MeritValue

Charlie's Holdings, Inc.

CHUCdata completeness 75%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Charlie's Holdings, Inc. earns about -131% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 17% 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$21.5M1$26.4M2$16.3M3$7.77M4$20.9M4
Net income$4.81M5−$1.59M6−$2.09M7−$4.16M8$4.5M8
Operating cash flow−$1.35M9−$1.72M10−$783,00011−$1.62M12−$5.78M12
Capital expenditure$110,00013$189,00014$014$015$23,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$1.46M9−$1.91M10−$783,00011−$1.62M12−$5.8M12
Total debt$150,00016$1.45M17$2.46M18$2.16M19—
Cash & equivalents—————
Diluted shares237.7M212.3M216.1M234.8M278.5M

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
$0.12
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$0.16
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.21
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $0.12 of net worth that earned you $0.16 and generated −$0.21 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-131% avg · 5y
FY21 148%FY22 -38%FY23 -54%FY24 -837%FY25 126%

It earned an average -131% 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
+17% shares · 5y

Share count is up 17% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 1339% over the same window.

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
$0.07
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-010449 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-012061 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-018798 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-010761 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-010449 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-012061 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-018798 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-010761 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-010449 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-012061 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-018798 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-010761 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-010449 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-012061 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-010761 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001851734-22-000194 (LongTermDebt)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-010449 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-012061 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-018798 (LongTermDebt)