# Serko (SKO.AU)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/SKO.AU

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z. Financial observations: FY2013–FY2026.

Listing currency: AUD. Reporting currency: NZD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: AUD 0.89 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 1 revenue decline in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 1

- Years with a net loss: 8

- Operating margin variation: 1.28×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -0.24×

- FY2018: 0.09×

- FY2019: 0.07×

- FY2020: -0.36×

- FY2021: -2.25×

- FY2022: -2.03×

- FY2023: -0.95×

- FY2024: -0.30×

- FY2025: -0.22×

- FY2026: -0.11×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 6.2pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: -42.7%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -102.0%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 6.2 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 19.4%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 13.2%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 4.5%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -36.0%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -108.2%

- FY2018: 39.6%

- FY2019: 16.6%

- FY2020: -32.7%

- FY2021: -97.5%

- FY2022: -102.0%

- FY2023: -87.3%

- FY2024: -46.7%

- FY2025: -38.8%

- FY2026: -24.7%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- working capital as a share of revenue rose more than 10pp and ends positive

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: NZD -85M

- Net income, five-year total: NZD -122M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 0.0%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 2.5 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 17.4 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 20.1%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2022: NZD -44M

- FY2023: NZD -19M

- FY2024: NZD -11M

- FY2025: NZD -8.7M

- FY2026: NZD -2.4M

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2019 to 2026 (7 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 16.6% vs -38.8%

- Per-share earnings: -0.05 to -0.14 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- acquired goodwill and intangibles (proxy) exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 5.4%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 3.0%

- Market cap gain: NZD -62M

- Cumulative retained earnings: NZD -162M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 5.4%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 3.0%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2019

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2026

- Per-share value change: NZD -0.10

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: NZD -0.05

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: NZD -0.14

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): -0.80

- Average buyback yield: 0.5%

- Buyback history: 4 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: NZD 34M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: NZD -161M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 16.6%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -38.8%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: NZD -0.05

- FY2018: NZD 0.02

- FY2019: NZD 0.02

- FY2020: NZD -0.10

- FY2021: NZD -0.28

- FY2022: NZD -0.30

- FY2023: NZD -0.26

- FY2024: NZD -0.13

- FY2025: NZD -0.18

- FY2026: NZD -0.14

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -21.4%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.74×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.24×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -18.2%

- FY2018: 3.5%

- FY2019: -6.0%

- FY2020: -7.6%

- FY2021: -10.2%

- FY2022: -10.5%

- FY2023: -5.8%

- FY2024: -16.7%

- FY2025: -21.2%

- FY2026: -21.4%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 88% since Oct 2021 · sales +35.9%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:13.849Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2025–2026

sales +35.9%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2017: NZD 14M 

- FY2018: NZD 18M 

- FY2019: NZD 23M 

- FY2020: NZD 26M 

- FY2021: NZD 12M 

- FY2022: NZD 18M 

- FY2023: NZD 46M 

- FY2024: NZD 69M 

- FY2025: NZD 88M 

- FY2026: NZD 120M 

### Gross margin · FY2026

gross margin 13.2%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2017: 14.0% 

- FY2018: 36.2% 

- FY2019: 43.8% 

- FY2020: 24.9% 

- FY2024: 28.1% 

- FY2026: 13.2% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in software infrastructure; annual sales are NZD 120.3 million.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2026: revenue 120260289; grossProfit 15921082; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); SKO.AU: Serko Limited provides online travel booking and expense management services in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers solutions for travelers to book and manage their work trips and travel programmes. It provides Booking.com for Business, that is used by small-to-medium businesses; Zeno for managed business travel; and GetThere, a corporate booking tool. The company also offers Serko.ai, an agentic AI offering. Serko Limited was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 13.2% to 100% during 2024–26; it lost 42.7% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 28.1%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 100%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2026: grossProfit / revenue = 13.2%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); 10-year return on capital observations [[2017,-1.0820258272800645],[2018,0.39633051105098555],[2019,0.1658961401999785],[2020,-0.3265469909684342],[2021,-0.9746621949605049],[2022,-1.019530263580269],[2023,-0.8727439346323067],[2024,-0.46652666591498476],[2025,-0.3881681272647837],[2026,-0.24684757299539517]]; median -0.42734739658988424. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 4 of 10 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 192000; owner earnings 2250942. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 466000; owner earnings 2263607. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); Dividend observations: [[2017,0],[2018,0],[2019,14220000],[2020,200000],[2021,250000],[2022,200000],[2023,0],[2024,0],[2025,0],[2026,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 29.9% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); SKO.AU SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 29.948999999999998 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 1.1 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:54:53.240Z); Closing price 0.885 AUD; reporting-to-trading FX 0.8124078517533463; FY2026 annual sales per share 0.973117464042239; price multiple 1.1194479152534005. FY2026 cash earnings/share -0.019763566848056965. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (AUD per share)

