MeritValue

Sohu.com Ltd

SOHUdata completeness 88%10 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Sohu.com Ltd earns about 4% on invested capital, and has bought back 29% 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$835.6M1$733.9M2$600.7M3$598.4M3$584.3M3
Net income$927.7M4−$17.3M5−$30.4M6−$100.3M6$394.1M6
Operating cash flow−$62.3M7$32.2M8−$25.6M9−$48M9−$4.76M9
Capital expenditure$6.72M10$8.51M11$3.23M12$1.32M12$576,00012
Free cash flow (derived)−$69M7$23.7M8−$28.8M9−$49.3M9−$5.34M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$998.9M13$697.8M14$362.5M15$159.9M16$128.3M16
Diluted shares39.5M34.9M34.1M32.0M28.2M

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
$452.55
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$139.58
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.89
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $452.55 of net worth that earned you $139.58 and generated −$1.89 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
4% avg · 5y
FY21 25%FY22 5%FY23 -1%FY24 -5%FY25 -3%

It earned an average 4% 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
−29% shares · 5y

Share count is down 29% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice.

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
$119.22
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-24-069620 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-25-053425 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102990 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-24-069620 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-25-053425 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102990 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-24-069620 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-25-053425 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102990 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-24-069620 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-25-053425 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102990 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001193125-23-084383 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001193125-24-069620 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001193125-25-053425 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102990 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)