MeritValue

TECOGEN INC.

TGENdata completeness 88%15 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

TECOGEN INC. earns about -33% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 8% 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$24.4M1$25M2$25.1M3$22.6M4$27.1M4
Net income$3.7M5−$2.45M6−$4.6M7−$4.76M8−$8.25M8
Operating cash flow$465,0339−$1.35M10−$817,81011$4.06M12−$9.91M12
Capital expenditure$91,45113$314,87914$46,85115$969,16316$400,78116
Free cash flow (derived)$373,5829−$1.67M10−$864,66111$3.09M12−$10.3M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$3.61M17$1.91M18$1.35M19$5.41M20$12.4M20
Diluted shares25.1M24.9M24.9M24.9M27.2M

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
$7.95
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.03
Free cash flow it threw off
−$3.79
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $7.95 of net worth that earned you −$3.03 and generated −$3.79 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-33% avg · 5y
FY21 21%FY22 -11%FY23 -26%FY24 -76%FY25 -71%

It earned an average -33% 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
+8% shares · 5y

Share count is up 8% 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 — 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 2021-12-31 · accession 0001537435-23-000021 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001537435-24-000022 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001537435-25-000018 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001537435-26-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001537435-23-000021 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001537435-24-000022 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001537435-25-000018 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001537435-26-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001537435-23-000021 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001537435-24-000022 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001537435-25-000018 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001537435-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001537435-23-000021 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001537435-24-000022 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001537435-25-000018 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001537435-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001537435-23-000021 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001537435-24-000022 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001537435-25-000018 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001537435-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)