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FTK, Flotek Industries Inc.
Flotek seeks to provide unique and innovative solutions to its customers in both the domestic and international energy markets.
Flotek Industries Inc. is committed to delivering products and services that endeavor to maximize customer returns by leveraging chemistry as the common value creation platform.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What moves the needle
- Operating margin has reached 12% at its best but run negative through the cycle (median −26%) on a 10% gross margin — so the question is which reading is truer: whether the median was pulled below zero by one-off charges, by the cycle, or by spending it is still growing into, and whether it settles back at a profit. Inventory runs near 13% of sales, so how fast it turns back into cash — and the risk of writing it down when demand softens — sits alongside the margin. Read this kind of business on the spread and utilization. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on customer concentration, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has rarely cleared the cost of capital (median −4%, above 15% in 2 of 9 years). Owner earnings, the cash-based check, have been thin too. This is price-taker territory, where the balance sheet and the cycle matter more than any multiple; the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2016–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2016’16 | 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMMar 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||||
| $188M | $243M | $178M | $119M | $53M | $43M | $136M | $188M | $187M | $237M | $252M | RevenueRevenue |
| 10% | 12% | — | — | −54% | 8% | −5% | 13% | 21% | 25% | 25% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| 23% | 17% | 18% | 23% | 43% | 47% | 20% | 15% | 13% | 12% | 11% | SG&A / revenueSG&A/rev |
| 5% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 14% | 13% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | R&D / revenueR&D/rev |
| ($17M) | ($10M) | ($70M) | ($76M) | ($144M) | ($31M) | ($35M) | $23M | $12M | $23M | $25M | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| −9.0% | −4.2% | −39.3% | −63.3% | −270.3% | −72.7% | −26.0% | 12.3% | 6.5% | 9.8% | 10.0% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| ($49M) | ($27M) | ($70M) | ($34M) | ($136M) | ($31M) | ($42M) | $25M | $10M | $31M | $30M | Net incomeNet inc. |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||||||||
| $2M | $12M | ($21M) | ($5M) | ($48M) | ($26M) | ($45M) | ($11M) | $3M | $7M | ($88K) | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $8M | $10M | $9M | $8M | $3M | $1M | $734K | $734K | $891K | $2M | $2M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| $32M | $19M | $33M | $17M | $82M | ($82K) | ($6M) | ($36M) | ($9M) | ($27M) | ($35M) | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $13M | $4M | $4M | $2M | $1M | $39K | $421K | — | — | — | $708K | CapexCapex |
| 6.9% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% | — | — | — | 0.3% | Capex / revenueCapex/rev |
| ($11M) | $8M | ($24M) | ($7M) | ($49M) | ($26M) | ($45M) | — | — | — | ($796K) | Owner earningsOwner earn. |
| −5.9% | 3.4% | −13.7% | −5.8% | −92.7% | −59.8% | −33.1% | — | — | — | −0.3% | Owner earnings marginOE mgn |
| ($11M) | $8M | ($24M) | ($7M) | ($49M) | ($26M) | ($45M) | — | — | — | ($796K) | Free cash flowFCF |
| −5.9% | 3.4% | −13.7% | −5.8% | −92.7% | −59.8% | −33.1% | — | — | — | −0.3% | Free cash flow marginFCF mgn |
| $8M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $26M | $0 | — | — | — | — | $0 | AcquisitionsAcquis. |
| $0 | $5M | $0 | $0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | BuybacksBuybacks |
| -4% | -3% | -22% | -83% | -801% | -185% | — | 24% | 10% | 16% | 14% | ROICROIC |
| -17% | -10% | -35% | -20% | -289% | -151% | -1630% | 24% | 9% | 27% | 25% | Return on equityROE |
| −17% | −10% | −35% | −20% | −289% | −151% | n/m | 24% | 9% | 27% | 25% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | |||||||||||
