MeritValue

RESEARCH FRONTIERS INC

REFRdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'; no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

RESEARCH FRONTIERS INC earns about -86% on equity, 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$1.26M1$539,6862$909,5983$1.34M4$1.12M4
Net income−$1.85M5−$2.67M6−$1.91M7−$1.31M8−$2.05M8
Operating cash flow−$1.8M9−$2.18M10−$2.3M11−$788,81912−$1.33M12
Capital expenditure$1,07713$1,27114$1,55815$1,62316$72616
Free cash flow (derived)−$1.81M9−$2.18M10−$2.3M11−$790,44212−$1.33M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$269,96417$4.23M18$2.48M19$1.99M20$664,29920
Diluted shares31.6M32.1M33.5M33.5M33.6M

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
$0.28
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$0.61
Free cash flow it threw off
−$0.4
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $0.28 of net worth that earned you −$0.61 and generated −$0.4 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-86% avg · 5y
FY21 -49%FY22 -56%FY23 -54%FY24 -50%FY25 -219%

It earned an average -86% 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
+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 0001493152-23-007116 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-009207 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001493152-25-009377 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-008988 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-007116 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-009207 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001493152-25-009377 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-008988 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-007116 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-009207 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001493152-25-009377 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-008988 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-007116 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-009207 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001493152-25-009377 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-008988 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001493152-23-007116 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001493152-24-009207 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001493152-25-009377 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001493152-26-008988 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)