MeritValue

FIRST BUSEY CORP /NV/

BUSEdata completeness 100%17 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 'epsDiluted'

The thesis, from the filings

FIRST BUSEY CORP /NV/ earns about 32% on invested capital, far above its ~9% cost of capital, but has diluted owners by 52% over 5 years — a real edge showing up in the numbers. The estimate methods put fair value between $14.89 and $35.5 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$298.8M1$450.2M2$441.8M3$462.3M3$719.6M3
Net income$123.4M4$128.3M5$122.6M6$113.7M6$135.3M6
Operating cash flow$162M7$165.8M8$173.4M9$178.3M9$192.6M9
Capital expenditure$5.04M10$4.99M11$9.53M12$6.43M12$19.6M12
Free cash flow (derived)$157M7$160.8M8$163.9M9$171.8M9$173M9
Total debt$17.7M13$351.1M14$12M14$015$015
Cash & equivalents$836.1M16$227.2M17$719.6M18$697.7M19$294.1M19
Diluted shares56.0M56.1M56.3M57.5M85.1M

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
$290.01
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$15.89
Free cash flow it threw off
$20.32
Debt you’d be carrying
$0

10 shares is a claim on $290.01 of net worth that earned you $15.89 and generated $20.32 of cash last year, against $0 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
32% avg · 5y
FY21 29%FY22 12%FY23 44%FY24 51%FY25 25%

It earned about 32% on invested capital, year after year, against a ~9% cost of capital — the footprint of real pricing power. Competition usually drags returns like this back down; here it hasn't.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+52% shares · 5y

Share count is up 52% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 100% — 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 3 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $14.89 and $35.5 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story.

DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
$35.5
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth2.6%
  • fcfBase$171.8M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
$35.37
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth2.6%
  • fcfBase$171.8M
Earnings Power Value
$14.89
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$123.4M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
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 years2.6%
Discount rate (WACC)9.02%
Terminal growth2.5%
At your growth, a share is worth $35.37
The three cases
Bear0.0%$31.91
Base2.6%$35.37
Bull7.6%$42.93

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

Default growth 2.6%= 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 0000314489-24-000054 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-25-000041 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000314489-24-000054 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-25-000041 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000314489-24-000054 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-25-000041 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000314489-24-000054 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-25-000041 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000314489-23-000010 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-24-000054 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000314489-23-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000314489-24-000054 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000314489-25-000041 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000314489-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)