| $5M | $5M | $3M | $101M | $39M | $12M | $12M | $6M | $4M | $6M | $6M | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| $47M | $35M | $37M | $16M | $12M | $12M | $19M | — | — | — | $16M | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| $58M | $32M | $27M | $23M | $12M | $9M | $16M | $13M | $13M | $11M | $14M | InventoryInvent. |
| $30M | $10M | $15M | $16M | $6M | $8M | $33M | $32M | $38M | $48M | $53M | Accounts payablePayables |
| $75M | $57M | $49M | $23M | $18M | $14M | $1M | ($19M) | ($25M) | ($38M) | ($23M) | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| $189M | $138M | $195M | $154M | $66M | $43M | $80M | $76M | $96M | $111M | $126M | Current assetsCur. assets |
| $88M | $65M | $84M | $41M | $29M | $19M | $151M | $48M | $50M | $62M | $69M | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 2.2× | 2.1× | 2.3× | 3.7× | 2.3× | 2.3× | 0.5× | 1.6× | 1.9× | 1.8× | 1.8× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| $57M | $37M | $0 | $0 | $8M | $0 | — | — | — | — | $0 | GoodwillGoodwill |
| $383M | $330M | $286M | $231M | $86M | $50M | $165M | $158M | $171M | $220M | $232M | Total assetsAssets |
| $48M | $28M | $50M | $0 | $6M | $5M | $3M | $60K | $0 | $40M | $62M | Total debtDebt |
| $44M | $23M | $47M | ($101M) | ($33M) | ($7M) | ($10M) | ($6M) | ($4M) | $34M | $56M | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| -8.6× | -4.8× | -24.4× | -37.4× | -2394.1× | -403.3× | -5.0× | 8.1× | 11.1× | 5.9× | 5.0× | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| $287M | $265M | $202M | $172M | $47M | $20M | $3M | $102M | $114M | $113M | $118M | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| 6.1% | 4.4% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 5.7% | 8.7% | 2.4% | −0.1% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.1% | Stock comp / revenueSBC/rev |
| — | — | $37M | — | $12M | $8M | — | — | — | — | — | Goodwill written downGW imp. |
| Per share | |||||||||||
| 56.1M | 57.6M | 58.0M | 58.8M | 68.3M | 73.4M | 12.4M | 28.4M | 30.9M | 36.2M | 38.3M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $3.36 | $4.22 | $3.07 | $2.03 | $0.78 | $0.59 | $10.97 | $6.63 | $6.05 | $6.56 | $6.57 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $-0.88 | $-0.48 | $-1.21 | $-0.58 | $-2.00 | $-0.42 | $-3.41 | $0.87 | $0.34 | $0.84 | $0.78 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $-0.20 | $0.14 | $-0.42 | $-0.12 | $-0.72 | $-0.35 | $-3.63 | — | — | — | $-0.02 | Owner earnings / shareOE/sh |
| $-0.20 | $0.14 | $-0.42 | $-0.12 | $-0.72 | $-0.35 | $-3.63 | — | — | — | $-0.02 | Free cash flow / shareFCF/sh |
| $0.23 | $0.07 | $0.06 | $0.04 | $0.02 | $0.00 | $0.03 | — | — | — | $0.02 | Cap. spending / shareCapex/sh |
| $5.12 | $4.60 | $3.48 | $2.93 | $0.69 | $0.28 | $0.21 | $3.59 | $3.69 | $3.13 | $3.08 | Book value / shareBVPS |
The diluted share count moved ×1/5.91 into 2022 — shares retired, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.
The diluted share count moved ×2.29 into 2023 — shares issued, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.
| 9-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | +7.7%/yr | +53.2%/yr |
| Capital spending / share | −27.5%/yr (6-yr) | −14.2%/yr |
| Book value / share | −5.3%/yr | +35.3%/yr |
The year, in the company's words
the filing →Verbatim from the 10-K's management discussion. Each sentence is shown only because its subject, direction, and stated figures check out against the filed numbers on this page. The words are the company's; the arithmetic is the record's.
- Operating income+90.6%
“Operating income increased by $11.0 million to $23.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 versus the same period in 2024. The increase in 2025 is primarily due to a $20.4 million increase in gross profit resulting from higher product sales and rental revenues, partially offset by $4.4 million in Asset Acquisition expenses, a $3.3 million increase in SG&A expenses and a $0.9 million increase in depreciation expense.”
✓ figure matches the filed record
The record, charted
FY2016–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
Owner earnings vs. net income
Owner earningsNet incomeThe accountant's number, and the cash an owner can take; the gap is the tell.
