The Cedric Francois most people are searching for is Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, co-founder, President, and CEO of Apellis Pharmaceuticals. As of May 2026, the most credible estimates of his net worth cluster between roughly $48 million and $65 million, all derived from his publicly disclosed insider share holdings at Apellis (APLS). The spread in those numbers comes down to when each outlet last updated its stock price assumption and how it treated share sales and option exercises, not from any deeper financial investigation.
Cedric Francois Net Worth: Estimate, Sources, and Wealth Breakdown
Marcus Holloway
20 May 2026
Who exactly is Cedric Francois?
A quick search for "Cedric Francois" can surface more than one person. There is a Cedric Francois listed as Founder and CEO of EQUIUM, a different organization with a separate career profile. There is also at least one Cedric Francois connected to a French company registry (Pappers), suggesting a French business figure. For this site's purposes, the relevant person is Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist who co-founded Potentia Pharmaceuticals before co-founding Apellis Pharmaceuticals in 2009 and has served as President and CEO there since September 2009. His identity is anchored by Apellis' official leadership page, SEC EDGAR filings under the reporting-person name "Francois Cedric," and his company biography, which lists his dual medical and scientific credentials. If the name and a pharmaceutical context match what brought you here, you are in the right place.
How these net worth estimates are actually built
Because Cedric Francois is not a celebrity whose finances get covered by entertainment media, his net worth estimates come almost entirely from a single public data source: SEC Form 4 filings. Under U.S. securities law, corporate insiders (officers, directors, and large shareholders) must file a Form 4 with the SEC within two business days of any change in their beneficial ownership of company stock. Those filings are public on EDGAR and record every open-market purchase, open-market sale, option exercise, and restricted stock vesting event.
Financial tracking sites like GuruFocus, QuiverQuant, and Benzinga pull those Form 4 records, reconstruct a running share count, multiply by a recent APLS stock price, and call it a net worth estimate. It is worth being clear about what that methodology captures and misses. It captures the value of his known Apellis stock holdings on a specific date. It does not capture cash he has banked from prior stock sales, any private investments, real estate, liabilities, or assets held outside of Apellis. So every number you see is a floor estimate, labeled as "at least" by the better outlets, not a complete picture of total wealth.
The current estimate and what the numbers actually show
Three reputable financial data outlets published estimates in early 2026, and they land in a reasonably tight band given that they are all working from the same underlying data. The differences reflect snapshot dates and stock price assumptions more than anything else.
| Source | Estimate | As of Date | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| GuruFocus | At least $65 million | April 20, 2026 | SEC Form 4 share holdings x APLS price |
| QuiverQuant | At least $59.5 million | March 11, 2026 | SEC Form 4 insider trade inputs |
| Benzinga | $48.2 million | 2026 (page estimate) | SEC insider share data |
The most current figure is GuruFocus at $65 million as of late April 2026. The lower Benzinga figure likely reflects an earlier or different stock price snapshot for APLS. Since Apellis stock (ticker: APLS) is publicly traded, you can update any of these estimates yourself in minutes by checking the current APLS share price and comparing it to the share count reported in his most recent Form 4. That is genuinely the most accurate approach available to the public.
How Cedric Francois built his wealth: career and equity timeline
Physician-scientist founders in biotech build wealth very differently from entertainers or athletes. The journey is long, illiquid for most of it, and then dramatically event-driven around clinical trial readouts and IPOs. Cedric Francois followed that exact pattern.
Early career and Potentia Pharmaceuticals
Before Apellis, Cedric Francois co-founded Potentia Pharmaceuticals, a private biotech company. Co-founding a private company is typically a low-cash, high-equity proposition, meaning years of below-market salary offset by founding shares. Whether any direct financial realization came from Potentia before Apellis is not publicly documented, but the experience established the scientific and entrepreneurial track that led directly to Apellis.
Co-founding Apellis in 2009
Cedric Francois has been President and CEO of Apellis since September 2009. Co-founders of biotech companies typically receive a significant founding equity stake at incorporation, which is then diluted over subsequent funding rounds but can still represent a very large dollar value if the company succeeds. Apellis went public (IPO on NASDAQ) in 2017, which is the first point at which his equity became publicly valued. That transition from private to public company is almost always the single largest wealth-creation event for a biotech founder.
