MeritValue

ClearSign Technologies Corp

CLIRdata completeness 88%15 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

ClearSign Technologies Corp earns about -764% on invested capital, and has bought back 82% of its shares over 5 years. 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$607,0001$374,0002$2.4M3$3.6M4$5.23M4
Net income−$7.89M5−$5.76M6−$5.19M7−$5.3M8−$5.5M8
Operating cash flow−$6.71M9−$4.99M10−$3.23M11−$4.37M12−$4.74M12
Capital expenditure$73,00013$10,00014—$39,00015$4,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$6.78M9−$5M10—−$4.41M12−$4.74M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$7.61M16$6.45M17$5.68M18$14M19$9.18M19
Diluted shares31.2M35.3M38.5M4.9M5.6M

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
$17.17
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$9.9
Free cash flow it threw off
−$8.54
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $17.17 of net worth that earned you −$9.9 and generated −$8.54 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-764% avg · 5y
FY21 -923%FY22 -145%FY23 —FY24 —FY25 -1224%

It earned an average -764% 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
−82% shares · 5y

Share count is down 82% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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 0001558370-23-005285 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004441 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004155 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037699 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-005285 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004441 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004155 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037699 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-005285 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004441 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004155 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037699 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-005285 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004441 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037699 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-005285 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004441 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004155 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037699 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)