MeritValue

Hesai Group

HSAIdata completeness 100%4 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Hesai Group earns about -4% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 27% over 4 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 2025
Revenue$174.4M1$264.4M2$284.6M3$432.9M4
Net income−$43.6M5−$67M6−$14M7$62.3M8
Operating cash flow−$100.9M9$8.07M10$8.7M11$16.7M12
Capital expenditure$33.5M13$57.3M14$35.6M15$44.2M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$134.4M9−$49.2M10−$26.9M11−$27.5M12
Total debt$2.68M17$56M18$84.2M19$104M20
Cash & equivalents$132.4M21$219M22$388.9M23$237.9M24
Diluted shares115.5M124.8M129.2M146.4M

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
$87.48
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$4.26
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.88
Debt you’d be carrying
$7.1

10 shares is a claim on $87.48 of net worth that earned you $4.26 and generated −$1.88 of cash last year, against $7.1 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-4% avg · 4y
FY22 —FY23 -14%FY24 -5%FY25 5%

It earned an average -4% on invested capital over 4 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+27% shares · 4y

Share count is up 27% over 4 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 3782% 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
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
$9.2
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  20. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  21. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001104659-23-047439 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-051452 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000614 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-048025 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)