TOPS — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
TOPS's reported numbers place it in the 'Watch' financial-health band (distress score 47/100). The main indicators are market-implied default probability >20%, severe working-capital shortfall and share price down >80% from 52-week high. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 83% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 99.9%. In its favour: operating cash flow is positive over the latest 12 months.
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 -3.07 σ → PD 100%.
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 0.61 (current assets cover 61% 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.
Price is -92% from its 52-week high.
Equity markets price distress early; collapses of this size usually reflect fear of wipe-out in a restructuring.
Last price $0.50.
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.
0 severe and 1 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
- Operating cash flow is positive over the latest 12 months.
- High insider/promoter ownership (44%) aligns management with survival.
📰 Recent news scan
- dilutTOP Ships Inc. Announces Net Income of $6.5 Million, Diluted Earnings per Share of $0.61 and Stockholders’ Equity of $76.7 Million for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2026Yahoo Finance · 2026-09-16
- Top Ships Inc. Announces Acquisition of four High Specification Ice Class 1A Newbuilding MR Tankers and Gross Revenue Backlog of about $1.24 BillionYahoo Finance · 2026-10-07
- Top Ships Inc. Announces Closing of the Acquisition of three High Specification Newbuilding MR TankersYahoo Finance · 2026-09-30
- Top Ships Inc. Provides Response to Unusual Market ActionYahoo Finance · 2026-09-22
- Top Ships Inc. Announces Acquisition of three High Specification Newbuilding MR Tankers and Potential Gross Revenue Backlog of about $0.93 BillionYahoo Finance · 2026-07-29
- TOP Ships Inc. Cancels Dubai Real Estate DealYahoo Finance · 2026-07-16
⚖️ 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 TOPS's financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, TOPS's public financial data places it in the 'Watch' band with a distress score of 47/100, driven by market-implied default probability >20%, severe working-capital shortfall and share price down >80% from 52-week high. 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 TOPS's financial distress score?
47/100 ('Watch'). Ohlson O-score 1.56 (model 1-year failure probability 83%). Merton distance-to-default -3.07 σ (model default probability 99.9%).
What works in TOPS's favour?
Operating cash flow is positive over the latest 12 months. High insider/promoter ownership (44%) 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 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.