MeritValue

AEye, Inc.

LIDRdata completeness 88%7 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

AEye, Inc. earns about -405% on invested capital, and has bought back 79% 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$3.01M1$3.65M2$1.46M3$202,0004$233,0004
Net income−$65M5−$98.7M6−$87.1M7−$35.5M8−$34M8
Operating cash flow−$55.7M9−$71.6M10−$50.7M11−$26.6M12−$27.8M12
Capital expenditure$1.02M13$4.2M14$1.95M15$486,00016$109,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$56.7M9−$75.8M10−$52.7M11−$27.1M12−$27.9M12
Total debt$017$8.59M18———
Cash & equivalents$14.2M19$19.1M20$16.9M21$10.3M22$43.4M22
Diluted shares109.1M5.2M5.8M7.3M23.1M

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
$35.17
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$14.68
Free cash flow it threw off
−$12.06
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $35.17 of net worth that earned you −$14.68 and generated −$12.06 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-405% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 —FY23 -569%FY24 -577%FY25 -71%

It earned an average -405% 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
−79% shares · 5y

Share count is down 79% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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 0001818644-23-000003 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-24-000003 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004906 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008858 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001818644-23-000003 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-24-000003 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004906 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008858 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001818644-23-000003 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-24-000003 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004906 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008858 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001818644-23-000003 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-24-000003 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004906 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008858 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001818644-22-000008 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-23-000003 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001818644-23-000003 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001818644-24-000003 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-004906 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008858 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)