MeritValue

PDF SOLUTIONS INC

PDFSdata completeness 100%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

PDF SOLUTIONS INC earns about -0% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 6% 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$111.1M1$148.5M2$165.8M3$179.5M3$219M3
Net income−$21.5M4−$3.43M5$3.11M6$4.06M6−$640,0006
Operating cash flow$4.24M7$32.3M8$14.6M9$9.7M9$24.1M9
Capital expenditure$3.67M10$8.41M11$11.2M12$17.2M12$32.6M12
Free cash flow (derived)$571,0007$23.9M8$3.36M9−$7.45M9−$8.58M9
Total debt———$013$134M13
Cash & equivalents$27.7M14$119.6M15$99M16$90.6M17$42.2M17
Diluted shares37.1M37.3M38.9M39.0M39.3M

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
$68.93
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.16
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.18
Debt you’d be carrying
$34.08

10 shares is a claim on $68.93 of net worth that earned you −$0.16 and generated −$2.18 of cash last year, against $34.08 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-0% avg · 5y
FY21 -8%FY22 0%FY23 2%FY24 3%FY25 0%

It earned an average -0% 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
+6% shares · 5y

Share count is up 6% 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 0001558370-24-001843 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001813 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001843 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001813 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001843 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001813 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001843 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001813 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-002586 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-001843 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-001813 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-005366 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)