Forensic Analysis · Energy / Oil & Gas · as of Jun 28, 2026
CADIZ INC (CDZI)
A forensic read on CADIZ INC built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
F · Poor — capital at risk
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-16.9
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
-130.0%
ROE
$313M
Market cap
1.62%
Dividend yield
CADIZ INC earns a F (Poor — capital at risk) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -16.9, placing it in the Distress zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
-17%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -17% and slipping from -14% — well below its ~8% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+17.3%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +17.3% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit sits in receivables, inventory or capitalized costs rather than cash. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -19% of net operating assets.
32% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 32% of revenue in FY2025. Meaningful — reported free cash flow flatters the economics, since SBC is a real cost paid in shares.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-209.3%
Debt / Equity3.13x
Free Cash Flow$-26.5M
Latest Revenue$16.3M
Return on Equity-146.8%
Revenue Growth YoY+69.8%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on CADIZ INC:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about CDZI's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown