MeritValue

Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc.

GROVdata completeness 100%6 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc. earns about -431% on equity, but has diluted owners by 2178% 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$383.7M1$321.5M1$259.3M2$203.4M3$173.7M3
Net income−$135.9M4−$87.7M4−$43.2M5−$27.4M6−$11.7M6
Operating cash flow−$127.1M7−$96.3M7−$7.99M8−$9.75M9−$6.95M9
Capital expenditure$5.77M10$4.22M10$2.99M11$1.76M12$1.17M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$132.9M7−$100.5M7−$11M8−$11.5M9−$8.12M9
Total debt$133.9M13$122.4M14$143.3M15$7.5M16$7.5M16
Cash & equivalents$78.4M17$81.1M18$86.4M19$19.6M20$8.49M20
Diluted shares1.7M18.1M34.8M37.0M39.0M

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
−$4.35
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.08
Debt you’d be carrying
$1.92

10 shares is a claim on −$4.35 of net worth that earned you −$3 and generated −$2.08 of cash last year, against $1.92 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-431% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -331%FY23 -532%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -431% 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
+2178% shares · 5y

Share count is up 2178% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 94% — 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 0001628280-24-012257 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012257 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012257 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012257 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001841761-23-000012 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012257 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001841761-23-000012 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-012257 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-013839 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001841761-26-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)