- 2018-06: AUD 2.75 per share

- 2018-07: AUD 2.58 per share

- 2018-08: AUD 2.74 per share

- 2018-09: AUD 3.15 per share

- 2018-10: AUD 2.99 per share

- 2018-11: AUD 3.04 per share

- 2018-12: AUD 2.60 per share

- 2019-01: AUD 3.12 per share

- 2019-02: AUD 3.38 per share

- 2019-03: AUD 2.87 per share

- 2019-04: AUD 3.41 per share

- 2019-05: AUD 3.69 per share

- 2019-06: AUD 4.08 per share

- 2019-07: AUD 3.92 per share

- 2019-08: AUD 4.19 per share

- 2019-09: AUD 3.87 per share

- 2019-10: AUD 4.35 per share

- 2019-11: AUD 4.72 per share

- 2019-12: AUD 4.80 per share

- 2020-01: AUD 5.01 per share

- 2020-02: AUD 3.70 per share

- 2020-03: AUD 1.85 per share

- 2020-04: AUD 2.48 per share

- 2020-05: AUD 2.78 per share

- 2020-06: AUD 3.07 per share

- 2020-07: AUD 3.20 per share

- 2020-08: AUD 3.38 per share

- 2020-09: AUD 4.17 per share

- 2020-10: AUD 4.65 per share

- 2020-11: AUD 5.16 per share

- 2020-12: AUD 5.37 per share

- 2021-01: AUD 5.33 per share

- 2021-02: AUD 5.40 per share

- 2021-03: AUD 6.37 per share

- 2021-04: AUD 6.31 per share

- 2021-05: AUD 6.50 per share

- 2021-06: AUD 6.86 per share

- 2021-07: AUD 6.80 per share

- 2021-08: AUD 7.63 per share

- 2021-09: AUD 8.00 per share

- 2021-10: AUD 7.40 per share

- 2021-11: AUD 6.14 per share

- 2021-12: AUD 6.29 per share

- 2022-01: AUD 5.02 per share

- 2022-02: AUD 4.47 per share

- 2022-03: AUD 4.34 per share

- 2022-04: AUD 4.54 per share

- 2022-05: AUD 3.18 per share

- 2022-06: AUD 3.30 per share

- 2022-07: AUD 3.56 per share

- 2022-08: AUD 3.36 per share

- 2022-09: AUD 2.65 per share

- 2022-10: AUD 2.70 per share

- 2022-11: AUD 2.18 per share

- 2022-12: AUD 2.23 per share

- 2023-01: AUD 2.40 per share

- 2023-02: AUD 2.14 per share

- 2023-03: AUD 2.14 per share

- 2023-04: AUD 1.92 per share

- 2023-05: AUD 2.84 per share

- 2023-06: AUD 3.42 per share

- 2023-07: AUD 3.70 per share

- 2023-08: AUD 3.63 per share

- 2023-09: AUD 4.00 per share

- 2023-10: AUD 3.92 per share

- 2023-11: AUD 3.80 per share

- 2023-12: AUD 3.75 per share

- 2024-01: AUD 3.86 per share

- 2024-02: AUD 3.83 per share

- 2024-03: AUD 3.62 per share

- 2024-04: AUD 3.36 per share

- 2024-05: AUD 2.91 per share

- 2024-06: AUD 2.71 per share

- 2024-07: AUD 3.28 per share

- 2024-08: AUD 2.90 per share

- 2024-09: AUD 2.72 per share

- 2024-10: AUD 3.10 per share

- 2024-11: AUD 3.30 per share

- 2024-12: AUD 3.49 per share

- 2025-01: AUD 3.40 per share

- 2025-02: AUD 3.26 per share

- 2025-03: AUD 3.55 per share

- 2025-04: AUD 3.49 per share

- 2025-05: AUD 2.72 per share

- 2025-06: AUD 2.93 per share

- 2025-07: AUD 2.62 per share

- 2025-08: AUD 2.20 per share

- 2025-09: AUD 2.34 per share

- 2025-10: AUD 2.43 per share

- 2025-11: AUD 2.36 per share

- 2025-12: AUD 2.61 per share

- 2026-01: AUD 2.40 per share

- 2026-02: AUD 1.54 per share

- 2026-03: AUD 1.41 per share

- 2026-04: AUD 1.35 per share

- 2026-05: AUD 1.32 per share

- 2026-06: AUD 1.17 per share

- 2026-07: AUD 1.21 per share

- 2026-08: AUD 1.23 per share

- 2026-09: AUD 1.23 per share

- 2026-10: AUD 0.89 per share

## Annual estimated value (AUD per share)

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.
← Companies

Serko

SKO · AU

NZX 50

Not a wonderful business

4 quality tests fail. A lower price would not fix the business.

