MeritValue

COHU INC

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

COHU INC earns about 5% on invested capital, and has bought back 4% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $6.24 a share.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$887.2M1$812.8M2$636.3M3$401.8M3$453M3
Net income$167.3M4$96.8M5$28.2M6−$69.8M6−$74.3M6
Operating cash flow$97.9M7$112.9M8$101.5M9$2.78M9$31.7M9
Capital expenditure$12M10$14.8M11$16.1M12$10.6M12$21M12
Free cash flow (derived)$85.9M7$98.1M8$85.4M9−$7.86M9$10.7M9
Total debt$237.1M13$158.7M14$81.5M15$17.6M16$601.2M16
Cash & equivalents$290.2M17$242.3M18$245.5M19$206.4M20$227.1M20
Diluted shares48.5M48.8M48.0M46.9M46.7M

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
$168.13
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$15.9
Free cash flow it threw off
$2.3
Debt you’d be carrying
$128.67

10 shares is a claim on $168.13 of net worth that earned you −$15.9 and generated $2.3 of cash last year, against $128.67 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
5% avg · 5y
FY21 21%FY22 12%FY23 4%FY24 -8%FY25 -4%

It earned an average 5% 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
−4% shares · 5y

Share count is down 4% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 154% over the same window.

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
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$10.7M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$10.7M
Earnings Power Value
$6.24
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$28.2M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
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 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-23-003782 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-25 · accession 0001437749-23-003782 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-004596 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001437749-25-004612 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001437749-26-004339 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)