MeritValue

LIVEPERSON INC

LPSNdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

LIVEPERSON INC earns about -192% on equity, and has bought back 88% 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$469.6M1$514.8M2$402M3$312.5M3$243.7M3
Net income−$125M4−$225.7M5−$100.4M6−$134.3M6−$67.2M6
Operating cash flow$3.25M7−$62.1M8−$19.8M9−$15.1M9−$30.4M9
Capital expenditure$45.7M10$48.5M11$28.7M12$25.1M12$12.1M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$42.5M7−$110.6M8−$48.4M9−$40.3M9−$42.5M9
Total debt$574.2M13$737.4M14$584M14——
Cash & equivalents$521.8M15$391.8M16$210.8M17$183.2M17$95M17
Diluted shares69.6M74.5M5.2M5.9M8.6M

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
−$51.49
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$77.81
Free cash flow it threw off
−$49.21
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$51.49 of net worth that earned you −$77.81 and generated −$49.21 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-192% avg · 5y
FY21 -36%FY22 -332%FY23 -209%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -192% 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
−88% shares · 5y

Share count is down 88% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-25-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001102993-26-000020 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-25-000018 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001102993-26-000020 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-25-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001102993-26-000020 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-25-000018 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001102993-26-000020 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-23-000019 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001102993-24-000037 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001102993-25-000018 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K/A · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001102993-26-000020 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)