MeritValue

BED BATH & BEYOND, INC.

BBBYdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

BED BATH & BEYOND, INC. earns about -1211% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 39% 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$2.76B1$1.93B2$1.56B3$1.39B3$1.04B3
Net income$389.4M4−$35.2M5−$307.8M5−$258.8M5−$84.6M6
Operating cash flow$80.9M7−$12.5M8−$18.6M9−$174.3M9−$56.7M9
Capital expenditure$13.6M10$14.9M11$19.2M12$14.3M12$7.41M12
Free cash flow (derived)$67.3M7−$27.4M8−$37.8M9−$188.6M9−$64.1M9
Total debt$38M13$34.5M13———
Cash & equivalents$503.3M14$371.3M15$302.6M16$159.2M17$175.3M17
Diluted shares43.3M44.3M45.2M46.5M60.1M

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
$36.19
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$14.07
Free cash flow it threw off
−$10.66
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $36.19 of net worth that earned you −$14.07 and generated −$10.66 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-1211% avg · 5y
FY21 45%FY22 -8%FY23 -369%FY24 -5573%FY25 -147%

It earned an average -1211% 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
+39% shares · 5y

Share count is up 39% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

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 0001130713-24-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001130713-25-000024 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001130713-26-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001130713-24-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001130713-25-000024 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001130713-26-000018 (ProfitLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001130713-24-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001130713-25-000024 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001130713-26-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001130713-24-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001130713-25-000024 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001130713-26-000018 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001130713-23-000014 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001130713-23-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001130713-24-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001130713-25-000024 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001130713-26-000018 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)