MeritValue

LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc

LEEdata completeness 100%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc earns about 2% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 4% 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$794.6M1$781M2$691.1M3$611.4M3$562.3M3
Net income$22.7M4−$2.02M5−$5.27M6−$25.8M6−$37.6M6
Operating cash flow$50.1M7$2.85M8−$3.18M9$1.12M9−$5.54M9
Capital expenditure$7.48M10$7.54M11$5.11M12$9.21M12$1.54M12
Free cash flow (derived)$42.6M7−$4.68M8−$8.29M9−$8.09M9−$7.08M9
Total debt$482.6M13$462.6M14$455.7M15$445.9M16$455.5M16
Cash & equivalents$26.1M17$16.2M18$14.5M19$9.6M20$9.99M20
Diluted shares5.8M5.8M5.9M5.9M6.1M

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
−$71.39
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$61.97
Free cash flow it threw off
−$11.68
Debt you’d be carrying
$750.86

10 shares is a claim on −$71.39 of net worth that earned you −$61.97 and generated −$11.68 of cash last year, against $750.86 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
2% avg · 5y
FY21 12%FY22 5%FY23 7%FY24 -6%FY25 -8%

It earned an average 2% 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
+4% shares · 5y

Share count is up 4% 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 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-005263 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-29 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-09-26 · accession 0001628280-23-005263 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-09-25 · accession 0001628280-23-041119 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-09-24 · accession 0001628280-24-051167 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-09-29 · accession 0000058361-25-000040 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)