ECARX Holdings Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
ECARX Holdings Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Very weak' financial-health band (distress score 100/100). The main indicators are liabilities exceed assets (negative equity), operating profit does not cover interest and market-implied default probability >20%. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 99% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 69.2%. In its favour: high insider/promoter ownership (63%) 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.
Total liabilities are 1.36× total assets.
Balance-sheet insolvency test: debts exceeding the fair value of assets is the statutory definition of 'insolvent' in 11 U.S.C. §101(32).
Interest coverage (EBIT / interest) is -1.22×.
When EBIT < interest, debt service is funded from cash reserves or new borrowing — the classic precursor to payment default and covenant breach.
Merton distance-to-default -0.50 σ → PD 69%.
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 0.64 (current assets cover 64% 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 73% 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 4.42 → model probability 99%.
Ohlson (1980) logit model of 1-year corporate failure; O > 0 (p > 50%) is the original failure cut-off.
Cash covers ~23 months of free-cash-flow burn.
Funding needs within two years make the company dependent on capital-market access.
Last price $0.83.
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 2.1× cash on hand.
Maturity wall: debt due within a year must be refinanced, which is the most common proximate cause of filings.
Price is -69% from its 52-week high.
For financial firms a share-price run often precedes a deposit or funding run (confidence channel).
Revenue vs net income
Cash generation
Debt vs cash vs equity
✅ Mitigating factors
- High insider/promoter ownership (63%) aligns management with survival.
📰 Recent news scan
- ECARX takes full ownership of Flyme software businessYahoo Finance · 2026-10-06
- ECARX Completes Acquisition of Flyme Software Business, Securing End-to-End Operating System CapabilitiesYahoo Finance · 2026-10-05
- All You Need to Know About ECARX Holdings, Inc. (ECX) Rating Upgrade to BuyYahoo Finance · 2026-09-30
- ECARX Surpasses 12 Million Vehicles Globally, Marking New Milestone in Automotive IntelligenceYahoo Finance · 2026-09-17
- ECARX to Present at the Sidoti Small-Cap Investor Conference on September 24, 2026Yahoo Finance · 2026-09-10
- Flyme AIOS to Deploy WorkBuddy AI Tools Across All Flyme PlatformsYahoo Finance · 2026-09-02
⚖️ 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 ECARX Holdings Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, ECARX Holdings Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Very weak' band with a distress score of 100/100, driven by liabilities exceed assets (negative equity), operating profit does not cover interest and market-implied default probability >20%. 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 ECARX Holdings Inc.'s financial distress score?
100/100 ('Very weak'). Ohlson O-score 4.42 (model 1-year failure probability 99%). Merton distance-to-default -0.5 σ (model default probability 69.2%).
What works in ECARX Holdings Inc.'s favour?
High insider/promoter ownership (63%) 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
- AIIO (AIIO)Very weak 100/100
- 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
- TH International Limited (THCH)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.