MeritValue

LIFECORE BIOMEDICAL, INC. \DE\

LFCRdata completeness 100%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

LIFECORE BIOMEDICAL, INC. \DE\ earns about -6% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 19% 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$100.9M1$111.3M2$103.3M2$128.3M3$128.9M3
Net income−$32.3M4−$116.7M5−$99.6M5$12M6−$38.7M6
Operating cash flow$16.5M7−$22.6M8−$17.4M8$257,0009−$206,0009
Capital expenditure$19.3M10$26.2M10—$18.4M11$13.4M11
Free cash flow (derived)−$2.79M7−$48.8M8—−$18.1M9−$13.6M9
Total debt$329.8M12$196.4M12$169.7M13$226.4M13$133.9M14
Cash & equivalents$763,00015$991,00015$19.1M16$8.46M17$8.27M17
Diluted shares29.3M29.5M30.0M36.7M34.8M

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
$0.38
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$11.12
Free cash flow it threw off
−$3.91
Debt you’d be carrying
$38.45

10 shares is a claim on $0.38 of net worth that earned you −$11.12 and generated −$3.91 of cash last year, against $38.45 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-6% avg · 5y
FY21 -3%FY22 -1%FY23 -25%FY24 12%FY25 -10%

It earned an average -6% 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
+19% shares · 5y

Share count is up 19% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 59% — 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 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-24-000030 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-05-29 · accession 0001005286-24-000124 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-05-26 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-24-000030 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-05-29 · accession 0001005286-24-000124 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-05-26 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-24-000030 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-05-29 · accession 0001005286-24-000124 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-05-26 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-23-000055 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-05-26 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-24-000030 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2023-05-28 · accession 0001005286-24-000124 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-25 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-05-30 · accession 0001005286-24-000030 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-05-28 · accession 0001005286-24-000124 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-05-26 · accession 0001005286-25-000108 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)