MeritValue

SolarMax Technology, Inc.

SMXTdata completeness 88%4 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

SolarMax Technology, Inc. earns about -7331% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 26% over 4 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 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$44.7M1$54.1M2$23M3$91M3
Net income−$6.87M4$434,7865−$35M6−$6.33M6
Operating cash flow−$1.97M7$4.09M8−$9.13M9$498,0499
Capital expenditure$83,46610$27,99911$011—
Free cash flow (derived)−$2.06M7$4.06M8−$9.13M9—
Total debt—$20.7M12$18M13$20.2M14
Cash & equivalents$3.82M15$2.54M16$786,33316$7.97M16
Diluted shares39.7M40.0M44.3M50.0M

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
−$2.44
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$1.27
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$4.04

10 shares is a claim on −$2.44 of net worth that earned you −$1.27 last year, against $4.04 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-7331% avg · 4y
FY22 —FY23 16%FY24 -1174%FY25 -20836%

It earned an average -7331% on invested capital over 4 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+26% shares · 4y

Share count is up 26% over 4 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

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 2022-12-31 · accession 0001640334-24-000675 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001640334-26-000651 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001640334-24-000675 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001640334-26-000651 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001640334-24-000675 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001640334-26-000651 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001640334-24-000675 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-24-000675 (DebtCurrent)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (DebtCurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001640334-26-000651 (DebtCurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001640334-25-000556 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001640334-26-000651 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)