Start here if you're new
what it is
Apellis sells drugs for rare blood and eye diseases, while trying to turn one approved science platform into multiple products.
how it gets paid
Last year Apellis Pharm made $1.0B in revenue. SYFOVRE was the main engine at $0.78B, or 78% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 28.5% last year. Quarterly revenue was $199.9M, while annual revenue still reached $1.0B, up 28.5% vs. prior year.
what just happened
Apellis posted a quarterly EPS loss of $0.47, missing the $0.25 loss estimate by 88.0%.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
50/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
xvary composite: 51/100 — below average
-$1.45 fy2026 eps est
$1B fy2028 rev est
What they do
Apellis sells drugs for rare blood and eye diseases, while trying to turn one approved science platform into multiple products.
Apellis goes after the complement system, which is immune-system plumbing most drugmakers do not touch. Plain English: it blocks C3, an upstream protein, so one mechanism can feed several diseases. So what: you are not betting on one pill in one market, but on a platform that already produced two approved products and $1.0 billion in annual revenue.
How they make money
$1.0B
annual revenue · their business grew +28.5% last year
SYFOVRE
$0.78B
+45.0%
EMPAVELI
$0.20B
+10.0%
Partner and collaboration revenue
$0.01B
flat
Royalties and other
$0.01B
flat
The products that matter
commercial drug asset
empaveli
about 22% of sales
This is the asset the current page keeps circling back to. It currently accounts for about 22% of sales, and the July filing with Sobi aims to expand its label into two autoimmune kidney diseases in patients 12 and older.
current revenue base
partner economics
sobi payment
$275M upfront cash
This is not a product, but it mattered more than any product number in the quarter. It made results look much stronger; without it, revenue would have been $183.6M and EPS would have shown a $0.38 loss.
one-time, not recurring
future growth engine
clinical pipeline
two kidney-disease targets
The page is thin on pipeline detail, which is its own signal. You need more than a good quarter headline here. You need new indications, trial progress, and approvals that widen the revenue base beyond today's cleaner run-rate.
execution watch
Key numbers
$42
18-month target
That sits 71% above $24.56. Plain English: the upside case is large, but only if launches stop wobbling.
$361M
long-term debt
Debt equals 10% of capital. Plain English: the balance sheet is not the main problem. Execution is.
5.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: Apellis is barely over the line even with $1.0B in revenue.
$18-$66
target range
That is a 196% spread versus today's $24.56. Plain English: this stock trades like certainty is still on backorder.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $361M (10% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in APLS 3 years ago → it's now worth $4,690.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Apellis posted a quarterly EPS loss of $0.47, missing the $0.25 loss estimate by 88.0%.
Quarterly revenue was $199.9M, while annual revenue still reached $1.0B, up 28.5% vs. prior year. That is the quiet part: sales are real, but earnings still swing around like the business has not decided what mood it is in.
$199.9M
revenue
-$0.47
eps
88.0%
vs estimate
the number that mattered
The 88.0% miss mattered most because it tells you revenue growth alone is not enough when investors still do not trust the earnings line.
-
although apellis posted outsized 2025 third-quarter sales and earnings, the stock price fell.
-
on the face of it, this seems counterintuitive.but digging a little deeper, we discover that a huge portion of those sales comprised a $275 million upfront payment from swedish marketing partner sobi (more below). absent this payment, the top and bottom lines would have been $183.6 million, and a loss of $0.38 a share.
-
this accounts for the stock price drop.
-
the company is trying to get sales of empaveli off the ground.
-
currently, this treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemogloburia generates about 22% of sales.in july, apellis and sobi applied to the fda to expand empaveli’s labeling to treat two autoimmune kidney diseases in patients 12 years and older.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
Apellis's biggest threat is not demand. It is execution with no margin for error.
high
earnings still messy
Apellis is selling real product, but profits still whip around. Quarterly EPS went from $1.67 in 2025 Q3 to -$0.25 in 2025 Q4, and the latest reported result missed consensus by 88.0%.
A slide back to the $18 low end of the 18-month range would cut $6.56 a share, or 27%, from $24.56.
high
empaveli ramp risk
Management is still trying to get EMPAVELI sales off the ground, according to the company summary. If your second product stalls, the whole 'platform' story starts looking like one launch carrying the building.
A weaker ramp threatens the $1.0B revenue outlook for 2028.
med
violent stock swings
Price stability is 5 out of 100, which is almost performance art. Beta is 1.1, but the target range matters more here: the stock's own expected band is wider than many companies' entire market caps.
The $18 to $66 18-month range is a $48 spread, equal to 196% of the current $24.56 price.
The business has approved drugs and $1.0 billion of revenue, but you are still underwriting volatility more than consistency.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
regulatory
The kidney-disease label expansion decision
Watch the July filing path for two autoimmune kidney diseases in patients 12 and older. New labels are the cleanest way to widen the revenue base.
revenue quality
Whether growth holds without another one-time payment
The market already told you what it thinks of payment-assisted beats. The next quarter needs cleaner operating momentum, not just prettier accounting optics.
pipeline
Evidence that the story is bigger than one asset
Track clinical and commercial progress that reduces dependence on one drug and one partner check. That is how this stops trading like a fragile biotech narrative.
Analyst rankings
momentum
average
momentum score 3 — the stock is moving with the broader market, not leading it
stability
below average
stability score 4 — this is more volatile than most stocks, which fits the 5 / 100 price stability read
technical
bottom 5%
technical score 5 — the chart is weak, and the market wants proof before it pays up again
earnings predictability
50 / 100
Expect surprises. In human-speak: quarterly numbers are harder to trust at first glance, so quality of revenue matters even more
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 150 buyers vs. 118 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$18
$66
$25
current price
$42
target midpoint · +71% from current · 3-5yr high: $35 (+45% · 9% ann'l return)
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