MeritValue

Stellar Bancorp, Inc.

STELdata completeness 88%11 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. earns about 60% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 79% 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$253.2M1$3.69M2$6.06M3$6.43M3$6.28M3
Net income$81.6M4$51.4M5$130.5M6$115M6$102.9M6
Operating cash flow$107.4M7$109.1M8$168.2M9$132.6M9$97M9
Capital expenditure$2.93M10$3.81M11$6.86M12$4.66M12$4.4M12
Free cash flow (derived)$104.4M7$105.3M8$161.4M9$128M9$92.6M9
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$757.5M13$371.7M14$399.2M15$911.2M16$419.5M16
Diluted shares28.9M35.0M53.3M53.5M51.8M

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
$322.08
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$19.86
Free cash flow it threw off
$17.87
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $322.08 of net worth that earned you $19.86 and generated $17.87 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
60% avg · 5y
FY21 172%FY22 8%FY23 23%FY24 63%FY25 34%

It earned an average 60% 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
+79% shares · 5y

Share count is up 79% 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 —

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001473844-24-000010 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001473844-25-000014 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001473844-26-000006 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001473844-24-000010 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001473844-25-000014 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001473844-26-000006 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001473844-24-000010 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001473844-25-000014 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001473844-26-000006 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001473844-24-000010 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001473844-25-000014 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001473844-26-000006 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001473844-23-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001473844-24-000010 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001473844-25-000014 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001473844-26-000006 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)