MeritValue

PIXELWORKS, INC

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

PIXELWORKS, INC earns about -102% on equity, and has bought back 90% 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$55.1M1$70.1M2$59.7M3$43.2M3$693,0004
Net income−$19.8M5−$16M6−$26.2M7−$28.7M8−$22.5M8
Operating cash flow−$9.16M9−$12.8M10−$18.8M11−$19.8M12−$20.6M12
Capital expenditure$3.48M13$1.59M14$3.83M15$3.76M16$448,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$12.6M9−$14.4M10−$22.6M11−$23.6M12−$21.1M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$61.6M17$56.8M18$47.5M19$5.48M20$11.2M20
Diluted shares52.5M54.3M56.2M4.9M5.5M

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
−$38.27
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$40.82
Free cash flow it threw off
−$38.2
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$38.27 of net worth that earned you −$40.82 and generated −$38.2 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-102% avg · 5y
FY21 -49%FY22 -49%FY23 -209%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned an average -102% 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
−90% shares · 5y

Share count is down 90% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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 0001040161-23-000012 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001040161-24-000010 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001040161-25-000010 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001040161-26-000019 (Revenues)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001040161-23-000012 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001040161-24-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001040161-25-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001040161-26-000019 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001040161-23-000012 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001040161-24-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001040161-25-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001040161-26-000019 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001040161-23-000012 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001040161-24-000010 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001040161-25-000010 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001040161-26-000019 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001040161-23-000012 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001040161-24-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001040161-25-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001040161-26-000019 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)