MeritValue

ALKALINE WATER Co INC

WTERdata completeness 88%11 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'totalDebt'; no data for concept 'incomeTaxExpense'; no data for concept 'pretaxIncome'

The thesis, from the filings

ALKALINE WATER Co INC earns about -2752% on equity, and has bought back 71% 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 2019FY 2020FY 2021FY 2022FY 2023
Revenue$32.2M1$38.4M2$40.1M3$54.8M4$63.8M4
Net income−$8.62M5−$14.8M6−$16.4M7−$39.6M8−$27.4M8
Operating cash flow−$8.13M9−$13.6M10−$14.3M11−$31.8M12−$10.4M12
Capital expenditure$1.36M13$488,55714$585,39315$992,00916$1.44M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$9.48M9−$14.1M10−$14.9M11−$32.8M12−$11.9M12
Total debt—————
Cash & equivalents—$4.56M17$9.13M18$1.53M18$1.04M18
Diluted shares31.9M43.0M69.5M6.6M9.2M

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
−$5.82
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$29.91
Free cash flow it threw off
−$12.96
Debt you’d be carrying
—

10 shares is a claim on −$5.82 of net worth that earned you −$29.91 and generated −$12.96 of cash last year.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
-2752% avg · 5y
FY19 -76%FY20 -914%FY21 -149%FY22 -9868%FY23 —

It earned an average -2752% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−71% shares · 5y

Share count is down 71% 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
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 2019-03-31 · accession 0001062993-20-003916 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K/A · period ending 2020-03-31 · accession 0001062993-21-008049 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001062993-22-016353 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001062993-23-016652 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2019-03-31 · accession 0001062993-20-003916 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K/A · period ending 2020-03-31 · accession 0001062993-21-008049 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001062993-22-016353 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001062993-23-016652 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2019-03-31 · accession 0001062993-20-003916 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2020-03-31 · accession 0001062993-21-008049 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001062993-22-016353 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001062993-23-016652 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2019-03-31 · accession 0001062993-20-003916 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K/A · period ending 2020-03-31 · accession 0001062993-21-008049 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001062993-22-016353 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-03-31 · accession 0001062993-23-016652 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2020-03-31 · accession 0001062993-22-016353 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2021-03-31 · accession 0001062993-23-016652 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)