MeritValue

Solo Brands, Inc.

SBDSdata completeness 100%5 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Solo Brands, Inc. earns about -16% on invested capital, and has bought back 97% 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$403.7M1$517.6M1$494.8M2$454.6M3$316.6M3
Net income$10.7M4−$4.95M4−$111.3M4−$180.2M5−$145.4M5
Operating cash flow−$10.2M6$32.4M6$62.4M7$10.5M8−$46.6M8
Capital expenditure$10.6M9$9.24M9$9.09M10$7.5M11$4.6M11
Free cash flow (derived)−$20.9M6$23.2M6$53.3M7$3.02M8−$51.2M8
Total debt$256.3M12$226.8M13$298.5M14$301.4M15$484.1M15
Cash & equivalents$25.1M16$23.3M17$19.8M18$12M19$20M19
Diluted shares63.0M63.5M60.5M1.5M1.6M

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
$290.97
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$919.91
Free cash flow it threw off
−$323.86
Debt you’d be carrying
$3,062.26

10 shares is a claim on $290.97 of net worth that earned you −$919.91 and generated −$323.86 of cash last year, against $3,062.26 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-16% avg · 5y
FY21 10%FY22 -1%FY23 -35%FY24 -33%FY25 -18%

It earned an average -16% 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
−97% shares · 5y

Share count is down 97% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 89% 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$3.02M
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$3.02M
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 0001870600-24-000024 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001870600-25-000029 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001870600-24-000024 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (ProfitLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001870600-24-000024 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001870600-25-000029 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001870600-24-000024 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001870600-25-000029 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001870600-23-000013 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001870600-24-000024 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001870600-25-000029 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001870600-23-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001870600-24-000024 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001870600-25-000029 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001870600-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)