MeritValue

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.

BWdata completeness 88%13 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. earns about 93% on equity, but has diluted owners by 26% 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$710.9M1$609.4M2$587.4M3$581M3$587.7M3
Net income$30.9M4−$22.9M5−$197.2M6−$59.9M6−$36.2M6
Operating cash flow−$111.2M7−$30.6M8−$42.3M9−$118.7M9−$68.9M9
Capital expenditure$6.68M10$13.2M11$9.8M12$11.2M12$16.8M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$117.9M7−$43.9M8−$52.1M9−$129.9M9−$85.7M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$224.9M13$76.7M14$65.3M15$26.9M15$89.5M15
Diluted shares83.6M88.3M89.0M91.7M105.4M

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
−$12.48
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.43
Free cash flow it threw off
−$8.13
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$12.48 of net worth that earned you −$3.43 and generated −$8.13 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
93% avg · 5y
FY21 93%FY22 —FY23 —FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average 93% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

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.

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 0001630805-24-000014 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001630805-25-000007 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001630805-26-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001630805-24-000014 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001630805-25-000007 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001630805-26-000018 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001630805-24-000014 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001630805-25-000007 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001630805-26-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001630805-24-000014 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001630805-25-000007 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001630805-26-000018 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001630805-24-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001630805-25-000007 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001630805-26-000018 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)