MeritValue

Cheetah Mobile Inc.

CMCMdata completeness 75%12 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Cheetah Mobile Inc. earns about -197% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 7% 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$123.1M1$128.2M2$94.3M3$110.5M4$164.5M5
Net income−$55.1M6−$74.4M7−$84.9M8−$84.6M9−$36.9M10
Operating cash flow$16.1M11−$61.5M12$77.5M13−$32.6M14−$24.6M15
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$248.6M16$219.8M17$284.5M18$251.1M19$215.4M20
Diluted shares1.43B1.44B1.47B1.50B1.53B

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
$1.5
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.24
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $1.5 of net worth that earned you −$0.24 last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-197% avg · 5y
FY21 -16%FY22 -28%FY23 -116%FY24 -648%FY25 -177%

It earned an average -197% 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
+7% shares · 5y

Share count is up 7% 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
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
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. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-201423 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-013158 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-045305 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053935 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-171821 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-201423 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-013158 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-045305 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053935 (NetIncomeLoss)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-171821 (NetIncomeLoss)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-201423 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-013158 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-045305 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053935 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-171821 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-201423 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-013158 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-045305 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-053935 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-171821 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)