MeritValue

FiscalNote Holdings, Inc.

NOTEdata completeness 100%5 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

FiscalNote Holdings, Inc. earns about -14% on invested capital, and has bought back 10% 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$82.9M1$113.8M2$132.6M3$120.3M4$95.4M4
Net income−$109.4M5−$218.3M6−$115.5M7$9.52M8−$65.2M8
Operating cash flow−$37M9−$72.6M10−$35.5M11−$5.3M12−$11.4M12
Capital expenditure$5.57M13$11.4M14$7.94M15$8.88M16$7.2M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$42.6M9−$84M10−$43.4M11−$14.2M12−$18.6M12
Total debt$662.4M17$324.1M18$444.8M19$294.2M20$256.9M20
Cash & equivalents$32.2M21$60.4M22$16.5M23$28.8M24$24.3M24
Diluted shares15.5M66.5M131.4M11.4M14.0M

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
$44.17
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$46.52
Free cash flow it threw off
−$13.29
Debt you’d be carrying
$183.16

10 shares is a claim on $44.17 of net worth that earned you −$46.52 and generated −$13.29 of cash last year, against $183.16 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-14% avg · 5y
FY21 -28%FY22 -24%FY23 -14%FY24 9%FY25 -13%

It earned an average -14% 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
−10% shares · 5y

Share count is down 10% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 61% — 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010339 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-031826 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-048724 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-120769 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)