normalized tag for Research and development, Selling, general and administrative; those components are omitted, not plugged.

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$944M100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Cost of revenue$15.9M2%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
$928M98%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
−$382M−40%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Income before tax−$380M−40%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Income tax$1.8M0%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
−$381M−40%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

What Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. owns — and owes

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$3.5B100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Cash and equivalents$372M11%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
$1.8B50%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Stockholders’ equity$489M14%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity−71%Tax burden100%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden99%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin−40%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover0.29×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier6.06×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2025-12-31 · 3 SEC filing sourcesBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
−$381MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Income before tax−$380MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Operating income−$382MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
$944MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Ending assets$3.5BFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Beginning assets$3.0BFY2024
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-25-000089 · filed Feb 19, 2025
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
$489MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
$588MFY2024
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-25-000089 · filed Feb 19, 2025
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s cash went

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations−$269M−100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Depreciation and amortization$12.4M5%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0000874015-26-000115 · filed Feb 26, 2026
· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

1 holding0 exited17 not holding18/19 resolved1 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Tweedy, Browne2,280,311 shares$181M · 14% of eligible reported 13FAdded to position · +4,686 shares (0%)
Abrams CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Akre CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Baupost GroupNo position reportedNo position reported
Berkshire HathawayNo position reportedNo position reported
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNo position reportedNo position reported
Dodge & CoxNo position reportedNo position reported
First EagleNo position reportedNo position reported
FundsmithNo position reportedNo position reported
Gardner Russo & QuinnNo position reportedNo position reported
Gates Foundation TrustNo position reportedNo position reported
Mairs & PowerNo position reportedNo position reported
Markel / Markel-GaynerNo position reportedNo position reported
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesNo position reportedNo position reported
Polen CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNo position reportedNo position reported
Southeastern Asset ManagementNo position reportedNo position reported
Yacktman Asset ManagementNo position reportedNo position reported
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source:
37 SEC filings
  1. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000813917-26-000038 · filed May 15, 2026
  2. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000813917-26-000042 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  3. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000860643-26-000003 · filed May 13, 2026
  4. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000860643-26-000005 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  5. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000905567-26-000002 · filed May 1, 2026
  6. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000905567-26-000003 · filed Aug 11, 2026
  7. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000919574-26-003132 · filed May 15, 2026
  8. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000919574-26-005176 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  9. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001061768-26-000007 · filed May 14, 2026
  10. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001061768-26-000010 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  11. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001096343-26-000044 · filed May 1, 2026
  12. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001096343-26-000065 · filed Jul 31, 2026
  13. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-062592 · filed May 15, 2026
  14. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-097175 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  15. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001112520-26-000009 · filed May 14, 2026
  16. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001112520-26-000014 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  17. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001819 · filed May 14, 2026
  18. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001911 · filed May 14, 2026
  19. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001966 · filed May 14, 2026
  20. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-002294 · filed May 15, 2026
  21. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003035 · filed Aug 4, 2026
  22. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003402 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  23. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003496 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  24. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003728 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  25. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-208439 · filed May 6, 2026
  26. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-223352 · filed May 14, 2026
  27. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-226661 · filed May 15, 2026
  28. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-340443 · filed Aug 7, 2026
  29. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-349535 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  30. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-352200 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  31. 13F-HR/A · Q1 2026 · Amendment RESTATEMENTFiling detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000018 · filed May 14, 2026
  32. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000020 · filed Aug 5, 2026
  33. 13F-HR/A · Q2 2026 · Amendment NEW HOLDINGSFiling detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000033 · filed Aug 24, 2026
  34. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001398344-26-009296 · filed May 15, 2026
  35. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001398344-26-014641 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  36. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001569205-26-000005 · filed May 15, 2026
  37. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001569205-26-000012 · filed Aug 14, 2026
· event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Oct 15, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. insiders reported

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Oct 16, 2026.

Partial coverage: the incomplete Form 4 walk cannot establish no activity, an activity date, or zero counts.

Moat Score history

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

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale38.4 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Oct 15, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

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

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

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

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

This machine-readable surface covers SEC ownership filings from 2003; it does not represent earlier paper-era records.

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Oct 16, 2026.

Trailing-12-month totals and the 90-day cluster result are withheld because this issuer walk is incomplete.

InsiderShares owned afterDateFiling detail
BENNETT C FRANKEVP, Chief Scientific OfficerOther acquisition or disposition (J)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock110$51.306$5,64460,128Aug 31, 2026
1 filed lot
  • Table I · Common Stock: 110 shares at $51.306 · code J · owned after 60,128 ·
O'NEIL PATRICK R.EVP CLO & General CounselOther acquisition or disposition (J)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock63$51.306$3,23259,205Aug 31, 2026
1 filed lot
  • Table I · Common Stock: 63 shares at $51.306 · code J · owned after 59,205 ·
Monia Brett PDirector, Chief Executive OfficerOther acquisition or disposition (J)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock98$51.306$5,028242,760Aug 31, 2026
1 filed lot
  • Table I · Common Stock: 98 shares at $51.306 · code J · owned after 242,760 ·
Birchler BrianEVP, Corp and Development OpsOther acquisition or disposition (J)Table I · Acquired · Common Stock58$51.306$2,976102,883Aug 31, 2026
1 filed lot
  • Table I · Common Stock: 58 shares at $51.306 · code J · owned after 102,883 ·

Source-event as of . Retrieved .

Track record

How Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2011–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored IONS on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score1002005001,000Indexed price · log scale (2012 = 100)201120142017202020232026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the reconstructed history shown, IONS did not rate Wide-moat in any year, so there is no wide-moat track record to report. That absence is itself the honest answer — we don’t manufacture a comparison where the rating never earned one.

Healthcare context

#392 of 708 scored Healthcare companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #390NVNO enVVeno Medical Corp38.5No moat
  2. #391TNGX Tango Therapeutics, Inc.38.5No moat
  3. #393HRTX HERON THERAPEUTICS, INC. /DE/38.3No moat
  4. #394OPCH OPTION CARE HEALTH, INC.38.3No moat

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

Common questions about IONS

Does Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IONS) 38.4 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 33, pricing power 100, returns on capital 8, balance-sheet safety 28, capital allocation 24.
How has IONS's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 27 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 38.4 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell IONS. See the disclaimer.