MeritValue

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP /DE/

CMTLdata completeness 100%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP /DE/ earns about -31% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 14% 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$581.7M1$486.2M2$550M3$540.4M3$499.5M3
Net income−$73.5M4−$33.1M5−$26.9M6−$100M6−$155.3M6
Operating cash flow−$40.6M7$2M8−$4.43M9−$54.5M9−$8.29M9
Capital expenditure$16M10$19.6M11$18.3M12$13.1M12$8.57M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$56.7M7−$17.6M8−$22.7M9−$67.6M9−$16.9M9
Total debt$201M13$130M14$164.4M15$174.5M15$4.05M16
Cash & equivalents$30.9M17$21.7M18$19M19$32.4M20$40M20
Diluted shares25.7M26.5M28.0M28.8M29.4M

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
$35.51
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$52.81
Free cash flow it threw off
−$5.73
Debt you’d be carrying
$1.38

10 shares is a claim on $35.51 of net worth that earned you −$52.81 and generated −$5.73 of cash last year, against $1.38 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-31% avg · 5y
FY21 -8%FY22 -4%FY23 -2%FY24 -14%FY25 -127%

It earned an average -31% 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
+14% shares · 5y

Share count is up 14% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 98% — 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 · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-22-000068 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2025-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-07-31 · accession 0000023197-22-000068 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-07-31 · accession 0000023197-23-000048 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-07-31 · accession 0000023197-24-000104 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-07-31 · accession 0000023197-25-000080 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)