MeritValue

GLADSTONE INVESTMENT CORPORATIONDE

GAINdata completeness 75%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'revenue'; no data for concept 'capex'; no data for concept 'depreciationAmortization'; no data for concept 'gainsOnRealEstateSales'; no data for concept 'realEstateImpairment'; no data for concept 'interestExpense'; no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

GLADSTONE INVESTMENT CORPORATIONDE earns about 18% on equity, but has diluted owners by 17% 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 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025FY 2026
Revenue—————
Net income$102.3M1$35.5M2$85.3M3$65.3M3$184.8M3
Operating cash flow$36.6M4−$4.5M5−$69.9M6$16.3M6−$101.6M6
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt$261.3M7$292.6M8$398.3M9$455.7M10$564.5M10
Cash & equivalents$14.2M11$2.68M12$2.46M13$14.3M13$2.39M14
Diluted shares33.2M33.3M34.5M36.7M38.7M

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
$172.61
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$47.72
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$145.81

10 shares is a claim on $172.61 of net worth that earned you $47.72 last year, against $145.81 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
18% avg · 5y
FY22 23%FY23 8%FY24 17%FY25 13%FY26 28%

It earned an average 18% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+17% shares · 5y

Share count is up 17% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 116% 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 v0.5.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
business development company / RIC — reported earnings are dominated by unrealised marks on private holdings, and a RIC must distribute ~90% of income so it cannot retain earnings to compound. Capitalising them would be meaningless, not merely imprecise. Price/NAV is the applicable lens.
Graham Number
not applicable
business development company / RIC — reported earnings are dominated by unrealised marks on private holdings, and a RIC must distribute ~90% of income so it cannot retain earnings to compound. Capitalising them would be meaningless, not merely imprecise. Price/NAV is the applicable lens.

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001321741-24-000009 (NetIncomeLoss)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001321741-25-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001321741-26-000011 (NetIncomeLoss)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001321741-24-000009 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001321741-25-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001321741-26-000011 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001321741-23-000011 (LongTermDebt)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001321741-24-000009 (LongTermDebt)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001321741-25-000010 (LongTermDebt)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2025-03-31 · accession 0001321741-26-000011 (LongTermDebt)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001321741-23-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-03-31 · accession 0001321741-24-000009 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-03-31 · accession 0001321741-25-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2026-03-31 · accession 0001321741-26-000011 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)