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedBeyond op. cashEach year's outlays against its operating cash: the mix, and how it drifts. The hatched cap is spending beyond that year's operating cash — financed from the balance sheet or borrowing, not operations.
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2022 the business reported a $42M loss but ($45M) of owner earnings: $3M less than the profit line, taken out by capital spending and the timing of cash.
| FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported net income | ($42M) | ($31M) | ($136M) | ($34M) | ($70M) |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +$734K | +$1M | +$3M | +$8M | +$9M |
| Stock-based compensationreal costnon-cash, but a real cost | +$3M | +$4M | +$3M | +$4M | +$7M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | −$6M | −$82K | +$82M | +$17M | +$33M |
| Cash from operations | ($45M) | ($26M) | ($48M) | ($5M) | ($21M) |
| Capital expenditurecash put back in to keep running and to grow | −$421K | −$39K | −$1M | −$2M | −$4M |
| Owner earnings | ($45M) | ($26M) | ($49M) | ($7M) | ($24M) |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | -33% | -60% | -93% | -6% | -14% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position . The cash-flow statement also adds stock comp back as non-cash, but it is a real cost paid in shares; counted as the expense it is (less $3M), owner earnings is nearer ($48M).
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
Will it survive?
- ComfortableOperating income $23M ÷ interest expense $4M
What this means
Operating profit covers interest with the kind of margin Graham wanted for a defensive holding. Necessary, not sufficient, it says solvent, not cheap.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? $56M · 2.4× operating profitMeaningful net debtCash $6M − debt $62M
What this means
Netting $6M of cash and short-term investments against $62M of debt leaves $56M owed, about 2.4× a year's operating profit (2.7× on the gross debt, before the cash). Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Negative, funded by othersDSO 29 + DIO 22 − DPO 99 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. A negative cycle is a quiet moat: suppliers and customers fund the operation (Buffett's “float”), the company grows on other people's money.
Is it a good business?
- Below average through the cycle9-yr median, range -801%–24%; 14% latest = NOPAT $23M ÷ invested capital $169MIndustry peers: median -3%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 9 years (it ran 14% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Positive this year, negative across the cyclelatest $7M = operating cash $7M − maintenance capex $421K (positive this year), after an earlier loss stretch (7-yr median -14%)Industry peers: median 4%
What this means
What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's 3% of revenue this year, a -14% median across 7 years. Treating stock comp as the real expense it is (less $2M of SBC) leaves $4M.
- Thinly cash-backedCash from ops $7M ÷ net income $31M
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Reinvests most of itDividends + buybacks $0 ÷ Owner Earnings $7M
What this means
Of $7M Owner Earnings, $0 (0%) went back to shareholders, $0 dividends, $0 buybacks. Returning most of it is the mark of a mature business with little left to reinvest at a high return; reinvesting most could mean a long runway, or empire-building. The split doesn't say which; the return earned on it (see ROIC) does.
- Investing or harvesting? 0.23×HarvestingCapex $421K ÷ depreciation $2M
What this means
Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.
Graham’s defensive tests · 0 of 5 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size MissRevenue ≥ $2B · $237M
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity NearCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 1.80×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt NearDebt ≤ working capital · $62M vs $49M WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability MissA profit every year (10-yr record) · 7 loss years
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record MissUninterrupted dividends · none paid
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth —Earnings +33% over the record · —
What this means
Earnings were negative early in the record, a growth rate isn't meaningful.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $0.61/share (latest year $0.84), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $3.13/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2016–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 3 of 10
What this means
Lost money in 7 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Return on capital ≥ 15% 2 of 9 yrs
What this means
A moat shows up as a high return on invested capital that holds year after year, not one good vintage.
- Operating margin −18% → 10% (3-yr avg ends)
In the filing’s words The record and the words agree: the margin widened and the filing attributes the gain to its own pricing, not volume alone.
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin widened — about −18% early to 10% lately, median −26% — pricing power intact or improving.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Worst year 2020 · −270.3% op. margin
What this means
Operations went underwater in 2020, understand why before trusting the good years.
- Share count −4.8%/yr
What this means
The share count is shrinking, buybacks are quietly growing your slice of the business.
