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ZYBERNO

Stock Report

Updated Sep 1, 2026

ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH)

Technology • NYSE

$0.35

Professional Investment Analysis

ZYBERNO SCORE →

Is it a great business? Is it getting better?

3.0/100

POOR BUSINESS

ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH) scores 3/100 — concerning metrics indicating significant structural or financial risks.

📊 How is the Zyberno Score calculated? +

The Zyberno Score answers one question: "Is this a quality business worth owning?" It's a 0-100 investment grade that evaluates business fundamentals across four critical dimensions, based on principles from Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, and Charlie Munger.

The 4 Core Categories (25 points each):

1. PROFITABILITY (25 pts)

Metrics: ROE, ROIC, Net Margin, Operating Margin
Thresholds: ROE >20% excellent • ROIC >20% excellent • Net Margin >20% excellent • Operating Margin >25% excellent

2. FINANCIAL STRENGTH (25 pts)

Metrics: Debt-to-Equity, Current Ratio, Interest Coverage, Altman Z-Score
Thresholds: D/E <0.3 excellent • Current Ratio >2.5 excellent • Interest Coverage >10x excellent • Altman Z >3.0 safe

3. CASH FLOW QUALITY (25 pts)

Metrics: Free Cash Flow, OCF vs Net Income, FCF Margin
Thresholds: Positive & growing FCF excellent • OCF/NI >1.2x excellent (cash earnings exceed accounting)

4. GROWTH & CONSISTENCY (25 pts)

Metrics: Revenue Growth, Net Income Growth, FCF Growth, Piotroski F-Score
Thresholds: Growth via log-linear regression • Piotroski 8-9 excellent, 6-7 good

Score Interpretation:

75-100

GREAT BUSINESS

65-74

GOOD BUSINESS

50-64

AVERAGE BUSINESS

30-49

WEAK BUSINESS

0-29

POOR BUSINESS

→ View full GWH quality analysis & detailed breakdown

VALUATION SIGNAL

N/A (Requires more data)

Requires fair value calculation and current price data

💰 How is Margin of Safety calculated? +

Margin of Safety measures how much discount or premium you're paying relative to a stock's intrinsic value. It's Benjamin Graham's core principle: the larger the margin, the lower your downside risk.

Formula: (Intrinsic Value − Current Price) ÷ Intrinsic Value × 100%

How We Calculate Intrinsic Value (DCF Method):

Step 1: Calculate current Owner Earnings (OCF − Maintenance CapEx)

Step 2: Calculate company-specific growth rate using log-linear regression on 16 quarters of Owner Earnings

Step 3: Project 10 years forward using the calculated growth rate

Step 4: Discount each year's cash flow to present value using 10% discount rate

Step 5: Calculate terminal value using 3% perpetual growth rate

Step 6: Sum all discounted cash flows = Intrinsic Value

What The Percentages Mean:

+50% or more

EXCELLENT — Very undervalued

+25% to +50%

GOOD — Attractive discount

0% to +25%

FAIR — Reasonable value

0% to -25%

CAUTION — Slight premium

-25% or worse

POOR — Overvalued

"Price is what you pay, value is what you get." — Warren Buffett

→ View full GWH valuation analysis · → View full GWH Brina Gap analysis

📈 How is Brina Gap calculated? +

Brina Gap measures the difference between the growth a business can fundamentally sustain and the growth the market is already pricing in.

Formula: Fundamental Growth Rate − Market-Implied Growth Rate

The Two Components:

Fundamental Growth Rate = ROIC × Reinvestment Rate

What the business can sustainably grow at based on how much it reinvests and what return it earns on that capital. Grounded in historical financials.

Market-Implied Growth Rate = Reverse DCF

The growth rate the current Enterprise Value implicitly assumes. Calculated by back-solving a 10-year DCF model (10% WACC, 3% terminal growth) until the present value of projected cash flows equals EV.

