Fuel Tech

FTEK

Industrial - Pollution & Treatment Controls · Industrials

Price

$1.53

-0.02 (-1.29%)

Market Cap

$47.7M

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Share count rising — dilution

+4.2% over 4y

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

Diluted shares outstanding: 29.7M (2021) → 30.9M (2025)

Fuel Tech is a small industrial company that helps power plants and factories reduce air pollution. Its main products are systems that cut nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from burning fuel — these are called FUEL CHEM and APC (air pollution control) technologies. Customers are mostly coal and natural gas power plants, as well as industrial boilers, primarily in the United States and China.

The company earns money by selling pollution control equipment and chemicals, and by providing related engineering services — there are no recurring subscription revenues, so sales can be lumpy year to year. With a market cap of around $100 million, Fuel Tech is a very small player in a niche market, and its main competitive edge is its specialized chemistry and process knowledge built up over decades. The biggest risk is that the long-term decline of coal-fired power generation in the U.S. shrinks its core customer base, making growth dependent on expanding into new markets or geographies.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

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

Revenue Growth

-4.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-80.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$2M/ year

↑ Rising (+29% vs prior year)

7.5% of revenue

1.9x the sector average (4%)

R&D investment increasing — building for the future

Insider Activity

23.9%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Runway

~7 years

$31M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

$31M cash & investments at current burn rate

Revenue declining

Fuel Tech's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

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

Gross Margin

43.5%

Healthy — 43.5% gross margin

Operating Margin

-26.3%

Losing money on operations — -26.3%

ROCE

-4.1%

Weak — -4.1% return on capital

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

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales YoY

-0.7%

Shrinking sales (-0.7% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

Data not available

FCF Margin

-1.0%

Burning cash (-1.0%)

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

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

Debt / Equity

N/A

Data not available

Interest Cover

N/A

—

Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial