MeritValue

IRIDEX CORP

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

IRIDEX CORP earns about -255% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 10% 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 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2026
Revenue$53.9M1$57M2$51.9M3$48.7M4$52.7M4
Net income−$5.23M5−$7.55M6−$9.57M7−$8.91M8−$4.44M8
Operating cash flow$8.22M9−$9.52M10−$6.75M11−$7.29M12−$2.12M12
Capital expenditure$213,00013$286,00014$109,00015$13,00016$143,00016
Free cash flow (derived)$8M9−$9.81M10−$6.85M11−$7.3M12−$2.26M12
Total debt———$2.7M17—
Cash & equivalents$23.9M18$13.9M19$7.03M20$2.39M21$6.03M21
Diluted shares15.4M15.9M16.1M16.4M16.9M

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
$2.91
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$2.62
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.33
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $2.91 of net worth that earned you −$2.62 and generated −$1.33 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-255% avg · 5y
FY22 —FY22 -179%FY23 -301%FY24 -285%FY26 —

It earned an average -255% 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
+10% shares · 5y

Share count is up 10% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

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 2022-01-01 · accession 0000950170-23-007061 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-038650 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0000950170-25-046107 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0000950170-23-007061 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-038650 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0000950170-25-046107 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0000950170-23-007061 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-038650 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0000950170-25-046107 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0000950170-23-007061 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-038650 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0000950170-25-046107 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0000950170-23-007061 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-038650 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0000950170-25-046107 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001193125-26-140194 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)