MeritValue

BrightView Holdings, Inc.

BVdata completeness 100%9 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

BrightView Holdings, Inc. earns about 3% on invested capital, and has bought back 9% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $4.93 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$2.55B1$2.77B2$2.82B3$2.77B3$2.67B3
Net income$46.3M4$14M5−$7.7M6$66.4M6$56M6
Operating cash flow$148.4M7$106.9M8$129.9M9$205.6M9$291.8M9
Capital expenditure$61.2M10$107.3M11$71.3M12$78.4M12$254.2M12
Free cash flow (derived)$87.2M7−$400,0008$58.6M9$127.2M9$37.6M9
Total debt$2.28B13$2.69B14$1.78B15$1.61B16$1.58B16
Cash & equivalents$123.7M17$20.1M18$67M19$140.4M20$74.5M20
Diluted shares105.7M98.2M93.4M96.1M96.5M

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
$133.99
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$5.8
Free cash flow it threw off
$3.9
Debt you’d be carrying
$163.77

10 shares is a claim on $133.99 of net worth that earned you $5.8 and generated $3.9 of cash last year, against $163.77 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
3% avg · 5y
FY21 2%FY22 1%FY23 3%FY24 4%FY25 3%

It earned an average 3% 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
−9% shares · 5y

Share count is down 9% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. 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
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$58.6M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$58.6M
Earnings Power Value
$4.93
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$46.3M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$6.32
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-22-025340 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0000950170-22-025340 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0000950170-23-064336 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0000950170-24-126338 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001193125-25-288109 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)