MeritValue

TRAVELZOO

TZOOdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'

The thesis, from the filings

TRAVELZOO earns about 226% on equity, far above its ~9% cost of capital, and has bought back 12% of its shares over 5 years — the marks of a durable business run for its owners. The estimate methods put fair value between $5.99 and $18.35 a share.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$62.7M1$70.6M2$84.5M3$83.9M4$91.7M4
Net income$911,0005$6.63M6$12.4M7$13.6M8$4.7M8
Operating cash flow−$8.08M9−$23.1M10$10.7M11$21.1M12$5.66M12
Capital expenditure$29,00013$462,00014$255,00015$177,00016$65,00016
Free cash flow (derived)−$8.11M9−$23.6M10$10.4M11$20.9M12$5.6M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents$43.8M17$18.7M18$15.7M19$17.1M20$10M20
Diluted shares13.0M12.6M15.0M12.9M11.5M

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
−$6.55
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$4.09
Free cash flow it threw off
$4.88
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$6.55 of net worth that earned you $4.09 and generated $4.88 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
226% avg · 5y
FY21 —FY22 156%FY23 295%FY24 —FY25 —

It earned about 226% on equity, year after year, against a ~9% cost of capital — the footprint of real pricing power. Competition usually drags returns like this back down; here it hasn't.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−12% shares · 5y

Share count is down 12% 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

The 3 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $5.99 and $18.35 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story.

DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
$18.35
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$10.4M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
$16.98
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$10.4M
Earnings Power Value
$5.99
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$6.63M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
book value / share count missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

v. The price question — last, on purpose
Is today’s price fair?
See live price ↗
Type a price. The ledger answers.
Or set your own belief
FCF growth, next 5 years5.0%
Discount rate (WACC)8.93%
Terminal growth2.5%
At your growth, a share is worth $16.98
The three cases
Bear0.0%$13.84
Base5.0%$16.98
Bull10.0%$20.74

Bear/base/bull growth = 0% / filed history / history + 5pp. Type a price to see the return each case implies.

Default growth 5.0%= this company’s own filed history (median-to-median FCF CAGR, clamped 0–20%). Your adjustments are recorded anonymously. They become the “what do owners actually believe” dataset.

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001133311-23-000039 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001133311-24-000008 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001133311-25-000007 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001133311-26-000005 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001133311-23-000039 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001133311-24-000008 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001133311-25-000007 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001133311-26-000005 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001133311-23-000039 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001133311-24-000008 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001133311-25-000007 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001133311-26-000005 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001133311-23-000039 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001133311-24-000008 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001133311-25-000007 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001133311-26-000005 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001133311-23-000039 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001133311-24-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001133311-25-000007 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001133311-26-000005 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)