MeritValue

AWARE INC /MA/

AWREdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'; no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

AWARE INC /MA/ earns about -23% on invested capital, with a roughly flat share count. 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$16.9M1$16M2$18.2M3$17.4M4$17.3M4
Net income−$5.82M5−$1.73M6−$7.31M7−$4.43M8−$5.87M8
Operating cash flow−$6.23M9−$5.04M10$1.82M11−$3.16M12−$5.4M12
Capital expenditure$27,00013$730,00014$16,00015$45,00016$165,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$6.26M9−$5.77M10$1.81M11−$3.21M12−$5.56M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$30M17$11.7M18$10M19$13M20$7.27M20
Diluted shares21.5M21.6M21.0M21.1M21.2M

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
$12.34
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$2.77
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.63
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $12.34 of net worth that earned you −$2.77 and generated −$2.63 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-23% avg · 5y
FY21 -42%FY22 -5%FY23 -24%FY24 -19%FY25 -24%

It earned an average -23% 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
−2% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback.

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 0000950170-23-008185 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032239 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-038714 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-096448 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008185 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032239 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-038714 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-096448 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008185 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032239 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-038714 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-096448 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008185 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032239 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-038714 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-096448 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-008185 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032239 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-038714 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-096448 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)