MeritValue

Kartoon Studios, Inc.

TOONdata completeness 88%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Kartoon Studios, Inc. earns about -74% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 69% 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$7.87M1$62.3M2$44.1M3$32.6M4$39.4M4
Net income−$126.3M5−$45.6M6−$77.1M7−$20.7M8−$24.5M8
Operating cash flow−$23.8M9−$25.9M10−$16.1M11−$3.49M12−$11.4M12
Capital expenditure$302,00013$592,00014$72,00015$117,00016$151,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$24.1M9−$26.5M10−$16.2M11−$3.61M12−$11.6M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$2.06M17$7.43M17$4.1M18$8.39M18$2.94M18
Diluted shares29.8M31.4M33.7M38.4M50.2M

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
$5.22
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$4.88
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.3
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on $5.22 of net worth that earned you −$4.88 and generated −$2.3 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-74% avg · 5y
FY21 -71%FY22 -32%FY23 -125%FY24 -60%FY25 -82%

It earned an average -74% 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
+69% shares · 5y

Share count is up 69% 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 0001355848-23-000011 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001355848-24-000052 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001683168-25-002049 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001683168-26-002452 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001355848-23-000011 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001355848-24-000052 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001683168-25-002049 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001683168-26-002452 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001355848-23-000011 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001355848-24-000052 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001683168-25-002049 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001683168-26-002452 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001355848-23-000011 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001355848-24-000052 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001683168-25-002049 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001683168-26-002452 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001355848-23-000011 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001683168-26-002452 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)