MeritValue

Dolphin Entertainment, Inc.

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

Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. earns about -21% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 52% 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$35.7M1$40.5M2$43.1M3$51.7M4$56.7M4
Net income−$6.46M5−$4.78M6−$24.4M7−$12.6M8−$3.09M8
Operating cash flow−$1.32M9−$4.03M10−$5.02M11−$157,85112−$2.03M12
Capital expenditure—$72,19813$28,99514$1,51215$1,11715
Free cash flow (derived)—−$4.1M10−$5.05M11−$159,36312−$2.03M12
Total debt$6.18M16$16.6M17$20.3M18$24.1M19$26.3M19
Cash & equivalents$7.69M20$6.07M21$6.43M22$8.2M23$8.76M23
Diluted shares7.6M9.9M7.2M10.3M11.6M

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
$8.38
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$2.67
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.76
Debt you’d be carrying
$22.75

10 shares is a claim on $8.38 of net worth that earned you −$2.67 and generated −$1.76 of cash last year, against $22.75 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-21% avg · 5y
FY21 -21%FY22 -6%FY23 -47%FY24 -30%FY25 -2%

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
+52% shares · 5y

Share count is up 52% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 325% 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001079973-24-000452 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (Revenues)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001079973-24-000452 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001079973-24-000452 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001079973-24-000452 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (DebtCurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001553350-23-000246 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001079973-24-000452 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001079973-25-000490 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001079973-26-000368 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)