Company Overview
CN Energy Group. Inc. operates as a specialized manufacturer and supplier of wood-based activated carbon, serving diverse markets including pharmaceutical and industrial manufacturing, water purification, environmental protection, and food and beverage production across China and the United States. The company functions within the Basic Materials sector, specifically the Specialty Chemicals industry, a classification that denotes its role in producing essential chemical inputs used in various downstream applications rather than consumer-facing finished goods. The entity employs a workforce of 25 individuals and holds a market capitalization of $3.19M, while generating annual revenue of $35.57M over the trailing twelve-month period. These financial figures indicate that the company operates with a relatively small market capitalization relative to its revenue generation, suggesting a profile typical of a micro-cap entity where earnings metrics may be volatile or尚未 established, and where the market price reflects significant discounting relative to its sales base.
Financial Health
The company reported revenue of $35.57M for the trailing twelve months, yet this top-line activity resulted in a net income of $-11,142,007 and an EBITDA of $-9,737,076, highlighting a substantial gap between gross sales and bottom-line profitability that reveals a highly fragile cost structure. This negative net income figure implies that operating expenses and cost of goods sold significantly exceeded total revenue, a situation exacerbated by free cash flow of $-9,813,640, which indicates that the company is burning cash rather than generating liquidity for operational flexibility or debt servicing. The margins further illuminate the depth of these inefficiencies, with a gross margin of only 1.8% indicating minimal profitability on core sales before operating expenses, an operating margin of -89.9% showing that overhead costs are consuming the vast majority of revenue, and a profit margin of -31.3% confirming the severe loss position relative to sales. On the balance sheet, the company holds cash of $390,706 against total debt of $3.43M, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, which characterizes the capital structure as highly leveraged and sensitive to interest rate fluctuations or refinancing risks. Despite the high debt load, the current ratio stands at 13.90, a figure that technically suggests strong short-term liquidity, though such an extreme ratio often points to potential issues with inventory valuation or accounts receivable quality rather than genuine cash abundance. Finally, the Return on Equity is -11.2% and the Return on Assets is -6.7%, metrics that reveal management effectiveness is currently negative, as the company is destroying shareholder value and failing to generate returns on the capital invested in its asset base.
Valuation Assessment
The trailing P/E ratio is listed as N/A, while the forward P/E is also N/A, a status that implies earnings are insufficient or negative enough to prevent the calculation of a meaningful price-to-earnings multiple, rendering traditional earnings-based valuation methods inapplicable for this period. The price-to-book ratio is recorded at 0.02, indicating that the market values the company's equity at a fraction of its book value, which suggests a deep discount or significant concerns regarding the quality of the underlying assets. Alternative valuation metrics provide further context, with a price-to-sales ratio of 0.09 and an EV/EBITDA of -0.54, figures that suggest the market is pricing the stock based on survival probability rather than growth potential or earnings power. Regarding trading ranges, the 52-week high is $7.35 and the 52-week low is $0.31, meaning the current share price sits in the lower portion of this historical range relative to the recent highs, reflecting the recent earnings deterioration. The stock exhibits a beta of 0.79, which implies that the share price is less volatile than the broader market, moving with a dampened intensity compared to the overall index, a characteristic often found in smaller capitalization stocks with specific niche exposures.
Growth & Income
Revenue growth year-over-year declined by 2.4%, while earnings growth is marked as N/A due to the lack of positive earnings to measure against the prior period, indicating that the company is currently contracting rather than expanding its top line. Since the company does not pay a dividend, the dividend yield is N/A and the payout ratio is 0.0%, meaning the entity retains all of its negative earnings and reinvests them into operations rather than distributing income to shareholders. This absence of dividend distribution aligns with the growth profile of a distressed micro-cap firm that must conserve any remaining capital to address its liquidity constraints and negative cash flow. The overall growth and income profile is characterized by negative revenue momentum, zero dividend income, and a reliance on retained earnings to sustain operations amidst significant losses.