MeritValue

HIGH WIRE NETWORKS, INC.

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

HIGH WIRE NETWORKS, INC. earns about -63% on equity, but has diluted owners by 54809% 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 2020FY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024
Revenue$9.91M1$27.2M2$26.8M3$6.91M4$8.38M4
Net income−$693,0835−$13.7M6−$19M7−$14.5M8−$384,8268
Operating cash flow−$532,7269−$4.21M10−$2.12M11−$7.93M12−$6.13M12
Capital expenditure$115,32013$93,34714$404,70115$20,00016$13,98616
Free cash flow (derived)−$648,0469−$4.3M10−$2.52M11−$7.95M12−$6.14M12
Total debt$890,72417$5.37M17$2.11M18$3M18—
Cash & equivalents$184,67719$445,47920$649,02721$333,35722$220,82422
Diluted shares1,75419.1M68.7M906,834963,097

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
−$19.2
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$4
Free cash flow it threw off
−$63.75
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$19.2 of net worth that earned you −$4 and generated −$63.75 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-63% avg · 5y
FY20 -63%FY21 —FY22 —FY23 —FY24 —

It earned an average -63% 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
+54809% shares · 5y

Share count is up 54809% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 236% 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
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 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-030267 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-026353 (Revenues)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-030267 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-026353 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-030267 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-026353 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-030267 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-026353 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2020-12-31 · accession 0001213900-22-020116 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-034533 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001213900-25-026353 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)