MeritValue

FIRST ADVANTAGE CORP

FAdata completeness 100%7 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

FIRST ADVANTAGE CORP earns about 0% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 22% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $0.96 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$712.3M1$810M2$763.8M3$860.2M3$1.57B3
Net income$16.1M4$64.6M5$37.3M6−$110.3M6−$34.8M6
Operating cash flow$148.7M7$212.8M8$162.8M9$28.2M9$195.1M9
Capital expenditure$7.31M10$6.17M11$2.09M12$1.72M12$6.63M12
Free cash flow (derived)$141.4M7$206.6M8$160.7M9$26.5M9$188.5M9
Total debt$554.8M13$556.6M14$1.12B15$4.31B16$4.19B16
Cash & equivalents$292.6M17$391.7M18$213.8M19$168.7M20$240M20
Diluted shares141.7M151.8M146.2M148.6M173.2M

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
$75.84
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$2.01
Free cash flow it threw off
$10.88
Debt you’d be carrying
$242.18

10 shares is a claim on $75.84 of net worth that earned you −$2.01 and generated $10.88 of cash last year, against $242.18 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
0% avg · 5y
FY21 2%FY22 4%FY23 1%FY24 -2%FY25 -3%

It earned an average 0% 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 risen 656% 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
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth4.4%
  • fcfBase$160.7M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth4.4%
  • fcfBase$160.7M
Earnings Power Value
$0.96
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$16.1M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
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 0000950170-24-023094 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023094 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023094 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023094 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-005110 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023094 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-005110 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-023094 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-029067 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-076740 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)