MeritValue

Ballard Power Systems Inc.

BLDPdata completeness 88%10 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Ballard Power Systems Inc. earns about -126% 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$104.5M1$81.9M2$102.4M3$69.7M4$99.4M4
Net income−$114.2M5−$173.5M6−$177.7M7−$324.2M8−$90.9M8
Operating cash flow−$80.5M9−$132.2M10−$104.6M11−$108.1M12−$56.2M12
Capital expenditure$13.2M13$33.9M14$41.2M15$25.8M16$9.84M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$93.6M9−$166.1M10−$145.8M11−$133.9M12−$66M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$1.12B17$913.7M18$751.1M19$603.9M19$527.1M19
Diluted shares297.7M298.4M298.9M299.3M300.8M

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
$19.61
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.02
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.19
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $19.61 of net worth that earned you −$3.02 and generated −$2.19 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-126% avg · 5y
FY21 -45%FY22 -52%FY23 -47%FY24 -370%FY25 -114%

It earned an average -126% 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
+1% 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. 40-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453015-23-000008 (RevenueFromContractsWithCustomers)
  2. 40-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001453015-24-000002 (RevenueFromContractsWithCustomers)
  3. 40-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453015-25-000003 (RevenueFromContractsWithCustomers)
  4. 40-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-017045 (RevenueFromContractsWithCustomers)
  5. 40-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453015-23-000008 (ProfitLoss)
  6. 40-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001453015-24-000002 (ProfitLoss)
  7. 40-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453015-25-000003 (ProfitLoss)
  8. 40-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-017045 (ProfitLoss)
  9. 40-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453015-23-000008 (CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 40-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001453015-24-000002 (CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 40-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453015-25-000003 (CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 40-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-017045 (CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 40-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453015-23-000008 (PurchaseOfPropertyPlantAndEquipmentClassifiedAsInvestingActivities)
  14. 40-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001453015-24-000002 (PurchaseOfPropertyPlantAndEquipmentClassifiedAsInvestingActivities)
  15. 40-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001453015-25-000003 (PurchaseOfPropertyPlantAndEquipmentClassifiedAsInvestingActivities)
  16. 40-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-017045 (PurchaseOfPropertyPlantAndEquipmentClassifiedAsInvestingActivities)
  17. 40-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001453015-24-000002 (CashAndCashEquivalents)
  18. 40-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001453015-25-000003 (CashAndCashEquivalents)
  19. 40-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-017045 (CashAndCashEquivalents)