MeritValue

SEABOARD CORP /DE/

SEBdata completeness 100%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

SEABOARD CORP /DE/ earns about 7% on invested capital, and has bought back 17% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $5,384.96 a share.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$9.23B1$11.2B2$9.56B3$9.1B3$9.75B3
Net income$571M4$582M5$227M6$90M6$501M6
Operating cash flow$92M7$676M8$710M9$519M9$568M9
Capital expenditure$460M10$474M11$506M12$511M12$562M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$368M7$202M8$204M9$8M9$6M9
Total debt$716M13$702M14$997M15$987M16$977M16
Cash & equivalents$75M17$199M18$56M19$98M20$178M20
Diluted shares1.2M1.2M1.1M971,055964,113

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
$54,060.05
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$5,196.49
Free cash flow it threw off
$62.23
Debt you’d be carrying
$10,133.67

10 shares is a claim on $54,060.05 of net worth that earned you $5,196.49 and generated $62.23 of cash last year, against $10,133.67 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
7% avg · 5y
FY21 12%FY22 11%FY23 3%FY24 2%FY25 7%

It earned an average 7% 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
−17% shares · 5y

Share count is down 17% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 36% 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$8M
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$8M
Earnings Power Value
$5,384.96
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$501M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$7,910.52
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (ProfitLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (ProfitLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (ProfitLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-23-000020 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000088121-23-000020 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000088121-24-000025 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000088121-25-000017 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000088121-26-000012 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)