MeritValue

Nuwellis, Inc.

NUWEdata completeness 88%15 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Nuwellis, Inc. earns about -535% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 900% 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$7.92M1$8.54M2$8.86M3$8.74M4$8.27M4
Net income−$19.6M5−$14.5M6−$20.2M7−$11.2M8−$17.5M8
Operating cash flow−$17.8M9−$15.1M10−$17.9M11−$9.59M12−$10.8M12
Capital expenditure$219,00013$122,00014$149,00015$60,00016$90,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$18.1M9−$15.3M10−$18.1M11−$9.65M12−$10.9M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$8.74M17$17.7M18$3.8M19$5.1M20$1.09M20
Diluted shares69,000173,84656,12631,601690,145

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
$38.02
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$253.87
Free cash flow it threw off
−$157.94
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $38.02 of net worth that earned you −$253.87 and generated −$157.94 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-535% avg · 5y
FY21 -90%FY22 —FY23 —FY24 -615%FY25 -899%

It earned an average -535% 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
+900% shares · 5y

Share count is up 900% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it.

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 0001140361-23-010112 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001140361-24-012644 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001140361-25-008124 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001140361-26-009080 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001140361-23-010112 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001140361-24-012644 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001140361-25-008124 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001140361-26-009080 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001140361-23-010112 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001140361-24-012644 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001140361-25-008124 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001140361-26-009080 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001140361-23-010112 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001140361-24-012644 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001140361-25-008124 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001140361-26-009080 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001140361-23-010112 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001140361-24-012644 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001140361-25-008124 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001140361-26-009080 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)