CEO compensation at Apellis
Apellis' Form 10-K/A filed on April 28, 2026 discloses Cedric Francois' 2025 total compensation at $13,342,739. The breakdown is important: his base salary was $822,116, his cash bonus was $346,500, and the remainder ($9,691,201 in stock awards and $2,466,750 in option awards) was equity-based. This is a very typical structure for a public biotech CEO: the cash is modest relative to the headline figure, and the real wealth accumulation happens through stock and options that vest over time. At that rate of equity grant, even a few years of vesting builds a substantial stake.
What else contributes to his net worth
Beyond the equity-heavy CEO compensation, a few other categories are worth naming, even where the data is less precise.
- Realized stock sale proceeds: Form 4 filings document open-market sales and option exercises over the years since the IPO. Cash from those transactions would sit outside the current share-count estimate but is part of actual net worth.
- Prior equity realization: Any payout or equity exit from Potentia Pharmaceuticals before or around the Apellis founding would add to lifetime wealth, though this is not publicly documented.
- Accumulated salary and bonus: At roughly $800K–$1.2M in cash compensation per year across more than a decade as CEO, cumulative cash earnings are substantial even before tax and living expenses.
- Private investments: As a physician-scientist in the biotech ecosystem, it would be unusual not to have some angel or private investment exposure, but nothing is publicly documented.
- Real estate: No public records of real estate holdings have been aggregated in this research, though they would not appear in SEC filings.
There are no public endorsement deals, media contracts, or brand licensing arrangements to account for. Biotech CEOs simply do not monetize personal brands the way entertainers or athletes do. His wealth story is almost entirely an equity story tied to Apellis' performance as a public company.
Events that could move his net worth up or down
APLS stock price is the dominant variable. Apellis is a single-product-stage biotech, which means its stock can move sharply on clinical trial results, FDA decisions, or competitive developments in the complement pathway therapy space. A major positive readout could push the $65 million estimate significantly higher; a clinical setback or regulatory rejection could cut it dramatically. That kind of volatility is simply the reality of holding a concentrated equity position in a clinical-stage pharma company.
On the downside risk side, there are a few categories worth checking even though nothing concerning is currently publicly documented. First, Form 4 filings only show ownership changes, not liabilities. Any margin loans taken against his stock position, personal debts, or tax obligations from prior stock sales would reduce actual net worth below the equity estimate. Second, executive compensation at public companies is subject to clawback provisions under SEC rules adopted in 2023, meaning previously paid bonuses could theoretically be recouped if financial restatements occur. Third, any securities enforcement action or shareholder litigation naming Cedric Francois personally would be relevant, but none is currently apparent from publicly available sources. If you need to verify this, PACER (federal court records) and SEC enforcement action searches are the right places to check.
How to verify the numbers and resolve conflicting estimates
If you want to check or update these estimates yourself, the process is actually pretty straightforward. Here is the practical path:
- Go to SEC EDGAR and search for the reporting person "Francois Cedric" using the CIK lookup tool. This pulls every Form 4 filed under his name tied to APLS.
- Open the most recent Form 4. It will show his current beneficial ownership of Apellis shares (common stock, options, and restricted stock units) as of the transaction date.
- Look up the current APLS stock price on any financial data platform (Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, etc.). Multiply the shares held by the current price for an updated equity value.
- Compare that figure to what GuruFocus, QuiverQuant, or Benzinga show. The difference is almost always explained by the outlet's snapshot date and which share classes it included.
- Cross-reference his identity by checking that the Form 4 lists him as President and CEO of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., matching the official company biography.
When outlets show meaningfully different numbers (the current spread is roughly $48M to $65M), the fastest explanation is usually a stock price difference rather than an error in share count. Check the "as of" date on each estimate and compare it to APLS's price history on those dates. If the spread is larger than stock price movement can explain, the outlet may be using different assumptions about option dilution or restricted stock vesting schedules, which is harder to reconcile without going line by line through Form 4 history.
