MeritValue

Alpha Teknova, Inc.

TKNOdata completeness 100%6 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Alpha Teknova, Inc. earns about -29% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 232% 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$36.9M1$41.4M2$36.7M3$37.7M4$40.5M4
Net income−$9.8M5−$47.5M6−$36.8M7−$26.7M8−$17.3M8
Operating cash flow−$9.07M9−$27.4M10−$18.8M11−$12.4M12−$8.65M12
Capital expenditure$19.9M13$28.1M14$7.93M15$1.13M16$1.15M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$28.9M9−$55.5M10−$26.7M11−$13.5M12−$9.79M12
Total debt$11.9M17$22M18$13.3M19$13.5M20$13.1M20
Cash & equivalents$87.5M21$42.2M22$28.5M23$3.71M24$5.91M24
Diluted shares16.1M28.1M31.8M46.7M53.5M

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
$12.86
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.23
Free cash flow it threw off
−$1.83
Debt you’d be carrying
$2.45

10 shares is a claim on $12.86 of net worth that earned you −$3.23 and generated −$1.83 of cash last year, against $2.45 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-29% avg · 5y
FY21 -15%FY22 -49%FY23 -40%FY24 -24%FY25 -19%

It earned an average -29% 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
+232% shares · 5y

Share count is up 232% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 11% 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
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 0000950170-23-010926 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010926 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010926 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010926 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-010926 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-22-004176 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-036624 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-035705 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001850902-26-000002 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)