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Deep Value: cash covers more than 100% of the stock price

This company holds roughly $8M in cash and investments — more than its entire stock-market value, based on its latest quarterly filing. You're paying very little for the actual business. Sometimes that's a genuine bargain or a takeover target, sometimes it's cheap for a reason. Not a buy signal on its own — always ask why it's this cheap.

ZK International Group Co. logo

ZK International Group Co.

ZKIN
18
Steel · Basic Materials
Price
$1.11
+0.10 (+9.85%)
Market Cap
$6.3M
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
18
Winston is worried
Weak fundamentals across most pillars.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Good
Valuation
Data not available

Share count rising — dilution

+81.7% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 3.1M (2021) → 5.7M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

ZK International Group is a Chinese company that makes steel pipes and fittings used in water and gas distribution systems. Its main customers are municipal governments, construction companies, and utilities that need piping infrastructure for cities and towns. The company focuses on stainless steel and other specialty pipe products designed to meet China's water safety standards.

ZK International earns money by selling its pipe products directly to project developers and government-backed infrastructure projects, primarily in China. It is a small company with a market cap under $100 million, and it faces intense competition from much larger Chinese steel manufacturers. The company's thin gross margin of around 5.7% and negative operating margin signal that it struggles to cover its costs, which is a significant financial risk. Growth depends heavily on Chinese government spending on water infrastructure upgrades, but rising raw material costs and pricing pressure from competitors remain the key challenges the business must navigate.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-97.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-484.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$859,697/ year

Declining (-28% vs prior year)

1.2% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

19.7%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Runway

~1 months

$3M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

ZK International Group Co. has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
1.0%
Thin — 1.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-797.0%
Losing money on operations — -797.0%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
-15.4%
Weak — -15.4% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
-66.2%
Shrinking sales (-66.2% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
1/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-55.6%
Burning cash (-55.6%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.09
Conservative — low debt load (0.09)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
N/A
Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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