MeritValue

QVC INC

QVCDQdata completeness 100%15 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'epsDiluted'

The thesis, from the filings

QVC INC earns about -5% on invested capital, with a roughly flat share count. 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$11.4B1$9.89B2$9.45B3$9B3$8.29B3
Net income$787M4−$1.87B5$159M6−$1.07B6−$2.17B6
Operating cash flow$1.17B7$409M8$1.09B9$535M9$419M9
Capital expenditure$210M10$216M11$182M12$173M13$132M13
Free cash flow (derived)$959M7$193M8$912M9$362M9$287M9
Total debt$10.1B14$9.87B15$8.67B16$7.8B17$15.1B17
Cash & equivalents$510M18$357M19$307M20$297M21$1.5B21
Diluted shares11111

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
$12B
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$21.7B
Free cash flow it threw off
$2.87B
Debt you’d be carrying
$150.9B

10 shares is a claim on $12B of net worth that earned you −$21.7B and generated $2.87B of cash last year, against $150.9B of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-5% avg · 5y
FY21 4%FY22 -10%FY23 1%FY24 -9%FY25 -12%

It earned an average -5% 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
−0% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback. Total debt has risen 50% over the same window.

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
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$362M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$362M
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 0001254699-24-000004 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001254699-24-000004 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001254699-24-000004 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001254699-23-000008 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-24-000004 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001254699-23-000008 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-24-000004 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001254699-23-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001254699-24-000004 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001254699-25-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001254699-26-000004 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)