MeritValue

ATA Creativity Global

AACGdata completeness 100%13 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

ATA Creativity Global earns about -53% on invested capital, with a roughly flat share count. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$31.7M1$30M2$31.2M3$36.7M4$38.3M5
Net income−$5.28M6−$6.94M7−$4.74M8−$4.95M9−$6.87M10
Operating cash flow−$5M11−$2.12M12$1.23M13−$458,28414−$2.26M15
Capital expenditure$698,55116$234,63717$315,51218$2.74M19$183,21220
Free cash flow (derived)−$5.69M11−$2.35M12$917,10713−$3.2M14−$2.45M15
Total debt————$2.29M21
Cash & equivalents$11.2M22$7.97M23$8.47M24$5M25$12.2M26
Diluted shares62.7M62.8M62.8M63.0M63.4M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$0.72
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$1.08
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.39
Debt you’d be carrying
$0.36

10 shares is a claim on $0.72 of net worth that earned you −$1.08 and generated −$0.39 of cash last year, against $0.36 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-53% avg · 5y
FY21 -26%FY22 -49%FY23 -61%FY24 -78%FY25 —

It earned an average -53% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+1% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback. Total debt has held roughly steady.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-015529 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-098383 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-045459 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000679 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-015529 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-098383 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-045459 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000679 (NetIncomeLoss)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (NetIncomeLoss)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-015529 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-098383 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-045459 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000679 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-015529 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-098383 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-045459 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  19. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000679 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  20. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  21. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  22. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-015529 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-098383 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-045459 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  25. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000679 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  26. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037267 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)