MeritValue

22nd Century Group, Inc.

XXIIdata completeness 100%16 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

22nd Century Group, Inc. earns about -96% on invested capital, and has bought back 100% 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$30.9M1$40.5M2$32.2M2$24.4M3$17.6M3
Net income−$32.6M4−$59.8M5−$140.8M6−$15.2M7−$5.05M7
Operating cash flow−$22.8M8−$51.7M9−$55M10−$14.3M11−$7.72M11
Capital expenditure$745,00012$3.66M13$4.66M14$141,00015$61,00015
Free cash flow (derived)−$23.6M8−$55.4M9−$59.6M10−$14.5M11−$7.78M11
Total debt—$3.91M16$27.8M17$13.3M18$708,00019
Cash & equivalents$1.34M20$2.21M21$2.06M22$4.42M23$7.15M23
Diluted shares156.2M12.9M9,467557184,067

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
$856.1
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$274.57
Free cash flow it threw off
−$422.89
Debt you’d be carrying
$38.46

10 shares is a claim on $856.1 of net worth that earned you −$274.57 and generated −$422.89 of cash last year, against $38.46 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-96% avg · 5y
FY21 -40%FY22 -30%FY23 -206%FY24 -95%FY25 -111%

It earned an average -96% 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
−100% shares · 5y

Share count is down 100% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 82% — deleveraging.

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 0001558370-23-003241 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003241 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003345 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003241 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003345 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003241 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003345 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-23-003241 (LongTermDebt)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003345 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (LongTermDebt)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001558370-24-004163 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001558370-25-003345 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001104659-26-034814 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)