MeritValue

Universe Pharmaceuticals INC

UPCdata completeness 100%7 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Universe Pharmaceuticals INC earns about -5% on invested capital, and has bought back 86% of its shares over 5 years. 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$48M1$40.1M2$32.3B3$23B3$17.9B3
Net income$11.3M4−$7.91M5−$6.58B6−$8.73B6−$3.67B6
Operating cash flow−$2.06M7−$1.3M8$1.12B9−$9.51B9−$5.05B9
Capital expenditure$444,50510$93,70311$44.2M12$208.3M12$266.8M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$2.5M7−$1.4M8$1.07B9−$9.72B9−$5.32B9
Total debt$4.33M13$3.94M13$5.48M14$5.86B15$9.26B16
Cash & equivalents$8.08M17$5.71B18$5.29B18$29.5B18$33.6B18
Diluted shares3.2M6,0426,04213,920455,871

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
$1.23M
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$80,550.31
Free cash flow it threw off
−$116,679.72
Debt you’d be carrying
$203,060.05

10 shares is a claim on $1.23M of net worth that earned you −$80,550.31 and generated −$116,679.72 of cash last year, against $203,060.05 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-5% avg · 5y
FY21 26%FY22 -0%FY23 -14%FY24 -28%FY25 -8%

It earned an average -5% 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
−86% shares · 5y

Share count is down 86% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 213469% 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. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-24-007745 (Revenues)
  2. 20-F · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001213900-25-036798 (Revenues)
  3. 20-F · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (Revenues)
  4. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-24-007745 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 20-F · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001213900-25-036798 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 20-F · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-24-007745 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 20-F · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001213900-25-036798 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 20-F · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-24-007745 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 20-F · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001213900-25-036798 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 20-F · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-23-010349 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  14. 20-F · period ending 2023-09-30 · accession 0001213900-25-036798 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  15. 20-F · period ending 2024-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (ShortTermBorrowings)
  16. 20-F · period ending 2025-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (LongTermDebtCurrent)
  17. 20-F · period ending 2021-09-30 · accession 0001213900-22-004359 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 20-F · period ending 2022-09-30 · accession 0001213900-26-009000 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)