- How management talks about it Promotional
What this means
The record is compounding, but the filing leans on a promoter’s vocabulary rather than the per-share, return-on-capital terms an owner uses. The results back the talk here; the register is still worth noting.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
The filing positions AI as something the company uses, not something it fears.
“The instrument's response is processed with advanced chemometrics modeling, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to deliver valuable insights to our customers every 5-15 seconds.”
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat, and the company is using it that way.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of the latest quarter, Mar 31, 2026Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
- Cash & short-term investments$6M
- Receivables$16M
- Inventory$14M
- Other current assets$90M
- Debt due within a year$1M
- Accounts payable$53M
- Other current liabilities$15M
From the company's latest filing.
Acquisitions & goodwill
from the balance sheet & the 10-year cash-flow recordGoodwill grows only when a company acquires and falls only when it concedes it overpaid. The size of that bet, the cash put into buying rather than building, and how much has already been written off.
$57M written down across 3 years (2018, 2020, 2021): goodwill the company has already conceded it overpaid for, charged against earnings. A write-down costs no cash (the cash went out when the deal was signed), but it is management marking its own past judgment to market.
Goodwill, acquired intangibles and equity from the latest balance sheet; acquisition spend and write-downs summed across the 10-year record, from the company's own filings.
Management, ownership & pay
read the proxy →From the proxy: how much of the business the people running it own, and how they are paid.
- Insider ownership2.4%
The stake all directors and executive officers hold together, per the 2026 proxy: skin in the game, the first thing Munger reads.
- Stock-based compensation$2M
The slice of the business handed to employees in shares this year, 1% of revenue, equal to 10% of operating profit. Buffett's oldest accounting fight: this is compensation, compensation is an expense, real whether or not the headline earnings admit it. One trap: the cash-flow statement adds SBC back, so the operating cash, and the owner earnings drawn from it, are flattered by exactly this amount; counted as the cost it is, what an owner keeps is lower.
Inverting the record
Invert: instead of why Flotek Industries Inc. is a good business, the question is what would make owning it a mistake, and whether those marks are in the record. Disconfirming tests across 2016–2025.
2 of the 4 tests turned up something to look into; the other 2 came back clean.
- Look hereIs it less profitable than it was?−61.9% vs −5.4%
The business ran at a loss early in the record (an owner-earnings margin of −5.4%) and the loss has widened to −61.9% across the last three years, with the latest year at −33.1%. Ask the filing where the widening sits — price, cost, or spending growing faster than revenue — and what would narrow it.
- Look hereDid debt outgrow the business?$48M → $62M
Debt rose from $48M to $62M while owner earnings went from about ($9M) to ($40M): the borrowing grew and the earnings that would carry it are not there now. Debt raised for buybacks or deals rather than growth is the kind that bites in a downturn.
- Did receivables and inventory outpace sales?
- Are "one-time" charges a yearly habit?
Each test is read from the filings and is noisy alone; a flag can mark a cyclical trough or a year of heavy investment as easily as a problem. The filing says which.
Peers, nearest by economic model
No close industry peers in the catalog yet, so these are the nearest by economic model (general), compared on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRNSTranscat Inc. | $332M | 28% | 6.4% | 9% | 4% |
| FLGTFulgent Genetics Inc. | $323M | 57% | -10.0% | -3% | 7% |
| WDWalker & Dunlop | $320M | — | 143.4% | 14% | 149% |
| FTKFlotek Industries Inc. | $237M | 11% | -17.5% | -4% | -14% |
| SEZLSezzle Inc. | $236M | — | -5.4% | -141% | 14% |
| SRTAStrata Critical Medical Inc. | $197M | 19% | -36.6% | -9% | -30% |
| GEMIGemini Space Station Inc. | $180M | — | -192.5% | -95% | -123% |
| ASPSAltisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. | $171M | 26% | 2.4% | 5% | -3% |
| Group median | — | 26% | -7.7% | -3% | 0% |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFFlotek Industries Inc. is profitable, but owner earnings are negative this year because capital spending currently outruns operating cash, a build-out, so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no positive base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the steady-state profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.
Revenue, delivered42%/yr’20→’25
Enter a price to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.
Manual order: ← FTI its page in the Manual FTNT →
Industry order: ← FSI the Chemicals chapter FUL →