What The Gap Means:

Gap > +5% Market Underestimates — potential upside

+2% to +5% Slight Underestimate

-2% to +2% Fairly Priced — market consensus matches fundamentals

-5% to -2% Slight Overestimate

Gap < -5% Market Overestimates — price embeds optimism fundamentals don't support

A positive gap (market underestimates) combined with a positive Margin of Safety is the strongest combined signal — the business is both cheap historically and forward economics are stronger than the price suggests.

Critical Financial Health Indicators

Return on Equity (Profitability):CRITICAL (-1,934.8%)

Debt-to-Equity (Solvency Risk):EXCELLENT (0.00x)

Operating Margin (Operational Efficiency):CRITICAL (-3,173.7%)

Return on Capital (Capital Efficiency):CRITICAL (-196.3%)

📊 Valuation Trilogy

Three interconnected metrics for complete valuation analysis

Click any metric for full methodology and detailed analysis

Zyberno's Verdict

ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH) stock report — Zyberno Score 3/100 (POOR BUSINESS). Full financial analysis on Zyberno.

Over the trailing twelve months, GWH generated -$48.75M in Owner Earnings. Capital was deployed as follows: $3.56M invested in capital expenditures. Reinvestment rate: 5.5%.

DIVISION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A. Market Valuation

Market Price & Capitalization (2)

Current Price:0.35

Market Cap:$11.84M

Valuation Multiples (2)

P/S Ratio:6.64x

Peg Ratio:-999.00x

Enterprise Metrics (1)

Enterprise Value:$3.97M

Price Action & Momentum (1)

% of 52-Week High:2.5%

B. Profitability Assessment

Return Metrics (5)

ROE:

-1,934.8%

📊 Click to view full GWH ROE analysis →

ROA:-156.4%

Roic:

-196.3%

📊 Click to view full GWH ROIC analysis →

Reinvestment Rate:5.5%

Fundamental Growth Rate (g):-10.9%

Margin Analysis (3)

Operating Margin Ttm:-3,173.7%

Net Margin Ttm:-3,690.2%

Ebitda Margin:-2,601.8%

TTM Performance (3)

Gross Margin Ttm:-1,619.0%

Operating Margin Ttm:-3,173.7%

Net Margin Ttm:-3,690.2%

Yield Metrics (2)

Earnings Yield:-$474.96

Dividend Yield:0.0%

C. Log-Linear Regression Growth Trends

Earnings Surprise (SUE) (3)

Earnings Surprise (SUE):

+0.34

📊 Click to view full GWH Earnings Surprise analysis →

EPS Surprise vs Expected:59.0%

Latest Earnings Filed:2026-08-11

Revenue Growth (Linear) (1)

Revenue Growth Rate (Linear):-23.6%

D. Financial Stability

Liquidity Ratios (3)

Current Ratio:0.68x

Quick Ratio:0.31x

Cash Ratio:0.54x

Leverage Analysis (1)

Debt To Ebitda:-999.00x

Coverage Ratios (2)

Interest Coverage Ratio:-10.94x

Times Interest Earned:-10.94

Capital Structure (4)

Working Capital:-6,410,000.00

Cash And Cash Equivalents:10,848,000.00

Long Term Debt:$1.06M

Net Debt:-$7.87M

DIVISION II: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS

A. Income Statement Analysis

Revenue Components (2)

Revenue TTM: $1.78M

Linear Growth: -23.6%

📊 Click to view full GWH Revenue analysis & methodology →

Cost Of Revenue Ttm:$27.71M

Profitability Breakdown (2)

-$28.88M-$56.62M

Bottom Line Performance (3)

-$65.83M

Income Before Tax:$0.00

Ebitda Ttm:-46,417,000.00

Operating Expenses (5)

Operating Expenses:27,735,000.00

R And D Expense:9,221,000.00

Sga Expense:17,118,000.00

Income Tax Expense:$0.00

Interest Expense:5,249,000.00

Expense Ratios (3)

