System1

SST

Software - Services · Technology

Price

$1.76

-0.15 (-7.85%)

Market Cap

$17.6M

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Based on the IPO prospectus (annual filing). This score will refine automatically once the company reports its first quarters.

Share count falling — buybacks

−90.7% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 84.1M (2021) → 7.9M (2025)

System1 is a digital advertising technology company that helps advertisers find customers online. It operates a network of websites and search tools — including the privacy-focused browser extension and search engine Startpage — that attract people looking for information on topics like insurance, finance, and home services. When visitors click on ads shown through these properties, System1 connects them to advertisers who want to reach those specific audiences.

The company makes money primarily through advertising revenue, earning a fee each time a user clicks on a sponsored search result or ad. System1 operates mainly in the United States and competes against much larger ad tech platforms like Google, which also happens to be a key partner that supplies ads to System1's network. This dependence on Google for a significant portion of its revenue is a major risk, since any change to Google's policies or payment terms could quickly hurt System1's business.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-50.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

<−1,000% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (15%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

78.0%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Runway

~6 months

$52M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

System1 has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin

37.7%

Modest — 37.7% gross margin

Operating Margin

-23.3%

Losing money on operations — -23.3%

ROCE

-18.5%

Weak — -18.5% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY

-22.6%

Shrinking sales (-22.6% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

—

Data not available

EPS Consistency

N/A

Data not available

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

—

Data not available

FCF Margin

-1.6%

Burning cash (-1.6%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

10.01

Heavy debt load (10.01)

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

—

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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