Share price
AUD 0.89
Quality tests
Fail
Annual history
14 years
Market value
$81M

The business

How it makes money
Why customers stay
Where the cash goes
Are managers owners
What the price says

1. Is this a good business?

Evidence only; not required for Buy

8 loss years were recorded (limit 2), and average operating margin was negative (must be zero or higher), and margins varied 127.6% around their average (limit 35%).

10y median
-27.1%
Worst year
-225.1%
Latest · 2026
-10.8%

Capital return excluding acquisitions: median -42.7% (minimum 15%), and the second-worst year -102% (minimum 10%), and gross margin fell 6.2 percentage points (limit 4).

10y median
-42.7%
Worst year
-108.2%
Latest · 2026
-24.7%

Owners received -84.6 million over five years (must be positive), and new investment earned 0% (minimum 12%), and working capital rose 17.4% of sales (limit 10%) to 20.1% (waived at zero or below).

5y median
NZD -11M
Worst year
NZD -44M
Latest · 2026
NZD -2.4M

Per-share value fell from -0.05 to -0.14, comparing three-year medians at each end (must rise and stay positive), and share growth was 5.4% over ten years and 3% over five (either must be at most 1% a year), and acquisitions used -20.9% of profits (limit 50%) while returns fell to -38.8% (minimum 15% and two-thirds of their starting level).

10y median
NZD -0.14
Worst year
NZD -0.30
Latest · 2026
NZD -0.14

Profits were backed by cash: accruals were -21.4% of assets (limit 10%).

10y median
-10.3%
Worst year
3.5%
Latest · 2026
-21.4%

Profit record · fail 8 loss years in 10 (at most 2), mean operating margin -62.9%, three-year average owner earnings per share -0.06 NZD. 8 loss years in the last 10; at most 2 allowed. Mean operating margin over the last ten years is negative. Three-year average owner earnings per share is not positive.

RevenueNZD 120M
120M020172026
FY2017 · Revenue: NZD 14M; FY2018 · Revenue: NZD 18M; FY2019 · Revenue: NZD 23M; FY2020 · Revenue: NZD 26M; FY2021 · Revenue: NZD 12M; FY2022 · Revenue: NZD 18M; FY2023 · Revenue: NZD 46M; FY2024 · Revenue: NZD 69M; FY2025 · Revenue: NZD 88M; FY2026 · Revenue: NZD 120M
Revenue
Owner earningsNZD -2.4M
2.3M-44M20172026
FY2017 · Owner earnings: NZD -2.9M; FY2018 · Owner earnings: NZD 2.3M; FY2019 · Owner earnings: NZD 2.3M; FY2020 · Owner earnings: NZD -18M; FY2021 · Owner earnings: NZD -32M; FY2022 · Owner earnings: NZD -44M; FY2023 · Owner earnings: NZD -19M; FY2024 · Owner earnings: NZD -11M; FY2025 · Owner earnings: NZD -8.7M; FY2026 · Owner earnings: NZD -2.4M
Owner earnings
Operating margin-10.8%
10.0%-225.1%20172026
FY2017 · Operating margin: -23.8%; FY2018 · Operating margin: 8.7%; FY2019 · Operating margin: 6.6%; FY2020 · Operating margin: -35.7%; FY2021 · Operating margin: -225.1%; FY2022 · Operating margin: -202.6%; FY2023 · Operating margin: -94.5%; FY2024 · Operating margin: -30.5%; FY2025 · Operating margin: -21.6%; FY2026 · Operating margin: -10.8%
Operating margin
Net cash / debtNZD 48M
122M020172026
FY2017 · Net cash / debt: NZD 3.8M; FY2018 · Net cash / debt: NZD 4.7M; FY2019 · Net cash / debt: NZD 16M; FY2020 · Net cash / debt: NZD 40M; FY2021 · Net cash / debt: NZD 78M; FY2022 · Net cash / debt: NZD 122M; FY2023 · Net cash / debt: NZD 85M; FY2024 · Net cash / debt: NZD 79M; FY2025 · Net cash / debt: NZD 59M; FY2026 · Net cash / debt: NZD 48M
Net cash / debt
Diluted shares124M
124M020172026
FY2017 · Diluted shares: 75M; FY2018 · Diluted shares: 78M; FY2019 · Diluted shares: 78M; FY2020 · Diluted shares: 93M; FY2021 · Diluted shares: 107M; FY2022 · Diluted shares: 119M; FY2023 · Diluted shares: 120M; FY2024 · Diluted shares: 118M; FY2025 · Diluted shares: 123M; FY2026 · Diluted shares: 124M
Diluted shares
Prices 15 Oct 2026 · FY2026