MeritValue

BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS INC

BLFSdata completeness 100%16 fiscal years on file

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

The thesis, from the filings

BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS INC earns about -3% on invested capital, below its ~9% cost of capital, but has diluted owners by 26% over 5 years — no moat visible in the numbers. The estimate methods put fair value between $2.36 and $2.52 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$119.2M1$76.2M2$68M3$74.6M3$96.2M3
Net income−$8.91M4−$139.8M5−$68M6−$20.2M6−$4.6M6
Operating cash flow−$4.59M7−$8.49M8−$12.5M9$8.43M9$20.1M9
Capital expenditure$8.39M10$10.4M11$6.38M12$3.23M12$9.48M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$13M7−$18.9M8−$18.9M9$5.2M9$10.6M9
Total debt$14.4M13$51.2M14$47.7M15$31.9M16$9.99M16
Cash & equivalents$69.9M17$19.4M18$27.9M19$91.5M20$33M20
Diluted shares38.5M43.1M43.7M46.1M48.6M

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
$76.45
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.94
Free cash flow it threw off
$2.19
Debt you’d be carrying
$2.05

10 shares is a claim on $76.45 of net worth that earned you −$0.94 and generated $2.19 of cash last year, against $2.05 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-3% avg · 5y
FY21 -5%FY22 -1%FY23 -3%FY24 -2%FY25 -3%

It earned about -3% on invested capital against a ~9% cost of capital — below the cost of funding. The numbers show no moat.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+26% shares · 5y

Share count is up 26% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 31% — 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 — engine v0.5.0

The 2 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $2.36 and $2.52 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story.

DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
$2.52
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$5.2M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
$2.36
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$5.2M
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 →

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 years5.0%
Discount rate (WACC)8.97%
Terminal growth2.5%
At your growth, a share is worth $2.36
The three cases
Bear0.0%$1.99
Base5.0%$2.36
Bull10.0%$2.8

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

Default growth 5.0%= 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 0001628280-24-008061 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-008061 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-008061 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-008061 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008875 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-008061 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008875 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-008061 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-009511 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-012294 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)