MeritValue

NORTECH SYSTEMS INC

NSYSdata completeness 88%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

NORTECH SYSTEMS INC earns about 11% on invested capital, barely covering its ~9% cost of capital, with a roughly flat share count. The estimate methods put fair value between $2.9 and $7.5 a share.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$115.2M1$134.1M2$139.3M3$128.1M4$118.4M4
Net income$7.15M5$2.01M6$6.87M7−$1.3M8−$252,0008
Operating cash flow−$4.54M9$5.4M10$1.77M11−$2.25M12$2.74M12
Capital expenditure$1.29M13$2.37M14$1.28M15$1.27M16$661,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$5.83M9$3.03M10$485,00011−$3.52M12$2.08M12
Total debt$017————
Cash & equivalents$643,00018$1.03M19$960,00020$916,00020$1.66M21
Diluted shares2.8M2.9M2.9M2.8M2.8M

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
$124.42
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.91
Free cash flow it threw off
$7.5
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $124.42 of net worth that earned you −$0.91 and generated $7.5 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
11% avg · 5y
FY21 30%FY22 8%FY23 17%FY24 -2%FY25 0%

It earned about 11% on invested capital against a ~9% cost of capital — roughly what it costs to fund the business, so the numbers show no clear edge.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−2% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback.

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

The 3 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $2.9 and $7.5 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story.

DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
$2.9
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$485,000
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
$3.09
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$485,000
Earnings Power Value
$7.5
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$2.01M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

v. The price question — last, on purpose
Is today’s price fair?
See live price ↗
Type a price. The ledger answers.
Or set your own belief
FCF growth, next 5 years0.0%
Discount rate (WACC)8.93%
Terminal growth2.5%
At your growth, a share is worth $3.09
The three cases
Bear0.0%$3.09
Base0.0%$3.09
Bull5.0%$3.7

Bear/base/bull growth = 0% / filed history / history + 5pp. Type a price to see the return each case implies.

Default growth 0.0%= this company’s own filed history (median-to-median FCF CAGR, clamped 0–20%). Your adjustments are recorded anonymously. They become the “what do owners actually believe” dataset.

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-007041 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008690 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001473 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K/A · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016795 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-007041 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008690 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001473 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K/A · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016795 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-007041 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008690 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001473 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K/A · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016795 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-007041 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008690 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001473 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K/A · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016795 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-22-006550 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-007041 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-008690 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001641172-25-001473 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K/A · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-016795 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)