MeritValue

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc.

CNETdata completeness 88%16 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. earns about -67% on invested capital, and has bought back 60% 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$47.3M1$26.2M2$30.6M3$15.4M4$4.61M4
Net income−$2.75M5−$9.79M6−$5.97M7−$3.76M8−$1.77M8
Operating cash flow−$8.84M9−$3.19M10−$2.01M11−$2.06M12−$929,00012
Capital expenditure$334,00013$014$81,00015$3,00016$65,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$9.17M9−$3.19M10−$2.09M11−$2.06M12−$994,00012
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$7.17M17$4.39M18$817,00019$812,00020$970,00020
Diluted shares6.6M7.1M1.9M2.0M2.7M

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
$16.35
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$6.66
Free cash flow it threw off
−$3.74
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $16.35 of net worth that earned you −$6.66 and generated −$3.74 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-67% avg · 5y
FY21 -14%FY22 -98%FY23 -87%FY24 -94%FY25 -41%

It earned an average -67% 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
−60% shares · 5y

Share count is down 60% 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 0001171843-23-002333 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001171843-24-003699 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001171843-25-002214 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001171843-26-002058 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001171843-23-002333 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001171843-24-003699 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001171843-25-002214 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001171843-26-002058 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001171843-23-002333 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001171843-24-003699 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001171843-25-002214 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001171843-26-002058 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001171843-23-002333 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001171843-24-003699 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001171843-25-002214 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001171843-26-002058 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001171843-23-002333 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001171843-24-003699 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001171843-25-002214 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001171843-26-002058 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)