Aethlon Medical, Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
Aethlon Medical, Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Very weak' financial-health band (distress score 77/100). The main indicators are cash runway under 12 months, market-implied default probability >20% and losses in each of the last 3 years. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 100% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 33.7%. In its favour: cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet).
Stress by dimension
Share price — last 12 months
Indicators behind the score
Each red flag shows the evidence from the company’s own filings and the financial or legal principle behind it. Points add to the 0–100 score.
At the current free-cash-flow burn, cash covers ~9 months.
Going-concern standard: management must assess ability to continue for 12 months (ASC 205-40). Runway below that horizon forces dilution, asset sales or default.
Merton distance-to-default 0.42 σ → PD 34%.
Structural (Merton/KMV) model: equity is a call option on assets; low distance-to-default means assets are close to the default point.
Net income negative in 3 of 3 fiscal years.
Persistent losses erode equity and the capacity to absorb shocks.
Operating cash flow negative in 3 of the last 3 years.
A business that cannot fund itself from operations depends on external capital to survive.
Price is -85% from its 52-week high.
Equity markets price distress early; collapses of this size usually reflect fear of wipe-out in a restructuring.
O-score 10.78 → model probability 100%.
Ohlson (1980) logit model of 1-year corporate failure; O > 0 (p > 50%) is the original failure cut-off.
Share count up +507% in a year.
Survival financing: repeated equity raises at depressed prices.
Operating margin fell from -912% to -2072% in two years.
Sharp margin compression signals loss of pricing power or cost control.
Revenue vs net income
Cash generation
Debt vs cash vs equity
✅ Mitigating factors
- Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet).
- Strong current ratio (3.85).
📰 Recent news scan
- Aethlon Medical Shares Surge Over 400% After Announcing North Immunology MergerYahoo Finance · 2026-09-17
- North Immunology joins biotech reverse merger boom with Aethlon dealYahoo Finance · 2026-09-17
- Aethlon Medical & North Immunology Announce Merger to Advance Novel IL-13 x IL-18 Bispecific Antibody for Atopic DermatitisYahoo Finance · 2026-09-17
- Aethlon Medical Reports Q1 Fiscal 2027 Results and Progress on Hemopurifier® ProgramYahoo Finance · 2026-08-13
- Aethlon Medical Continues to Observe Directional Changes in Second Cohort of Australian Oncology Clinical Trial Evaluating Hemopurifier®Yahoo Finance · 2026-07-13
- Aethlon Medical Announces Pricing of $4.0 Million Follow-On Offering Priced At-The-Market Under NASDAQ RulesYahoo Finance · 2026-07-06
⚖️ U.S. legal pathway — Title 11, U.S. Code
Which chapter would apply?
- Chapter 11 — reorganisation. Management usually stays in control as debtor-in-possession; the automatic stay (§362) halts collection; a plan must meet the best-interests test (§1129(a)(7)) and the absolute priority rule (§1129(b)) — creditors are paid before shareholders, who are frequently wiped out.
- Chapter 7 — liquidation. A trustee sells assets and distributes proceeds by statutory priority (§§507, 726).
- Subchapter V (“Chapter 5”) is a fast track for small-business debtors under a statutory debt cap, but SEC-reporting companies are excluded (§101(51D)) — so it rarely applies to listed companies.
What typically triggers a filing
- Payment default or covenant breach lenders will not waive; a debt maturity that cannot be refinanced.
- Auditor going-concern doubt (ASC 205-40 / PCAOB AS 2415) — often itself a default trigger in loan agreements.
- Creditors can force a case with an involuntary petition (§303) if debts are not paid as they come due.
- Delisting after sustained sub-$1 prices or equity deficits cuts off equity funding.
Transactions shortly before filing can be clawed back (preferences — 90 days, §547; fraudulent transfers — 2 years, §548).
Frequently asked questions
What do Aethlon Medical, Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, Aethlon Medical, Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Very weak' band with a distress score of 77/100, driven by cash runway under 12 months, market-implied default probability >20% and losses in each of the last 3 years. This is a statistical screen of reported numbers — it does not mean the company is insolvent, has defaulted or will enter insolvency proceedings.
What is Aethlon Medical, Inc.'s financial distress score?
77/100 ('Very weak'). Ohlson O-score 10.78 (model 1-year failure probability 100%). Merton distance-to-default 0.42 σ (model default probability 33.7%).
What works in Aethlon Medical, Inc.'s favour?
Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet). Strong current ratio (3.85).
How are shareholders treated if a company enters insolvency?
In a Chapter 11 reorganisation the absolute priority rule pays secured lenders, then unsecured creditors, before shareholders — so existing shares are usually cancelled or heavily diluted. In Chapter 7 the company is liquidated and shareholders rarely recover anything.
Other Healthcare & MedTech companies with distress indicators
- Adagio Medical Holdings, Inc. (ADGM)Very weak 100/100
- DataMEDS AI, Inc. (MEDS)Very weak 100/100
- OneMedNet Corporation (ONMD)Very weak 100/100
- Profusa, Inc. (PFSA)Very weak 100/100
- Picard Medical, Inc. (PMI)Very weak 100/100
- Synergy CHC Corp. (SNYR)Very weak 100/100
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Methodology
Score = capped sum of rule-based red flags across seven dimensions (liquidity, solvency, profitability, cash flow, sales trend, market signal, news). Ohlson O-score (1980) gives an accounting-based 1-year failure probability; Merton distance-to-default (Bharath & Shumway 2008) gives a market-implied probability. Financial institutions use a capital-based rule set. Recalculated every trading day from the latest filings, prices and news.