MeritValue

DAWSON GEOPHYSICAL CO

DWSNdata completeness 88%19 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

DAWSON GEOPHYSICAL CO earns about -38% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 32% 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$24.7M1$51.6M2$96.8M3$74.2M4$75.6M4
Net income−$29.1M5−$18.6M6−$12.1M7−$4.12M8−$1.94M8
Operating cash flow−$16.1M9−$3.27M10$814,00011−$1.87M12$14M12
Capital expenditure$505,00013$1.43M14$3.72M15$1.87M16$6.83M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$16.6M9−$4.7M10−$2.91M11−$3.73M12$7.15M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$25.4M17$18.6M18$10.8M19$1.39M20$4.91M20
Diluted shares23.6M25.0M26.8M30.9M31.0M

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
$5.1
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.63
Free cash flow it threw off
$2.3
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $5.1 of net worth that earned you −$0.63 and generated $2.3 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-38% avg · 5y
FY21 -62%FY22 -48%FY23 -46%FY24 -20%FY25 -14%

It earned an average -38% 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
+32% shares · 5y

Share count is up 32% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

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 0001558370-23-003587 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004547 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004330 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037886 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003587 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004547 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004330 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037886 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003587 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004547 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004330 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037886 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003587 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004547 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004330 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037886 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003587 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004547 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004330 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-037886 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)