MeritValue

The9 LTD

NCTYdata completeness 88%15 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'capex'

The thesis, from the filings

The9 LTD earns about -60% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 359% 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$21.3M1$17.2M2$25.2M3$15.3M4$15.4M5
Net income−$64.5M6−$141.3M7$2.82M8−$10.1M9−$58.5M10
Operating cash flow−$107.9M11−$22.4M12−$6.52M13−$6.06M14−$4.54M15
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt———$12.2M16$25M16
Cash & equivalents$67.2M17$8.42M18$6.37M19$1.5M20$8.36M21
Diluted shares495.3M720,2371.01B1.40B2.27B

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
$0.12
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.26
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$0.11

10 shares is a claim on $0.12 of net worth that earned you −$0.26 last year, against $0.11 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-60% avg · 5y
FY21 -67%FY22 —FY23 -55%FY24 -14%FY25 -105%

It earned an average -60% 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
+359% shares · 5y

Share count is up 359% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 104% over the same window.

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
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
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. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-22-001128 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000860 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-047294 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000945 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-043910 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-22-001128 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000860 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-047294 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000945 (NetIncomeLoss)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-043910 (ProfitLoss)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-22-001128 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000860 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-047294 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000945 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-043910 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-043910 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001410578-22-001128 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001410578-23-000860 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001104659-24-047294 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001410578-25-000945 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 20-F · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-043910 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)