DSS, Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
DSS, Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Very weak' financial-health band (distress score 99/100). The main indicators are cash runway under 12 months, market-implied default probability >20% and severe working-capital shortfall. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 99% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 89.2%. In its favour: high insider/promoter ownership (60%) aligns management with survival.
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 ~7 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 -1.24 σ → PD 89%.
Structural (Merton/KMV) model: equity is a call option on assets; low distance-to-default means assets are close to the default point.
Current ratio is 0.22 (current assets cover 22% of near-term obligations).
Cash-flow insolvency test: inability to pay debts as they fall due is the trigger for both U.S. involuntary petitions and Indian IBC default.
Net income negative in 3 of 3 fiscal years.
Persistent losses erode equity and the capacity to absorb shocks.
Debt is 61% of assets while EBITDA is not positive.
With no operating earnings, repayment depends entirely on asset sales or fresh capital.
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.
O-score 4.92 → model probability 99%.
Ohlson (1980) logit model of 1-year corporate failure; O > 0 (p > 50%) is the original failure cut-off.
Last price $0.61.
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.
Short-term debt is 7.3× cash on hand.
Maturity wall: debt due within a year must be refinanced, which is the most common proximate cause of filings.
1 severe and 0 moderate distress-related headlines in the last 6 months.
Headlines are corroborating evidence only; they are weighted lightly and never drive a flag alone.
Revenue vs net income
Cash generation
Debt vs cash vs equity
✅ Mitigating factors
- High insider/promoter ownership (60%) aligns management with survival.
📰 Recent news scan
- going concernDSS, Inc. Reports Going Concern Audit Opinion in 2025 10-K FilingYahoo Finance · 2026-05-08
- DSS, Inc. Announces Form F-4 Filing in Connection with Impact Biomedical’s Proposed Business Combination with Zoar LimitedYahoo Finance · 2026-09-16
- DSS Shares Crash After Soaring. What the New Offering Means for InvestorsYahoo Finance · 2026-09-04
- DSS, Inc. Announces Decision Not to Proceed with Proposed Public OfferingYahoo Finance · 2026-09-04
- DSS, Inc. Announces Launch of Proposed Public OfferingYahoo Finance · 2026-09-04
- DSS, Inc. Withdraws Registration StatementYahoo Finance · 2026-06-09
⚖️ 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 DSS, Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, DSS, Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Very weak' band with a distress score of 99/100, driven by cash runway under 12 months, market-implied default probability >20% and severe working-capital shortfall. 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 DSS, Inc.'s financial distress score?
99/100 ('Very weak'). Ohlson O-score 4.92 (model 1-year failure probability 99%). Merton distance-to-default -1.24 σ (model default probability 89.2%).
What works in DSS, Inc.'s favour?
High insider/promoter ownership (60%) aligns management with survival.
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 Consumer Discretionary companies with distress indicators
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- Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (PSNY)Very weak 100/100
- Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (PSNYW)Very weak 100/100
- Reborn Coffee, Inc. (REBN)Very weak 100/100
- Sports Entertainment Gaming Global Corporation (SEGG)Very weak 100/100
All Consumer Discretionary 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.