MeritValue

Danaos Corp

DACdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'capex'

The thesis, from the filings

Danaos Corp earns about 21% on invested capital, and has bought back 10% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $313.57 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$689.5M1$993.3M2$973.6M3$1.01B3$1.04B3
Net income$1.05B4$559.2M5$576.3M6$505.1M6$494.6M6
Operating cash flow$428.1M7$934.7M8$576.3M9$621.8M9$644.8M9
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt$1.11B10$429.9M11$404.2M12$734.8M13$1.16B13
Cash & equivalents$129.4M14$267.7M14$271.8M15$453.4M16$1.04B16
Diluted shares20.6M20.5M19.9M19.4M18.5M

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
$2,053.85
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$267.64
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$625.04

10 shares is a claim on $2,053.85 of net worth that earned you $267.64 last year, against $625.04 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
21% avg · 5y
FY21 37%FY22 23%FY23 19%FY24 15%FY25 13%

It earned an average 21% 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
−10% shares · 5y

Share count is down 10% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. 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
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
Earnings Power Value
$313.57
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$559.2M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$351.66
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-029397 (Revenues)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000277 (Revenues)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-021574 (Revenues)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-029397 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000277 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-021574 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-029397 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000277 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-021574 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-030602 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-029397 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000277 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-021574 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-029397 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000277 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-021574 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)