MeritValue

Cyngn Inc.

CYNdata completeness 88%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Cyngn Inc. earns about -138% on invested capital, and has bought back 23% 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—$262,0001$1.49M2$368,1383$218,9763
Net income−$7.8M4−$19.2M5−$22.8M6−$33.3M7−$23.5M7
Operating cash flow−$8.64M8−$16.3M9−$19.5M10−$19.2M11−$23.6M11
Capital expenditure—$918,31812$1.05M13$1.05M14$1.23M14
Free cash flow (derived)—−$17.2M9−$20.5M10−$20.2M11−$24.8M11
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$21.9M15$10.5M16$3.59M16$23.6M17$990,02317
Diluted shares5.9M34.9M3,49413,2214.5M

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
$85.35
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$51.69
Free cash flow it threw off
−$54.64
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $85.35 of net worth that earned you −$51.69 and generated −$54.64 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-138% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -112%FY23 -254%FY24 —FY25 -49%

It earned an average -138% 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
−23% shares · 5y

Share count is down 23% 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 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-020777 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-110998 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-034900 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-020719 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-020777 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-110998 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-034900 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-020719 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-020777 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-110998 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-034900 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-020777 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-110998 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-034900 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-020719 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-020777 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-034900 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)