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Side-by-side financial comparison of System1, Inc. (SST) and STEM, INC. (STEM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

System1, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($51.9M vs $47.1M, roughly 1.1× STEM, INC.). System1, Inc. runs the higher net margin — -26.0% vs -33.9%, a 7.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STEM, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-15.6% vs -31.3%). Over the past eight quarters, STEM, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (36.1% CAGR vs -21.8%).

System1 is an American Internet advertising company. Formerly known as OpenMail, it was founded in 2013. It describes itself as operating a "Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform", and cites privacy as one of its principal foci, although it has been criticized for its influence on privacy-focused properties, including search engine Startpage.com. It is headquartered in Marina del Rey, California.

StemCells, Inc. is a public biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Newark, California, that is developing purified human neural stem cells (HuCNS-SCs) in the hopes of treating central nervous system disorders and paralysis. StemCells' HuCNS-SCs have the ability to differentiate into the three main types of cells found in the central nervous system: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

SST vs STEM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SST
SST
1.1× larger
SST
$51.9M
$47.1M
STEM
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
STEM
STEM
+15.7% gap
STEM
-15.6%
-31.3%
SST
Higher net margin
SST
SST
7.9% more per $
SST
-26.0%
-33.9%
STEM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
STEM
STEM
Annualised
STEM
36.1%
-21.8%
SST

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Revenue
$51.9M
$47.1M
Net Profit
$-13.5M
$-16.0M
Gross Margin
41.0%
48.9%
Operating Margin
-33.6%
-17.7%
Net Margin
-26.0%
-33.9%
Revenue YoY
-31.3%
-15.6%
Net Profit YoY
4.8%
68.8%
EPS (diluted)
$-3.58
$-4.40

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$51.9M
$47.1M
Q3 25
$61.6M
$38.2M
Q2 25
$78.1M
$38.4M
Q1 25
$74.5M
$32.5M
Q4 24
$75.6M
$55.8M
Q3 24
$88.8M
$29.3M
Q2 24
$94.6M
$34.0M
Q1 24
$84.9M
$25.5M
Net Profit
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$-13.5M
$-16.0M
Q3 25
$-18.5M
$-23.8M
Q2 25
$-17.5M
$202.5M
Q1 25
$-15.9M
$-25.0M
Q4 24
$-14.2M
$-51.1M
Q3 24
$-23.6M
$-148.3M
Q2 24
$-26.4M
$-582.3M
Q1 24
$-10.5M
$-72.3M
Gross Margin
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
41.0%
48.9%
Q3 25
36.9%
35.5%
Q2 25
35.7%
33.4%
Q1 25
38.2%
32.4%
Q4 24
42.1%
-4.4%
Q3 24
28.0%
21.2%
Q2 24
27.6%
27.6%
Q1 24
21.9%
-95.0%
Operating Margin
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
-33.6%
-17.7%
Q3 25
-25.3%
-33.6%
Q2 25
-20.4%
-34.8%
Q1 25
-17.6%
-65.0%
Q4 24
-15.7%
-84.4%
Q3 24
-24.6%
-493.2%
Q2 24
-30.8%
-1705.5%
Q1 24
-30.4%
-267.0%
Net Margin
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
-26.0%
-33.9%
Q3 25
-30.1%
-62.2%
Q2 25
-22.4%
527.8%
Q1 25
-21.3%
-76.9%
Q4 24
-18.7%
-91.6%
Q3 24
-26.6%
-506.3%
Q2 24
-27.9%
-1712.6%
Q1 24
-12.4%
-283.9%
EPS (diluted)
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$-3.58
$-4.40
Q3 25
$-2.30
$-2.84
Q2 25
$-2.23
$-1.79
Q1 25
$-0.21
$-0.15
Q4 24
$-3.41
$-15.29
Q3 24
$-3.37
$-18.24
Q2 24
$-3.80
$-71.81
Q1 24
$-0.16
$-0.46

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$86.9M
$48.9M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$305.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$30.5M
$-249.4M
Total Assets
$405.0M
$308.9M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
10.01×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$86.9M
$48.9M
Q3 25
$54.6M
$43.1M
Q2 25
$63.6M
$40.8M
Q1 25
$43.9M
$58.6M
Q4 24
$63.6M
$56.3M
Q3 24
$69.1M
$75.4M
Q2 24
$75.7M
$89.6M
Q1 24
$69.9M
$112.8M
Total Debt
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$305.1M
Q3 25
$259.2M
Q2 25
$263.3M
Q1 25
$267.4M
Q4 24
$255.1M
Q3 24
$259.2M
Q2 24
$263.3M
Q1 24
$268.6M
Stockholders' Equity
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$30.5M
$-249.4M
Q3 25
$42.7M
$-235.7M
Q2 25
$58.2M
$-214.1M
Q1 25
$67.2M
$-417.5M
Q4 24
$80.3M
$-398.4M
Q3 24
$90.3M
$-344.1M
Q2 24
$109.4M
$-203.2M
Q1 24
$131.7M
$371.6M
Total Assets
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$405.0M
$308.9M
Q3 25
$385.2M
$362.6M
Q2 25
$429.2M
$379.2M
Q1 25
$419.2M
$405.1M
Q4 24
$459.1M
$437.4M
Q3 24
$479.3M
$537.8M
Q2 24
$511.3M
$691.5M
Q1 24
$521.1M
$1.3B
Debt / Equity
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
10.01×
Q3 25
6.07×
Q2 25
4.53×
Q1 25
3.98×
Q4 24
3.18×
Q3 24
2.87×
Q2 24
2.41×
Q1 24
2.04×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-10.6M
$8.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
$-10.6M
$8.2M
Q3 25
$-2.1M
$11.4M
Q2 25
$24.5M
$-21.3M
Q1 25
$-15.9M
$8.5M
Q4 24
$772.0K
$-14.7M
Q3 24
$-5.0K
$-9.4M
Q2 24
$10.0M
$-11.9M
Q1 24
$-16.0M
$-621.0K
Free Cash Flow
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
$-16.0M
Q4 24
Q3 24
$-36.0K
Q2 24
Q1 24
FCF Margin
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
-21.5%
Q4 24
Q3 24
-0.0%
Q2 24
Q1 24
Capex Intensity
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
0.0%
Q3 25
0.0%
Q2 25
0.0%
Q1 25
0.1%
Q4 24
0.0%
Q3 24
0.0%
Q2 24
0.0%
Q1 24
0.0%
Cash Conversion
SST
SST
STEM
STEM
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
-0.11×
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

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