MeritValue

Mentor Capital, Inc.

MNTRdata completeness 88%13 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Mentor Capital, Inc. earns about 12% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 24696% 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$6.01M1$35,0742——$166,8113
Net income−$272,8484−$471,3865$3.16M6−$839,5057−$574,1197
Operating cash flow−$215,6718$172,4158−$2.43M9−$627,05510−$497,07110
Capital expenditure$62,66511$40,60911$2,29112—$5,99213
Free cash flow (derived)−$278,3368$131,8068−$2.43M9—−$503,06310
Total debt$89,87214$83,87614———
Cash & equivalents$453,93915$283,43116$2.43M17$2.18M18$49,19318
Diluted shares87,45622.9M25.9M23.5M21.7M

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
$1.07
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.26
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.23
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $1.07 of net worth that earned you −$0.26 and generated −$0.23 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
12% avg · 5y
FY21 -8%FY22 -30%FY23 209%FY24 -92%FY25 -20%

It earned an average 12% 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
+24696% shares · 5y

Share count is up 24696% 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-012225 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016728 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-012225 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001620 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016728 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001620 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivitiesContinuingOperations)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016728 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001620 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016728 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-009161 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-012225 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001620 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016728 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)