MeritValue

Castellum, Inc.

CTMdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Castellum, Inc. earns about -41% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 409% 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$25.1M1$42.2M2$45.2M3$44.8M3$52.9M3
Net income−$7.55M4−$14.9M5−$17.8M6−$9.98M6−$2.4M6
Operating cash flow−$1.35M7$990,1638−$2.26M9$1.12M9−$1.95M9
Capital expenditure$10,21810$89,28211$18,27112$3,31712$151,74112
Free cash flow (derived)−$1.36M7$900,8818−$2.28M9$1.12M9−$2.1M9
Total debt$8.39M13$8.37M14$8.07M15$8M15—
Cash & equivalents$2.02M16$4.64M17$1.83M17$12.3M17$14.9M17
Diluted shares18.3M27.5M47.2M55.3M93.0M

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
$3.85
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.26
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.23
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $3.85 of net worth that earned you −$0.26 and generated −$0.23 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-41% avg · 5y
FY21 -31%FY22 -47%FY23 -73%FY24 -48%FY25 -8%

It earned an average -41% 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
+409% shares · 5y

Share count is up 409% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

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 0001877939-24-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001877939-26-000016 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001877939-24-000018 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001877939-26-000016 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001877939-24-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001877939-26-000016 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001877939-24-000018 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001877939-26-000016 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001877939-23-000005 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-24-000018 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (LongTermDebt)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001877939-25-000021 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001877939-26-000016 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)