How Cedric Francois compares to others in this space
A net worth range of $50M to $65M for a founder-CEO of a publicly traded biotech company that has been operating for over 15 years is credible but not exceptionally large by sector standards. Successful biotech founder-CEOs at larger companies can be worth hundreds of millions or more. The relative modesty of the estimate reflects both Apellis' market cap size and the fact that founding equity gets diluted substantially through years of venture funding and public offerings. For reference, other professionals covered on this site in adjacent industries, whether that is entertainers like Frederic Francois or physician-media figures like Dr. You can find the most up-to-date discussion of Frederic Francois net worth by following the same SEC-based logic used for other leadership profiles here. Elvis Francois, tend to build wealth through very different mechanisms (royalties, media contracts, performance fees) compared to the equity-and-vesting path that defines Cedric Francois' financial story. If you are also researching Dr. Elvis Francois net worth, the relevant drivers will differ from Cedric Francois' equity and vesting timeline.
The main thing to watch going forward is APLS stock performance and any news around Apellis' lead programs. That single variable will swing his estimated net worth more than any salary increase or bonus could. Check back against updated Form 4 filings on EDGAR whenever you want a fresh number, since those are filed within two business days of any insider transaction and are the most current public data available.
FAQ
Why do net worth estimates for Cedric Francois change even if his share count from Form 4 stays the same?
Most updates are driven by the stock price assumption used to value the same Form 4-reported shares. If a site refreshes its “as of” date after a big APLS move, the dollar figure can jump up or down even without new insider transactions.
Does the SEC Form 4 method include any cash Cedric Francois received from selling Apellis stock?
Not in the way people often assume. Form 4 shows that sales occurred, but most “net worth estimate” rebuilds in tracking sites focus on the current value of remaining holdings, so proceeds already converted to cash may not appear in the estimate.
If his compensation includes stock and options, why doesn’t that automatically mean the estimate is higher right away?
Because value accrues differently for stock awards versus options. Stock awards typically vest over time and options must be exercised to turn into owned shares, so there can be a lag between grant, vesting, and actual share ownership that shows up in later Form 4 filings.
How can I quickly sanity-check whether an estimate is using the right share count?
Look up his latest Form 4 on EDGAR and confirm the reported beneficial ownership or transaction details, then multiply the relevant share quantity by the APLS price for the estimate’s stated date. If you see the same share count but a very different stock price date, the “net worth” discrepancy is likely explainable.
What’s the biggest reason estimates might be wrong or misleading, beyond simple stock price changes?
Concentrated holdings plus timing details. Differences in how sites treat restricted stock vesting, option dilution effects, or split-adjusted share counts across dates can create mismatches that are not obvious without comparing transaction-by-transaction Form 4 history.
Do these estimates reflect his total net worth, including taxes, loans, or other liabilities?
Usually no. The common calculation is closer to “value of disclosed Apellis equity” than full net worth, so it can be reduced by unpaid taxes triggered by prior equity events, margin loans against shares, or other personal liabilities that are not shown in Form 4.
Could there be confusion with another person named Cedric Francois?
Yes. The name appears in multiple contexts, including other business leaders. The article’s targeted identity is tied to Apellis leadership and SEC reporting under “Francois Cedric,” so you should verify that the Form 4 and company context match Apellis before using any number.
How often should I expect meaningful changes in his published Form 4-based estimates?
Form 4 updates occur only when insider transactions happen, so the estimate may stay stable for long stretches and then shift after a sale, exercise, or vesting event. Even without new filings, the estimate can still change day to day due to APLS price movement.
Are equity-based CEO compensation numbers the same thing as net worth?
No. The compensation figure in filings is what he was granted or earned during a period, net worth is what he currently owns and how those holdings are valued at that moment. Some compensation may vest later, and options must be exercised before they translate into share ownership.
If APLS drops sharply, does his net worth estimate drop proportionally?
Often yes, because the estimate is heavily concentrated in publicly traded Apellis shares and their market value. That said, it is not a perfect line, because vesting schedules and any subsequent transactions can change the share quantity used in each snapshot.
Where can concealed risk show up, since Form 4 does not list liabilities?
Potential downsides like tax obligations, margin borrowing, or other debts may reduce true net worth but are not captured by ownership-change filings. For a fuller risk check, you would need other public records or company disclosures, not just Form 4.
