MeritValue

Dingdong (Cayman) Ltd

DDLdata completeness 88%5 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'investmentsAtFairValue'; no data for concept 'netInvestmentIncome'; no data for concept 'gainsOnRealEstateSales'; no data for concept 'realEstateImpairment'; no data for concept 'dividendsPaid'; no data for concept 'epsDiluted'

The thesis, from the filings

Dingdong (Cayman) Ltd earns about -23% on invested capital. 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$3.16B1$3.51B2$2.81B3$3.16B4$3.48B5
Net income−$1.01B6−$117M7−$12.9M8$41.7M9$33.1M10
Operating cash flow−$889.2M11$12.7M12−$33M13$127.3M14$76.6M15
Capital expenditure$70.9M16$18.4M17$11.7M18$13.5M19$25.4M20
Free cash flow (derived)−$960.1M11−$5.73M12−$44.8M13$113.8M14$51.2M15
Total debt$507.9M21$614.4M22$464.8M23$220.1M24$124.6M25
Cash & equivalents$104M26$269.1M27$170.3M28$121.6M29$158.3M30
Diluted shares—————

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-23% avg · 5y
FY21 -152%FY22 -20%FY23 1%FY24 23%FY25 31%

It earned an average -23% 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
— shares · 5y

Total debt has fallen 75% — deleveraging.

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 v0.5.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
no diluted share count — cannot compute per-share value
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
no diluted share count — cannot compute per-share value
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. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (Revenues)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (Revenues)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (Revenues)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (Revenues)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (Revenues)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (NetIncomeLoss)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (NetIncomeLoss)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  19. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  20. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  21. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  22. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  23. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  24. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  25. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  26. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-22-135422 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  27. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-009098 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  28. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-046040 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  29. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-055994 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  30. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-174971 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)