MeritValue

ENERGY FOCUS, INC/DE

EFOIdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

ENERGY FOCUS, INC/DE earns about -101% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 22% 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$9.87M1$5.97M2$5.72M3$4.86M4$3.56M4
Net income−$7.89M5−$10.3M6−$4.29M7−$1.58M8−$1.03M8
Operating cash flow−$9.77M9−$6.71M10−$2.44M11−$1.3M12−$1.4M12
Capital expenditure$443,00013$41,00014$69,00015$19,00016$54,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$10.2M9−$6.75M10−$2.51M11−$1.32M12−$1.46M12
Total debt—$4.88M17$2.22M18$018—
Cash & equivalents$2.68M19$52,00020$2.03M21$565,00022$1.06M22
Diluted shares4.6M1.2M3.2M4.9M5.6M

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
$7.4
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$1.85
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.63
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $7.4 of net worth that earned you −$1.85 and generated −$2.63 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-101% avg · 5y
FY21 -159%FY22 -169%FY23 -95%FY24 -53%FY25 -27%

It earned an average -101% 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
+22% shares · 5y

Share count is up 22% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 100% — 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 v0.1.0
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 0000924168-23-000035 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-020697 (Revenues)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000924168-23-000035 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-020697 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000924168-23-000035 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-020697 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000924168-23-000035 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-020697 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000924168-23-000035 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012713 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-014614 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-020697 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)