MeritValue

A.K.A. BRANDS HOLDING CORP.

AKAdata completeness 100%7 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

A.K.A. BRANDS HOLDING CORP. earns about -11% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 38% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. 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$562.2M1$611.7M2$546.3M3$574.7M3$600.2M3
Net income−$5.97M4−$176.7M5−$98.9M6−$26M6−$31.4M6
Operating cash flow$24M7−$319,0008$33.4M9$669,0009$16.4M9
Capital expenditure$7.73M10$19.7M11$5.97M12$11.6M12$17.1M12
Free cash flow (derived)$16.2M7−$20.1M8$27.5M9−$10.9M9−$633,0009
Total debt$217.6M13$287.3M14$186.8M15$223.4M16$222.1M16
Cash & equivalents$38.8M17$46.3M18$21.9M19$24.2M20$20.3M20
Diluted shares7.8M10.7M10.7M10.6M10.7M

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
$91.16
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$29.31
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.59
Debt you’d be carrying
$207.11

10 shares is a claim on $91.16 of net worth that earned you −$29.31 and generated −$0.59 of cash last year, against $207.11 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-11% avg · 5y
FY21 1%FY22 -28%FY23 -22%FY24 -3%FY25 -5%

It earned an average -11% 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
+38% shares · 5y

Share count is up 38% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. 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. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-23-000012 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001865107-23-000012 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001865107-24-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001865107-25-000016 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001865107-26-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)