MeritValue

YORK WATER CO

YORWdata completeness 88%17 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

YORK WATER CO earns about 7% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 10% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $14.43 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$54.6M1$59.6M2$70.5M3$74.5M4$77M4
Net income$17M5$19.6M6$23.8M7$20.3M8$20.1M8
Operating cash flow$23M9$22M10$31.9M11$30.6M12$29.9M12
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt$146.4M13$139.5M14$180M15$205.6M16$232.2M16
Cash & equivalents$1,00017$1,00018$1,00019$1,00020$1,00020
Diluted shares13.1M14.0M14.3M14.3M14.4M

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
$166.86
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$13.93
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$161.22

10 shares is a claim on $166.86 of net worth that earned you $13.93 last year, against $161.22 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
7% avg · 5y
FY21 7%FY22 7%FY23 8%FY24 7%FY25 6%

It earned an average 7% 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
+10% shares · 5y

Share count is up 10% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 59% 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
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
Earnings Power Value
$14.43
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$20.1M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$22.84
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000108985-23-000016 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000108985-24-000020 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000108985-25-000015 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000108985-26-000015 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000108985-23-000016 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000108985-24-000020 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000108985-25-000015 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000108985-26-000015 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000108985-23-000016 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000108985-24-000020 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000108985-25-000015 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000108985-26-000015 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000108985-23-000016 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000108985-24-000020 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000108985-25-000015 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000108985-26-000015 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000108985-23-000016 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000108985-24-000020 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000108985-25-000015 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000108985-26-000015 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)