TANH — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
TANH's reported numbers place it in the 'Watch' financial-health band (distress score 46/100). The main indicators are share price down >80% from 52-week high, massive shareholder dilution and losses in 2 of the last 3 years. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 37% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 5.6%. 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.
Price is -82% 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 +449% in a year.
Survival financing: repeated equity raises at depressed prices.
Recurring net losses.
Repeated losses are a core input in both Ohlson and Altman failure models.
Merton distance-to-default 1.59 σ → PD 5.6%.
Investment-grade issuers typically have 1-year PD well below 1%.
Operating margin fell from 8% to -32% in two years.
Sharp margin compression signals loss of pricing power or cost control.
Revenue declined every year for three years.
Structural, not cyclical, decline.
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 (6.59).
📰 Recent news scan
- Ten days at $1 a share led to a Nasdaq decision for Tantech Holdings (NASDAQ: TANH). - Stock TitanGoogle News · 2026-09-24
- Why (TANH) Price Action Is Critical for Tactical Trading - Stock Traders DailyGoogle News · 2026-09-18
- Tantech Holdings Shares Fall 3% Following September Reverse Stock Split - Yahoo FinanceGoogle News · 2026-09-11
- Tantech Holdings Shares Fall 13% After Hours After Announcing 1-for-50 Reverse Split: What You Need To Know - TradingViewGoogle News · 2026-09-02
- What's going on in today's session - ChartMillGoogle News · 2026-09-02
- Tantech (NASDAQ: TANH) approves 50-to-1 reverse split, cutting share count in September 2026. - Stock TitanGoogle News · 2026-09-01
⚖️ 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 TANH's financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, TANH's public financial data places it in the 'Watch' band with a distress score of 46/100, driven by share price down >80% from 52-week high, massive shareholder dilution and losses in 2 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 TANH's financial distress score?
46/100 ('Watch'). Ohlson O-score -0.52 (model 1-year failure probability 37%). Merton distance-to-default 1.59 σ (model default probability 5.6%).
What works in TANH's favour?
Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet). Strong current ratio (6.59).
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 Unclassified companies with distress indicators
- CNEY (CNEY)Very weak 100/100
- EPOW (EPOW)Very weak 100/100
- GIBO (GIBO)Very weak 100/100
- GNS (GNS)Very weak 100/100
- HKPD (HKPD)Very weak 100/100
- HUBC (HUBC)Very weak 100/100
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.