MeritValue

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.

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

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. earns about -77% on invested capital, and has bought back 100% 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$1.21M1$1.76M1$2.73M2$5.53M3$5.86M3
Net income−$14.8M4−$18.9M5−$26.3M6−$27.5M7−$21.5M7
Operating cash flow−$11.7M8−$21.3M9−$21.7M10−$29.8M11−$18.6M11
Capital expenditure$26,00012$145,00013$648,00014$2.59M15$505,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$11.7M8−$21.4M9−$22.4M10−$32.3M11−$19.1M11
Total debt$891,00016————
Cash & equivalents$83M17$7.89M18$6.88M19$3.15M20$6.72M20
Diluted shares30.02B54.01B56.0M59.0M126.9M

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
$2.1
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$1.69
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.51
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $2.1 of net worth that earned you −$1.69 and generated −$1.51 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-77% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 -27%FY23 -55%FY24 -136%FY25 -89%

It earned an average -77% 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
−100% shares · 5y

Share count is down 100% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. 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 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-30 · accession 0001493152-24-029074 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-30 · accession 0001641172-25-020888 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001493152-23-025878 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-30 · accession 0001493152-24-029074 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-30 · accession 0001641172-25-020888 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001493152-23-025878 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-30 · accession 0001493152-24-029074 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-30 · accession 0001641172-25-020888 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001493152-23-025878 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-30 · accession 0001493152-24-029074 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-30 · accession 0001641172-25-020888 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-04-30 · accession 0001493152-22-019173 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001493152-23-025878 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-30 · accession 0001493152-24-029074 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-30 · accession 0001641172-25-020888 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)