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what it is
Spero is a tiny biotech trying to turn an antibiotic pill into a real business before cash burn does the opposite.
how it gets paid
Last year Spero Therap made $371K in revenue. tebipenem collaboration and licensing was the main engine at $260K, or 70% of sales.
what just happened
The quarter showed $12K in revenue and a -$0.41 EPS loss, which is biotech code for "the drug filing matters more than the income statement.".
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
21.3% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
-$1.27 fy2024 eps est
$48M fy2024 rev est
xvary composite: 40/100 — below average
What they do
Spero is a tiny biotech trying to turn an antibiotic pill into a real business before cash burn does the opposite.
If tebipenem clears regulators, you get an oral option where many patients now get IV antibiotics and hospital time. The Phase 3 PIVOT-PO trial met its primary endpoint and stopped early for efficacy in mid-2025, and GSK's December 2025 NDA resubmission triggered a $25 million milestone payment. That edge is simple: one asset with late-stage data and a bigger partner doing the heavy lifting.
How they make money
$371K
annual revenue
tebipenem collaboration and licensing
$260K
flat
spr206 program-related revenue
$56K
dn
spr720 program-related revenue
$37K
dn
research support and contract revenue
$12K
flat
other legacy revenue
$6K
flat
The products that matter
lead antibiotic candidate
Tebipenem HBr
$25M approval milestone
FDA approval would trigger a $25M milestone payment from GSK. Against a $145M market cap, that is not a side note. It is the number that matters.
near-term catalyst
earlier-stage pipeline asset
SPR720
$0 current revenue
This is the only other named pipeline asset on the page, and it generates zero current revenue. It matters because the rest of the pipeline is thin, not because it is funding the business today.
future optionality
Key numbers
-$1.27
fy2024 eps est
$48M
fy2024 rev est
n/a
trailing p/e
n/a
dividend yield
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $2M (1% of capital)
C++ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for SPRO right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The quarter showed $12K in revenue and a -$0.41 EPS loss, which is biotech code for "the drug filing matters more than the income statement."
Revenue stayed tiny because Spero is still a clinical-stage company, not a product-selling one. The real driver remains tebipenem milestones and the FDA path, while discontinued programs remove backup options.
$12K
revenue
$0.41
eps
n/a
operating margin
the number that mattered
$12K of quarterly revenue tells you the obvious quiet part out loud: this is not an operating business yet, it is a clinical and regulatory bet.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is an FDA miss on tebipenem HBr.
med
Tebipenem does not get approved
This is the core risk because the near-term value driver is one regulatory decision. A rejection or major delay removes the disclosed $25M GSK milestone and leaves investors valuing a $145M company around a much thinner pipeline.
impact: the only named near-term cash catalyst is $25M, and it disappears if approval does not happen.
med
Cash burn outruns the runway
A -108.11% profit margin and a -153.82% EBITDA margin mean losses are not cosmetic. With $48.62M in cash and no scaled product revenue, time matters more here than at a profitable company.
impact: if tebipenem slips, the balance sheet has to carry the story, and right now that balance sheet is rated C++.
med
Partner dependence on GSK
The milestone, the licensing economics, and much of the near-term validation all run through one partner. That lowers commercialization burden for SPRO, but it also means strategic control is not fully in SPRO's hands.
impact: one partner sits between the asset and the cash outcome that investors are waiting for.
A failed approval would remove the $25M milestone while leaving a company with $48.62M in cash, a -108.11% profit margin, and no broad commercial base to fall back on.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
catalyst
2026 FDA review on tebipenem HBr
GSK resubmitted the NDA in dec 2025. Approval triggers the disclosed $25M payment. This is the calendar item the whole stock bends around.
cash
the $48.62M cash balance
That number is your runway. If it starts dropping fast before approval, dilution risk moves from background noise to the main event.
earnings
mar 26, 2026 earnings estimate
Consensus EPS is -$0.20. More important than the loss itself is whether collaboration revenue remains lumpy and whether management gives any clearer runway signal.
pipeline
whether SPR720 becomes more than optionality
Right now it contributes $0 in revenue and serves mainly as backup narrative. Any tangible progress matters because the current story is too concentrated in one drug.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
20 / 100
In human-speak: analysts do not have a clean recurring model to lean on here. One milestone, one collaboration payment, or one delay can swing the quarter.
balance sheet quality
C++
Below average balance sheet grade. You have cash and minimal debt, but you do not have the luxury of a long mistake timeline.
price stability
5 / 100
This stock moves like an event trade. If you want smooth compounding, you are in the wrong zip code.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for SPRO is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$2
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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