MeritValue

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.

ASTIdata completeness 88%20 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. earns about -900% on equity, and has bought back 34% of its shares over 5 years. 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$607,7831$1.22M2$458,2603$41,8934$76,7734
Net income−$6M5−$19.8M6−$17.1M7−$9.13M8−$7.83M8
Operating cash flow−$9.4M9−$10.5M10−$9.54M11−$8.42M12−$6.9M12
Capital expenditure$280,31713$169,35714$3.86M15$42116$32,01516
Free cash flow (derived)−$9.68M9−$10.7M10−$13.4M11−$8.42M12−$6.94M12
Total debt—$14.9M17$406,66717——
Cash & equivalents$5.96M18$11.5M19$1.05M20$3.17M21$2.79M21
Diluted shares3.9M149,01610,251882,5472.6M

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
$13.06
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$30.65
Free cash flow it threw off
−$27.14
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $13.06 of net worth that earned you −$30.65 and generated −$27.14 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-900% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -2197%FY23 —FY24 -270%FY25 -235%

It earned an average -900% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−34% shares · 5y

Share count is down 34% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 97% — deleveraging.

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 0000950170-23-007284 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-017977 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-117839 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007284 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-017977 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-117839 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007284 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-017977 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-117839 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007284 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-017977 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-117839 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (DebtCurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-007284 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-017977 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-047692 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-117839 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)