MeritValue

Knightscope, Inc.

KSCPdata completeness 100%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Knightscope, Inc. earns about -161% on equity, and has bought back 20% of its shares over 5 years. 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$3.41M1$5.63M2$12.8M3$10.8M4$11.3M4
Net income−$43.8M5−$25.6M6−$22.1M7−$31.7M8−$33.8M8
Operating cash flow−$20.1M9−$24.1M10−$24.2M11−$22.5M12−$30.3M12
Capital expenditure$117,00013$111,00014$457,00015$43,00016$654,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$20.2M9−$24.2M10−$24.6M11−$22.5M12−$31M12
Total debt$14.2M17$17.4M18$2.48M19$9.27M20$8.44M20
Cash & equivalents$10.7M21$4.81M22$2.28M23$11.1M24$20.6M24
Diluted shares10.6M35.6M1.3M2.9M8.5M

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
$32.83
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$39.98
Free cash flow it threw off
−$36.65
Debt you’d be carrying
$9.97

10 shares is a claim on $32.83 of net worth that earned you −$39.98 and generated −$36.65 of cash last year, against $9.97 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-161% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 —FY23 —FY24 -201%FY25 -122%

It earned an average -161% 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
−20% shares · 5y

Share count is down 20% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 41% — 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 0001410578-23-000578 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000578 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000578 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000578 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000578 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000578 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-24-000417 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-004171 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-036240 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)