Why did DNLI miss all EPS forecasts in 2024?

Denali Therapeutics (DNLI) missed all EPS forecasts in 2024 due to several factors:

1. **Increased Operating Expenses**: Denali's operating expenses, particularly in research and development, increased by 9.5% to $98.2 million in Q3 2024. This rise was primarily due to escalating costs in various clinical-stage programs, including ETV:IDS, eIF2B, ETV:SGSH, and LRRK2, which reflected their ongoing progress in clinical trials.
2. **General and Administrative Expenses**: Despite a decrease of 1.4% to $24.9 million, these expenses remained a significant burden. As a company without a marketed product, Denali only recognizes revenues from ongoing collaborations. The absence of collaboration revenues in Q3 2024 further underscored the financial challenges the company faced.
3. **Share Outstanding**: The number of shares outstanding increased, leading to a higher diluted EPS. For instance, in Q3 2024, the company reported a loss of 63 cents per share, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 60 cents. This indicates that the company's financial performance was negatively impacted by the increased share count.

In summary, Denali Therapeutics' financial performance in 2024 was strained due to rising operating expenses, general and administrative costs, and the lack of collaboration revenues, coupled with an increased share outstanding. These factors collectively contributed to the company's inability to meet EPS forecasts for the year.