R And D To Revenue Percentage:12,631.5%

Sga To Revenue Percentage:23,449.3%

Ebitda Margin:-2,601.8%

B. Balance Sheet Analysis

Asset Composition (5)

Total Assets:$32.48M

Current Assets:$13.59M

Ppe Net:38,064,000.00

Goodwill:0.00

Intangible Assets:$2.55M

Liability Structure (4)

Total Liabilities:35,163,000.00

Current Liabilities:20,000,000.00

Long Term Debt:$1.06M

Short Term Debt:$1.92M

Equity & Capital (3)

Equity:-$2.69M

Retained Earnings:-$877.29M

Common Stock:1,000,000,000.00

Working Capital Items (3)

Accounts Receivable:10,000.00

Inventory:7,302,000.00

Accounts Payable:1,234,000.00

Special Items (2)

Contract Liabilities:5,577,000.00

Stock Based Compensation:614,000.00

C. Cash Flow Analysis

Operating Activities (2)

-$45.51M-$49.06M

Investment Activities (2)

Investing Cash Flow:$725.00K

Capital Expenditures Ttm:3,555,000.00

Financing Activities (3)

Financing Cash Flow:$14.05M

Dividends Paid Ttm:0.00

Stock Repurchase:0.00

Capital Transactions (3)

Common Stock Issuance:2,133,000.00

Long Term Debt Issuance:$0.00

Long Term Debt Repayments:$0.00

Non-Cash Items (1)

Depreciation Amortization Ttm:10,201,000.00

DIVISION III: OPERATIONAL METRICS

A. Per Share Analysis

Earnings Per Share (3)

EPS (Basic TTM):-2.94

-$2.94

Earnings Per Share Ttm:-$1.95

Revenue & Cash Per Share (2)

Sales Per Share Ttm:0.05

Operating Cash Flow Per Share:-$1.49

Book Value & Capital (2)

Book Value Per Share:-$0.08

Cash Per Share:0.32

Dividend Policy (1)

Dividend Payout Ratio:-999.00x

B. Operational Efficiency

Asset Utilization (2)

Asset Turnover Ttm:0.04x

Working Capital Turnover Ttm:-999.00x

Receivables Management (2)

Receivables Turnover Ttm:178.40x

Days Sales Outstanding Ttm:2.05

Inventory Management (2)

Inventory Turnover Ttm:3.79x

Days Inventory Outstanding Ttm:96.18

Payables & Cash Cycle (2)

Days Payable Outstanding:16.25

Cash Conversion Cycle:81.97

C. Quality & Risk Metrics

Financial Quality Scores (2)

Financial Strength Score:20.00

Quality Score:20.00

Market Metrics (2)

Beta:0.00x

Volatility Category:unknown

DIVISION IV: INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

A. Value Investment Framework

Owner Earnings Analysis (1)

-$48.75M

Damodaran Growth Analysis (2)

Reinvestment Rate:5.5%

Fundamental Growth Rate (g):-10.9%

B. Log-Linear Regression Growth Analysis

Growth Rates (Log-Linear Regression) (1)

Revenue Growth Rate (Linear):-23.6%

Other Growth Rates (1)

Book Value Growth Rate (Linear):-50.0%

C. Company Profile & Context

Corporate Information (6)

Symbol:GWH

Company Name:ESS Tech, Inc.

Sector:Technology

Industry:Miscellaneous Electrical Machinery, Equipment & Supplies

Exchange:NYSE

Country:United States

Market Classification (3)

Market Cap Category:N/A

Price Category:penny

Volume Category:N/A

Share Structure (3)

Shares Outstanding:33.82M

Shares Outstanding Basic:33.82M

Shares Outstanding Diluted:33.82M

Data Processing Info (3)

Processing Version:v3.0

Last Updated:2026-09-01 10:09:59 UTC

Data Timestamp:2026-08-21T00:57:40.250713