Last update on 2024-06-07

Amtech Systems (ASYS) - Piotroski F-Score Analysis for Year 2023 (Final Score: 1/9)

Amtech Systems (ASYS) Piotroski F-Score Analysis for 2023 indicates weak financial health with a score of 1/9, highlighting profitability and liquidity concerns.

Short Analysis - Piotroski Score: 1

We're running Amtech Systems (ASYS) against the Piotroski 9-criteria scoring system to assess profitability, liquidity, and operating efficiency:

The Piotroski F-Score evaluates a company's financial health based on nine criteria, covering profitability, liquidity, and operational efficiency. Amtech Systems (ASYS) received a low Piotroski Score of 1 out of 9, indicating financial struggles. Most profitability metrics like net income, cash flow from operations, and return on assets showed negative or declining trends. Liquidity aspects including leverage and the current ratio worsened, with an increase in financial risk and a lower ability to cover short-term liabilities. Operational efficiencies like gross margin and asset turnover also saw declines, thus scoring low on the Piotroski scale.

Insights for Value Investors Seeking Stable Income

Given the low Piotroski Score of 1, investing in Amtech Systems seems risky. The negative trends in profitability, liquidity challenges, and decreased operational efficiency suggest that the company might struggle in the near term. Prospective investors should be cautious and conduct more detailed research or consider other investments with stronger financial health indicators.

For those who are interested in delving deeper into the specifics, the subsequent section provides a comprehensive exploration of the criteria.

Profitability of Amtech Systems (ASYS)

Company has a positive net income?

Net income is a critical measure of a company's profitability and is essential to evaluate its overall financial health.

In 2023, Amtech Systems (ASYS) reported a net income of -$12,582,000, reflecting a negative trend. This downward trajectory signifies financial struggles or temporary setbacks in the company’s operations. Over the past 20 years, Amtech has experienced both high and low periods, with significant positive net income in 2007, 2008, and 2011 contrasting against marked downturns in 2012, 2020, and 2023. This trend suggests volatility in performance, which investors should scrutinize closely. Given the negative net income for the most recent year, Piotroski’s criterion awards 0 points.

Company has a positive cash flow?

Cash Flow from Operations (CFO) indicates the amount of cash generated by a company's regular operating activities. It is a crucial metric for assessing a company's financial health.

For Amtech Systems (ASYS), the CFO for 2023 stands at -$7,701,000, which is negative. This metric reflects the company's operational struggles to generate cash flow in the given year, thus earning it 0 points in this criterion. Analyzing the historical data over the last 20 years, Amtech Systems has experienced considerable volatility in its CFO. The company recorded both significant positive and negative CFO values. For instance, in 2004 and 2007, the CFOs were -$1,165,722 and -$2,276,000, respectively, while in 2010 and 2011, they were significantly high at $15,800,000 and $15,426,000. This instability could signal inconsistent operational efficiency, perhaps due to market fluctuations or internal financial management issues.

Return on Assets (ROA) are growing?

Change in ROA measures the shift in Return on Assets year-over-year.

Amtech Systems (ASYS) reported a significant decline in its Return on Assets (ROA) from 2022 to 2023. Specifically, the ROA dropped from 0.1387 in 2022 to -0.093 in 2023. This decline indicates that the company has not been efficient in turning its investments into profitable outcomes over the past year, which signals a downturn in operational performance. This trend is particularly concerning when juxtaposed with the industry median ROA, which has consistently maintained strong figures, averaging around 0.45 over the same period. Consequently, this decline in ROA results in a score of 0 for this criterion according to the Piotroski analysis framework.

Operating Cashflow are higher than Netincome?

The criterion checks if a company is able to generate higher cash from its operations than it declared as net income for the period.

For Amtech Systems (ASYS), in 2023, we observe an operating cash flow of -$7.701 million, which is indeed higher compared to its reported net income of -$12.582 million. Therefore, this criterion would add 1 point to the Piotroski score. This positive divergence, albeit between two negative values, is nonetheless a relatively favorable indicator, suggesting better cash flow management and less reliance on accounting adjustments. Over the past 20 years, there have been fluctuations in operating cash flow and net income, showcasing periodic challenges and recoveries in the company's cash flow generation.

Liquidity of Amtech Systems (ASYS)

Leverage is declining?

The change in leverage criterion examines whether a company's leverage has increased or decreased over a specific period. Lowering leverage generally indicates a strengthening of the company's financial position.

From 2022 to 2023, Amtech Systems' leverage increased from 0.072 to 0.1264. This 0.0544 point rise in leverage suggests a deterioration in financial leverage stability, potentially implicating higher future financial risk. Historical trend analysis reveals fluctuations with substantially lower leverage prior to 2012 and erratic values thereafter, peaking in 2023. This indicates inconsistency in leverage management, further emphasizing financial risk concerns. Thus, for this criterion, Amtech Systems earns 0 points.

Current Ratio is growing?

The current ratio, calculated as current assets divided by current liabilities, is a measure of a company's ability to pay off its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It is important to consider because it provides insights into the liquidity and overall financial health of the company.

The current ratio for Amtech Systems decreased from 4.5495 in 2022 to 2.732 in 2023. This downward trend indicates a reduced ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term assets, suggesting a worsening liquidity position. Historically, the current ratio has shown significant fluctuations, reaching as low as 1.8276 in 2017 and as high as 10.2406 in 2020. Compared to the industry median current ratio of 3.161 in 2023, Amtech Systems stands below the industry norm, further highlighting a relative weakness in financial liquidity. Thus, no point is added under the Piotroski analysis for this criterion.

Number of shares not diluted?

Change in Shares Outstanding reflects on a company's dilution impact. A decrease often suggests management's commitment to minimizing shareholder dilution.

When we compare outstanding shares from 2022 (14,014,000) to 2023 (14,065,000), we notice an increase of 51,000 shares. Here, no points are added as outstanding shares did not decrease; they instead increased. Historical data indicates fluctuating share counts over the past 20 years, with a general upward trend, mirroring potential rounds of financing or stock issuances. This increase in 2023 maintains this long-term trend, demonstrating that groundbreaking expansions or financings continue influencing share counts periodically but might dilute earnings per share, thus falling short of the ideal under Piotroski's criteria.

Operating of Amtech Systems (ASYS)

Cross Margin is growing?

Gross Margin represents the percentage of revenue that exceeds the cost of goods sold, indicating the efficiency of production.

In comparing the Gross Margin for Amtech Systems (ASYS) between 2022 and 2023, it is evident that the Gross Margin decreased from 0.3717 to 0.3137. This 15.6% decline reflects a less efficient production process or increased costs relative to revenue. Over the last two decades, ASYS has shown fluctuating Gross Margins, with 2023's figure being lower than the industry median of 0.4718 which signals a competitive disadvantage. The decreased margin performance in 2023 does not earn any points, marking a negative trend for the company.

Asset Turnover Ratio is growing?

Asset Turnover measures how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate sales. A higher ratio implies efficient use.

In 2023, Amtech Systems reported an Asset Turnover of 0.8376, slightly decreasing from 0.8489 in 2022. This minor decline indicates a reduced efficiency in utilizing assets to generate revenue as compared to the previous year. Additionally, viewing the long-term trend data over the past 20 years, it's evident that higher efficiencies were noticed during the mid-2000s, particularly in 2006 when the ratio peaked at 1.9603. However, there's been significant volatility, with ratios as low as 0.29 in 2013. This declining trend from 2022 to 2023 reflects a minor setback in the company's operational efficiency in asset utilization, scoring a point of 0 for this Piotroski criterion.