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what it is
Aquestive makes drugs easier to take, mainly by turning injections or hard-to-swallow pills into oral films.
how it gets paid
Last year Aquestive Therapeutics made $45M in revenue. Licensed products and royalties were the main engine at $18M, or 40% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 22.6% last year. $32M matters because it is big against a $45M annual revenue base.
what just happened
Revenue jumped to $32M, but the business still lost money and full-year EPS landed at -$0.51.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
-$0.51 fy2024 eps est
$58M fy2024 rev est
~-159% operating margin (deep loss vs sales)
xvary composite: 34/100 — weak
What they do
Aquestive makes drugs easier to take, mainly by turning injections or hard-to-swallow pills into oral films.
The edge is delivery. Aquestive already has 5 commercialized products, which means this is not a science-fair platform with a logo. PharmFilm (drug delivery tech → medicine in a thin dissolvable strip → easier for patients to use) matters because if your product is simpler to take, doctors and patients have one less reason to say no.
How they make money
$45M
annual revenue · their business grew -22.6% last year
licensed products and royalties
$18M
flat
manufacturing and supply revenue
$12M
dn
sympazan proprietary product
$8M
dn
research and development services
$5M
up
other commercial products
$2M
flat
The products that matter
sublingual epinephrine film
Anaphylm
$1B+ market opportunity
it targets a $1B+ severe-allergy market, but the FDA rejected it on Feb 2, 2026 over packaging. That makes this less a launch story than a resubmission story.
q3 2026 resubmission
drug delivery platform
PharmFilm
60.3% gross margin
this is the underlying film technology behind the company's commercial and partnership strategy. A 60.3% gross margin says the format works economically even if the business has not scaled yet.
platform value
Key numbers
-159.5%
operating margin
Margin is negative— you lose more than a dollar at the operating line per dollar of sales. A positive 159.5% here would be a feed sign error.
$45M
annual revenue
That is the current size of the business, and it fell 22.6% Vs. last year according to EDGAR.
$120M
long-term debt
Debt is 2.7x annual revenue, which leaves less room for regulatory mistakes.
37%
one-day drop
That January 2026 decline shows you exactly how violently this stock trades when the FDA says no.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $120M (20% of capital)
C++ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for AQST right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue jumped to $32M, but the business still lost money and full-year EPS landed at -$0.51.
EDGAR shows quarterly revenue of $32M, up 146% vs. last year. AQST's 2024 quarterly EPS line ended with a -$0.19 fourth quarter and a -$0.51 full-year loss, so the income statement still looks like a biotech waiting room.
$32M
quarter revenue
-$0.51
full-year EPS
60.3%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$32M matters because it is big against a $45M annual revenue base, which tells you results are still lumpy rather than stable.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is another delay or complication in the Anaphylm resubmission. This company is trying to support a $491M market cap and an 11.6x sales multiple while its lead product is still outside the market.
med
Anaphylm stays stuck at the FDA
The FDA rejected Anaphylm on Feb 2, 2026 because of packaging. Management now points to a Q3 2026 resubmission.
Every quarter of delay pushes out access to a $1B+ market and keeps AQST dependent on a much smaller existing revenue base.
med
the current business is too small for the valuation
Revenue in the feed is ~$45M trailing with street estimates nearer ~$58M— either way the operating business is small next to ~$491M market value, and net margins in the feed are deeply negative.
If the market stops paying for pipeline optionality, the stock gets repriced against today's business instead of tomorrow's story.
med
legal overhang keeps pressure on sentiment
The securities fraud class action came after a 37% one-day stock drop, with a lead plaintiff deadline of May 4, 2026.
This does not directly change the science, but it can raise credibility costs at the exact moment the company needs investor patience.
med
thin finances magnify every mistake
A C++ balance sheet, $120M of long-term debt, and 5/100 price stability leave little cushion if timelines stretch.
This is the kind of setup where one missed milestone can matter more than one decent quarter.
If Anaphylm keeps slipping, investors are left valuing a company guided to ~$46M–$50M of 2026 revenue while the income statement still carries heavy losses. That math gets uncomfortable quickly.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Anaphylm NDA resubmission
Management reaffirmed a Q3 2026 resubmission. That is the calendar date the whole stock bends around.
metric
2026 revenue guidance
The company expects $46M–$50M of 2026 revenue versus $44.55M in 2025. You want to see that base business hold while regulators work through Anaphylm.
risk
class action timeline
The lead plaintiff deadline is May 4, 2026. It is not the core thesis, but it adds noise during a period when trust already matters.
trend
manufacturing versus product sales
Manufacturing & Supply generated $24.9M while Product Sales generated $20.1M. If that mix does not evolve, AQST remains more platform than product company.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
Low predictability means quarterly results can swing around. In human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to print clean, steady numbers yet.
street target
$9.00 median
That is about 52% above the current $5.91 price. In human-speak, the street still sees upside if the FDA path gets repaired.
beta
1.6
Beta measures how much a stock moves relative to the market. In human-speak, AQST usually amplifies the market's mood rather than damping it.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for AQST is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$6
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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