C3is Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
C3is Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Watch' financial-health band (distress score 48/100). The main indicators are market-implied default probability >20%, share price down >80% from 52-week high and massive shareholder dilution. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 0% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 41.4%. 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.
Merton distance-to-default 0.22 σ → PD 41%.
Structural (Merton/KMV) model: equity is a call option on assets; low distance-to-default means assets are close to the default point.
Price is -100% from its 52-week high.
Equity markets price distress early; collapses of this size usually reflect fear of wipe-out in a restructuring.
Share count up +4570% in a year.
Survival financing: repeated equity raises at depressed prices.
Revenue changed -18% year over year.
Falling sales reduce cash available for debt service.
Last price $0.82.
Below the $1 minimum-bid listing standard (Nasdaq Rule 5550(a)(2) / NYSE 802.01C); sustained breach leads to delisting and loss of capital-market access.
Operating margin fell from 36% to 4% 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).
- Operating cash flow is positive over the latest 12 months.
- Comfortable interest coverage (118.2×).
- Strong current ratio (8.51).
📰 Recent news scan
- TOWERVIEW LLC Exits C3is Inc (CISS) -- GF Value Flags "Possible Value Trap, Think Twice" - GuruFocusGoogle News · 2026-10-09
- $2.4444 warrants underpin up to $6.53M in potential stock issuance at C3is (CISS). - Stock TitanGoogle News · 2026-10-05
- An investor group exercised all warrants and sold its remaining C3is (CISS) shares. - Stock TitanGoogle News · 2026-10-05
- C3is Second-Quarter Revenue Jumps 124% as Shipping Rates Drive Profit Growth - Yahoo FinanceGoogle News · 2026-08-27
- C3is (CISS) Stock Surges Over 16% After Hours: Why is it Moving? C3is Shares Jump 16.57% After Hours on I - BenzingaGoogle News · 2026-08-05
- C3is (CISS) Stock Is Trending Overnight—Here's Why It Rebounded Nearly 30% After Hours - WebullGoogle News · 2026-07-27
⚖️ 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 C3is Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, C3is Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Watch' band with a distress score of 48/100, driven by market-implied default probability >20%, share price down >80% from 52-week high and massive shareholder dilution. 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 C3is Inc.'s financial distress score?
48/100 ('Watch'). Ohlson O-score -6.71 (model 1-year failure probability 0%). Merton distance-to-default 0.22 σ (model default probability 41.4%).
What works in C3is Inc.'s favour?
Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet). Operating cash flow is positive over the latest 12 months. Comfortable interest coverage (118.2×). Strong current ratio (8.51).
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 Industrials & Capital Goods companies with distress indicators
- ADSE (ADSE)Very weak 100/100
- Nuburu, Inc. (BURU)Very weak 100/100
- Liberty Defense Holdings, Ltd. (DETX)Very weak 100/100
- GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (GP)Very weak 100/100
- Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. (HYFM)Very weak 100/100
- Nexus Advanced Technologies Inc. (NXAT)Very weak 100/100
All Industrials & Capital Goods companies with distress indicators →
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.