MeritValue

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL INC

CMPdata completeness 100%18 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

COMPASS MINERALS INTERNATIONAL INC earns about -1% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 23% 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$1.15B1$1.25B2$1.2B3$1.12B3$1.24B3
Net income−$185.7M4−$21.1M5$10.5M6−$206.1M6−$79.8M6
Operating cash flow$141.4M7$120.4M8$106M9$14.4M9$197.7M9
Capital expenditure$85.8M10$96.6M11$154.3M12$114.2M12$69.7M12
Free cash flow (derived)$55.6M7$23.8M8−$48.3M9−$99.8M9$128M9
Total debt$1.87B13$1.9B14$1.61B15$1.84B16$832.2M16
Cash & equivalents$18.1M17$46.1M18$38.7M19$20.2M20$59.7M20
Diluted shares34.0M34.1M40.8M41.3M41.8M

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
$55.97
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$19.08
Free cash flow it threw off
$30.6
Debt you’d be carrying
$198.96

10 shares is a claim on $55.97 of net worth that earned you −$19.08 and generated $30.6 of cash last year, against $198.96 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-1% avg · 5y
FY21 4%FY22 1%FY23 2%FY24 -7%FY25 -4%

It earned an average -1% 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
+23% shares · 5y

Share count is up 23% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 56% — 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 v0.1.0
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/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-22-000340 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001227654-22-000340 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000210 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001227654-24-000230 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001227654-25-000199 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)