MeritValue

LITHIUM AMERICAS CORP.

LACdata completeness 75%5 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'revenue'; no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

LITHIUM AMERICAS CORP. earns about -5% on equity, but has diluted owners by 52% 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—————
Net income−$47M1−$67.8M1−$5.09M2−$42.6M3−$86.3M3
Operating cash flow−$42.9M4−$52M4−$39.5M5−$13M6−$61.2M6
Capital expenditure$529,0007$1.51M7$188.9M8$177.7M9$765M9
Free cash flow (derived)−$43.5M4−$53.5M4−$228.5M5−$190.7M6−$826.3M6
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$933,00010$636,00011$195.5M12$593.9M13$568.2M13
Diluted shares——160.4M200.8M243.7M

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
$43.45
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.54
Free cash flow it threw off
−$33.91
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $43.45 of net worth that earned you −$3.54 and generated −$33.91 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-5% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 —FY23 -1%FY24 -7%FY25 -8%

It earned an average -5% 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
+52% shares · 5y

Share count is up 52% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

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. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032515 (ProfitLoss)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-046424 (NetIncomeLoss)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-115081 (NetIncomeLoss)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032515 (CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-046424 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-115081 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032515 (PurchaseOfPropertyPlantAndEquipmentClassifiedAsInvestingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-046424 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-115081 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-032515 (CashAndCashEquivalents)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-046424 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-046424 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-115081 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)