MeritValue

CYANOTECH CORP

CYANdata completeness 100%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

CYANOTECH CORP earns about -3% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 16% 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$32.3M1$36M2$23.2M2$23.1M3$24.2M3
Net income$920,0004$2.15M5−$3.44M5−$5.27M6−$3.2M6
Operating cash flow$2.4M7$2.38M8−$2.1M8−$455,0009−$1.19M9
Capital expenditure$760,00010$1.27M11$1.07M11$381,00012$247,00012
Free cash flow (derived)$1.64M7$1.11M8−$3.17M8−$836,0009−$1.44M9
Total debt$13.2M13$9.76M14$10.9M15$16.5M16$16M16
Cash & equivalents$3.77M17$2.59M18$974,00019$707,00020$257,00020
Diluted shares6.1M6,1686,2446,5317.1M

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
$12.56
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$4.53
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.04
Debt you’d be carrying
$22.64

10 shares is a claim on $12.56 of net worth that earned you −$4.53 and generated −$2.04 of cash last year, against $22.64 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-3% avg · 5y
FY21 6%FY22 10%FY23 -9%FY24 -13%FY25 -8%

It earned an average -3% 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
+16% shares · 5y

Share count is up 16% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 21% 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
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 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (PaymentsForCapitalImprovements)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (PaymentsForCapitalImprovements)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (PaymentsForCapitalImprovements)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-22-015612 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001437749-22-015612 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001437749-23-018616 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001437749-24-021266 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001437749-25-020904 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)