AMES NATIONAL CORP

ATLOdata completeness 100%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'investmentsAtFairValue'; no data for concept 'netInvestmentIncome'; no data for concept 'gainsOnRealEstateSales'

The thesis, from the filings

AMES NATIONAL CORP earns about 38% on invested capital, far above its ~9% cost of capital, and has bought back 2% of its shares over 5 years — the marks of a durable business run for its owners. The estimate methods put fair value between $21.96 and $34.87 a share.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$60.5M1$61.6M2$74.3M3$82.6M4$87.1M4
Net income$23.9M5$19.3M6$10.8M7$10.2M8$19M8
Operating cash flow$30.5M9$21.2M10$19.2M11$14.3M12$21.3M12
Capital expenditure$1.87M13$2.86M14$4.89M15$298,00016$642,00016
Free cash flow (derived)$28.6M9$18.4M10$14.3M11$14M12$20.7M12
Total debt$3.49M17$20M18$18.4M19
Cash & equivalents$89.1M20$27.9M21$55.1M22$101.2M23$126.8M23
Diluted shares9.1M9.0M9.0M9.0M8.9M

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
$233.71
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$21.39
Free cash flow it threw off
$23.27
Debt you’d be carrying
$20.63

10 shares is a claim on $233.71 of net worth that earned you $21.39 and generated $23.27 of cash last year, against $20.63 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
38% avg · 5y
FY21 23%FY22 21%FY23 31%FY24 51%FY25 64%

It earned about 38% on invested capital, year after year, against a ~9% cost of capital — the footprint of real pricing power. Competition usually drags returns like this back down; here it hasn't.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−2% shares · 5y

Share count is down 2% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 426% over the same window.

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 v0.5.0

The 3 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $21.96 and $34.87 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story.

DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
$33.17
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$14.3M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
$34.87
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$14.3M
Earnings Power Value
$21.96
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$19M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

v. The price question — last, on purpose
Is today’s price fair?
See live price ↗
Type a price. The ledger answers.
Or set your own belief
FCF growth, next 5 years0.0%
Discount rate (WACC)9.02%
Terminal growth2.5%
At your growth, a share is worth $34.87
The three cases
Bear0.0%$34.87
Base0.0%$34.87
Bull5.0%$40.35

Bear/base/bull growth = 0% / filed history / history + 5pp. Type a price to see the return each case implies.

Default growth 0.0%= this company’s own filed history (median-to-median FCF CAGR, clamped 0–20%). Your adjustments are recorded anonymously. They become the “what do owners actually believe” dataset.

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006159 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006159 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006159 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006159 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (LongTermDebt)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-006159 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-007097 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007223 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-007976 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)