MeritValue

APPIAN CORP

APPNdata completeness 100%11 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

APPIAN CORP earns about -30% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 5% 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$369.3M1$468M2$545.4M3$617M3$726.9M3
Net income−$88.6M4−$150.9M5−$111.4M6−$92.3M6$1.23M6
Operating cash flow−$53.9M7−$106.6M8−$110.4M9$6.88M9$62.9M9
Capital expenditure$6.06M10$9.1M11$9.64M12$3.8M12$3.32M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$60M7−$115.6M8−$120.1M9$3.08M9$59.6M9
Total debt$013$236.2M14$413.2M15$500.8M16$481.7M16
Cash & equivalents$100.8M17$148.1M18$149.4M18$118.6M19$135.8M19
Diluted shares71.0M72.5M73.1M73.0M74.6M

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
−$6.3
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$0.17
Free cash flow it threw off
$7.98
Debt you’d be carrying
$64.52

10 shares is a claim on −$6.3 of net worth that earned you $0.17 and generated $7.98 of cash last year, against $64.52 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-30% avg · 5y
FY21 -52%FY22 -51%FY23 -27%FY24 -21%FY25 1%

It earned an average -30% 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
+5% shares · 5y

Share count is up 5% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

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
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$3.08M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$3.08M
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
book value / share count 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 0001441683-24-000016 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001441683-24-000016 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001441683-24-000016 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001441683-24-000016 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001441683-23-000021 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-24-000016 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001441683-24-000016 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001441683-25-000017 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001441683-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)