MeritValue

CarParts.com, Inc.

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

CarParts.com, Inc. earns about -45% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 19% 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 2022FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2026
Revenue$582.4M1$661.6M1$675.7M2$588.8M3$547.5M3
Net income−$10.3M4−$951,0004−$8.22M5−$40.6M6−$50.4M6
Operating cash flow−$6.99M7$15.4M7$50M8$10.3M9−$34.1M9
Capital expenditure$11.6M10$12.6M10$11.9M11$20.6M12$7.96M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$18.6M7$2.78M7$38.1M8−$10.2M9−$42M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$18.1M13$18.8M14$51M15$36.4M15$25.8M15
Diluted shares51.4M54.1M56.6M57.0M61.2M

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
$8.74
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$8.24
Free cash flow it threw off
−$6.87
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $8.74 of net worth that earned you −$8.24 and generated −$6.87 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-45% avg · 5y
FY22 -9%FY22 1%FY23 -9%FY24 -65%FY26 -143%

It earned an average -45% 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
+19% shares · 5y

Share count is up 19% 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 2022-01-01 · accession 0001378950-24-000034 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001378950-25-000036 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001378950-26-000035 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0001378950-24-000034 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001378950-25-000036 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001378950-26-000035 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0001378950-24-000034 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001378950-25-000036 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001378950-26-000035 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0001378950-24-000034 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001378950-25-000036 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-28 · accession 0001378950-26-000035 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-01 · accession 0001378950-24-000034 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001378950-25-000036 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-30 · accession 0001378950-26-000035 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)