Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 28, 2026
ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG)
A forensic read on ACACIA RESEARCH CORP built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
5.5
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
5
Forensic signals
-3.4%
ROE
$453M
Market cap
ACACIA RESEARCH CORP earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 5.5, placing it in the Safe zone. 5 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio.
What the filings flag
+27.1%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +27.1% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building sharply — a large slice of profit sits in operating assets, not cash; Richardson/Sloan link high accruals to weaker future returns as they reverse. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -16% of net operating assets.
1%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 1% and rising from -29% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+42.9%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +129% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+42.9%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~42.9% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~129%.
stoppedShareholder returns — halted.Capital returns have STOPPED — $20M of buybacks + dividends in FY2024, but ~$0 in FY2025. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash; understand why before reading it as neutral.
suspendedDividend — suspended.The dividend has been SUSPENDED — $1M paid in FY2023, then $0 in FY2024. A suspension is a major signal the board is conserving cash; the prior payment history doesn't offset it.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin7.6%
Debt / Equity0.17x
Free Cash Flow$-73.4M
Latest Revenue$285.2M
Return on Equity4.0%
Revenue Growth YoY+133.2%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on ACACIA RESEARCH CORP:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about ACTG's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown