MHGU (Meritage Hospitality Group) Earnings Power Value (EPV): $-90.53 (As of Mar26)


MHGU Meritage Hospitality Group Inc MHGU
45 GF Score
Price $2.98
GF Value $17.12
Valuation Possible Value Trap
! 8 Warning Signs
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What is Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Meritage Hospitality Group MHGU +0.90% 45 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $-90.53 as of Mar26. GuruFocus rates MHGU with a GF Score™ of 45/100 and a GF Value™ of $17.12 (Possible Value Trap). The stock has 8 warning signs investors should review.

As of Mar26, Meritage Hospitality Group's earnings power value is $-90.53. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is N/A.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


Meritage Hospitality Group  (OTCPK:MHGU) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Meritage Hospitality Group Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -69.78 -88.12 -84.98 -87.35 -95.52

Meritage Hospitality Group Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -82.48 -89.02 -94.70 -95.52 -90.53

MHGU vs PETZ, GTIM, GENK: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Restaurants subindustry, Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Restaurants Industry

For the Restaurants industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


MHGU
45GF Score
Meritage Hospitality Group Inc MHGU
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Meritage Hospitality Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

Meritage Hospitality Group's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 632.2
DDA 18.1
Operating Margin % 1.92
SGA * 25% 35.1
Tax Rate % 28.46
Maintenance Capex 41.2
Cash and Cash Equivalents 19.3
Short-Term Debt 193.5
Long-Term Debt 378.1
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 6.7

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = 1.92%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = $632.2 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 1.92%, Average Adjusted SGA = 35.1,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 632.2 * 1.92% +35.1 = $47.189011908 Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 28.46%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $47.189011908 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 47.189011908 * ( 1 - 28.46% ) = $33.759726954162 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 18.1 * 0.5 * 28.46% = $2.571965396 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 33.759726954162 + 2.571965396 = $36.331692350162 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
Meritage Hospitality Group's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $41.2 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. Meritage Hospitality Group's current cash and cash equivalent = $19.3 Mil.
Meritage Hospitality Group's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 378.1 + 193.5 = $571.577 Mil.
Meritage Hospitality Group's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 6.7 Mil.

Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Mar26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 36.331692350162 - 41.2)/ 9%+19.3-571.577 )/6.7
=-90.53

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( -90.528801461546-2.9766 )/-90.528801461546
= N/A

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

What does a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $-90.53 mean?
Meritage Hospitality Group (MHGU) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $-90.53 as of Mar26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Meritage Hospitality Group and its competitors.
Is Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Meritage Hospitality Group's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $-90.53. Overall, Meritage Hospitality Group has a GF Score™ of 45/100 and is considered Possible Value Trap, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to PETZ and GTIM?
Meritage Hospitality Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $-90.53 can be compared against companies in the Restaurants industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Earnings Power Value (EPV) for a Restaurants company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Restaurants industry context. However, Earnings Power Value (EPV) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Earnings Power Value (EPV) mean?
A high Earnings Power Value (EPV) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Meritage Hospitality Group and its competitors. Meritage Hospitality Group's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $-90.53. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Meritage Hospitality Group stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Meritage Hospitality Group (MHGU) is currently considered Possible Value Trap. The stock's GF Value™ is $17.12, compared to a current price of $2.98 — trading 82.6% below its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $-90.53. Meritage Hospitality Group's overall GF Score™ is 45/100 with 8 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Earnings Power Value (EPV) calculated?
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Meritage Hospitality Group (MHGU), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $-90.53 as of Mar26. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Meritage Hospitality Group (MHGU) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Meritage Hospitality Group stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of $2.98 is trading 82.6% below its estimated GF Value™ of $17.12. GuruFocus considers Meritage Hospitality Group to be Possible Value Trap.

Key valuation signals for MHGU:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): $-90.53
  • GF Value™: $17.12 vs. price of $2.98 (82.6% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 45/100 with 8 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the MHGU stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Meritage Hospitality Group Business Description

Other Exchanges MHGUP.PFD:USA
Address 45 Ottawa Avenue SW, Suite 600, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, 49503
Meritage Hospitality Group Inc is engaged in operating quick-service and casual dining restaurants across various states in the United States. It operates Wendy's quick-service restaurants across various states under franchise agreements with its franchisor. It also operates independent restaurants under three concepts throughout Michigan, which include Morning Belle restaurants, Stan's Tacos restaurant, and Blue Porch Bar & Grill restaurant. It is focused on the future development and long-term growth of its Morning Belle brand.
45GF Score

Get the complete analysis for MHGU

Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$2.98
Price
$17.12
GF Value