MeritValue

Peraso Inc.

PRSOdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Peraso Inc. earns about -212% on equity, but has diluted owners by 20% 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$5.68M1$14.9M2$13.7M2$14.6M3$12.2M3
Net income−$10.9M4−$32.4M5−$16.8M6−$10.7M7−$4.75M7
Operating cash flow−$12M8−$16M9−$4.69M10−$4.58M11−$5.61M11
Capital expenditure$71,00012$988,00013$94,00014—$107,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$12.1M8−$17M9−$4.78M10—−$5.72M11
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$5.89M16$1.83M17$1.58M18$3.34M19$2.89M19
Diluted shares5.9M503,000646,0003.0M7.1M

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
$6.56
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$6.73
Free cash flow it threw off
−$8.09
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $6.56 of net worth that earned you −$6.73 and generated −$8.09 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-212% avg · 5y
FY21 -26%FY22 -212%FY23 -411%FY24 -310%FY25 -103%

It earned an average -212% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+20% shares · 5y

Share count is up 20% 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 0001564590-22-012981 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-027971 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-036514 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-024118 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-027971 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001013762-25-004082 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-036514 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-024118 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-027971 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001013762-25-004082 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-036514 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-024118 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-027971 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001013762-25-004082 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-036514 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001213900-23-024118 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001213900-24-027971 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001013762-25-004082 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001213900-26-036514 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)