MeritValue

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

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

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC. earns about 1% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 168% 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$18.4M1$43.4M2$45.2M3$50.9M4$57.2M4
Net income$232,0005$1.88M6−$2.94M7−$3.51M8−$8.28M8
Operating cash flow$471,0009−$708,00010$5.17M11$3.38M12−$7.75M12
Capital expenditure$19,00013$149,00014$306,00015$11,00016$306,00016
Free cash flow (derived)$452,0009−$857,00010$4.86M11$3.37M12−$8.06M12
Total debt$6.88M17$35.1M18$30.7M19$26.1M20$87.9M20
Cash & equivalents$2.88M21$1.63M22$2.91M23$1.04M24$1.56M24
Diluted shares3.9M6.7M8.5M10.4M10.5M

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
$20.48
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$7.89
Free cash flow it threw off
−$7.68
Debt you’d be carrying
$83.76

10 shares is a claim on $20.48 of net worth that earned you −$7.89 and generated −$7.68 of cash last year, against $83.76 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
1% avg · 5y
FY21 8%FY22 8%FY23 0%FY24 -5%FY25 -5%

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
+168% shares · 5y

Share count is up 168% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 1177% 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
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$3.37M
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
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$3.37M
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 0001437749-23-008631 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008631 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008631 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008631 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008631 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-008631 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008777 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007738 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-012302 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)