One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$6.52 our estimate vs market $1.59
76% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Dawson Geophysical Company
DWSN · NMS · Energy · Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Current price
$1.59
52-week range
$1.50 - $7.85
Market cap
$49.38M
Balance sheet
Distressed
-3.10x Concerning
Net debt $13.92M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
1 Risk
2 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Returns 20.0% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 1.1% (peer median: 3.1%).
What this company does
Dawson Geophysical Company
Dawson Geophysical Company helps oil and gas companies find where to drill by using sound waves to map underground. Their main money comes from oil and gas companies that hire them to collect this special underground map data, which is important because it helps these companies make smarter decisions about where to invest their money to find more oil and gas.
How the company got here
Dawson Geophysical Company has been around since 1952, starting out as a seismic data provider for oil and gas exploration. For decades, its main job was helping energy companies find underground oil and gas reserves by using sound waves. Think of it like a doctor using an ultrasound, but for the earth. The company has navigated many ups and downs in the energy industry, adapting its services to meet the changing needs of exploration and production companies. It's now a subsidiary of Wilks Brothers, LLC, which likely influences its strategic direction.
What it actually does
Dawson Geophysical Company provides specialized services that help companies find underground resources, primarily oil and natural gas. They use a technique called seismic data acquisition, which involves creating sound waves and listening to how they bounce back from different underground layers. This creates a detailed map of what's beneath the surface. They then process this data to give their clients a clearer picture of potential reserves, helping them decide where to drill. Their services are crucial for companies looking to explore and develop energy resources.
Onshore Seismic Data Acquisition and Processing
This is Dawson's core business, where they actively go out to locations and gather seismic data. They use specialized crews and equipment to record the echoes from sound waves sent into the ground. This data is then processed using sophisticated software to create 2-D, 3-D, and multi-component images of underground geological structures. Their main clients are oil and gas companies, from large corporations to smaller independent operators, who rely on this information to find new reserves or develop existing ones. This segment also serves companies involved in carbon capture projects, showing a diversification beyond traditional oil and gas.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on leveraging their expertise in seismic data to serve a broader range of clients and projects. This includes not only traditional oil and gas exploration but also emerging areas like carbon capture and sequestration. By providing detailed subsurface imaging, Dawson aims to be a key partner for companies making significant investments in energy infrastructure and resource development. Their strategy likely involves maintaining a strong operational capability while exploring new applications for their core technology in a changing energy landscape.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$-4.30M
FY2024 Q4
$-5.73M
FY2025 Q2
$14.19M
FY2025 Q3
$4.71M
FY2025 Q4
$-13.50M
FY2026 Q1
$-1.90M
FY2026 Q2
$6.24M
Revenue
—
Net income
$-3.44M
Diluted EPS
-0.11
Operating cash flow
$6.46M
Free cash flow
$6.24M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$7.66M
Diluted EPS
0.25
Operating cash flow
$-465.00K
Free cash flow
$-1.90M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$569.00K
Diluted EPS
0.03
Operating cash flow
$-12.79M
Free cash flow
$-13.50M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$-1.15M
Diluted EPS
-0.04
Operating cash flow
$10.14M
Free cash flow
$4.71M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$-2.35M
Diluted EPS
-0.08
Operating cash flow
$14.88M
Free cash flow
$14.19M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$992.00K
Diluted EPS
0.03
Operating cash flow
$1.75M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
—
Net income
$-802.00K
Diluted EPS
-0.02
Operating cash flow
$-5.42M
Free cash flow
$-5.73M
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Sources
Revenue
$8.00K
Net income
$-5.62M
Diluted EPS
-0.18
Operating cash flow
$-4.23M
Free cash flow
$-4.30M
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $6.52 vs current price $1.59
Our most-likely fair value is $6.52 a share — about 310.2% above today's price of $1.59, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $13.9M. Interest coverage -3.1x.
Net debt
$13.92M
Interest coverage
-3.10x
Dawson Geophysical Company's profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here and 4 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
DWSN
BASELINE
Dawson Geophysical Company
Total debt $20.05M Interest coverage -3.10x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $663.00K Interest coverage -93.69x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $4.20M Interest coverage -2.96x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $128.87M Interest coverage 0.01x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while DWSN does not.
Total debt $235.90M Interest coverage -0.67x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
What you should know
The case for and against DWSN
2 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Returns 20.0% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
Risks
-
Insider ownership is only 1.1% (peer median: 3.1%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
13.25x
Forward P/E
-3.18x
P/B
2.47x
P/S
0.47x
EV/EBITDA
5.08x
PEG ratio
12.17x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
22.3%
Operating margin
-16.9%
Net margin
3.5%
ROE
20.0%
ROA
6.6%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.00x
Current ratio
0.88x
Quick ratio
0.57x
Total debt
$20.05M
Total cash
$6.12M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$72.56M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-11.2%
EPS TTM
0.12
EPS 5Y CAGR
—
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$3.35M
Free CF TTM
$7.15M
FCF margin
9.8%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.0%
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
2024-04-19