MeritValue

AVANOS MEDICAL, INC.

AVNSdata completeness 100%14 fiscal years on file

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

The thesis, from the filings

AVANOS MEDICAL, INC. earns about -9% on invested capital, and has bought back 5% 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$587M1$684.1M2$673.3M3$687.8M3$701.2M3
Net income$6.3M4$50.5M5−$61.8M6−$392.1M6−$72.9M6
Operating cash flow$87.3M7$90.9M8$32.4M9$100.7M9$74.7M9
Capital expenditure$21M10$19.3M11$17.8M12$17.8M12$31.6M12
Free cash flow (derived)$66.3M7$71.6M8$14.6M9$82.9M9$43.1M9
Total debt$260M13$458.8M13$168M14$134.7M15$100.5M15
Cash & equivalents$118.5M16$127.7M17$87.7M18$107.7M19$89.8M19
Diluted shares48.6M47.3M46.6M46.0M46.3M

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
$168.08
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$15.75
Free cash flow it threw off
$9.31
Debt you’d be carrying
$21.71

10 shares is a claim on $168.08 of net worth that earned you −$15.75 and generated $9.31 of cash last year, against $21.71 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-9% avg · 5y
FY21 -2%FY22 2%FY23 0%FY24 -37%FY25 -7%

It earned an average -9% 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 down 5% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 61% — 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 —

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-24-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-24-000018 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-24-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-24-000018 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-23-000020 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001606498-23-000020 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001606498-24-000018 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001606498-25-000024 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001606498-26-000004 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)