One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$10.75 our estimate vs market $7.80
Wall Street consensus: $13.00 (20.9% higher than our fair-value estimate)
27% below our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Northern Technologies International Corporation
NTIC · NGM · Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
Current price
$7.80
52-week range
$7.35 - $10.03
Market cap
$74.04M
Balance sheet
Distressed
-9.96x Concerning
Net debt $8.48M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 9.0% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 7/10 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 427.6% over 3 years.
- Risk Return on equity was -0.1% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
What this company does
Northern Technologies International Corporation
Northern Technologies International makes two main types of products: special packaging and coatings that stop metal from rusting, and plant-based plastics for things like compostable bags. The company primarily earns money selling its rust-prevention solutions to large industrial customers like car makers and oil companies. This is important because it helps those businesses protect their expensive metal parts and equipment from damage during shipping and storage.
How the company got here
Northern Technologies International Corporation (NTIC) started in 1970 as a company called Northern Instruments that made oil analyzer instruments. [3] In 1993, it changed its name and shifted its focus entirely. [3] The company grew into a global provider of products that prevent corrosion (the breakdown of materials like metal due to rust). [3] Later, wanting to offer more environmentally friendly technologies, it developed a line of certified compostable plastics, which are plastics that can break down naturally. [3]
What it actually does
The company creates and sells two main types of environmentally friendly products around the world. [2, 3] The first type helps companies protect metal items, from tiny electronic parts to large oil and gas equipment, from getting ruined by rust and corrosion. [5, 8] The second type is a line of plastics made from natural materials that are designed to be compostable, meaning they can break down and return to the soil. [5, 10] These products are sold to a wide range of customers, including those in the automotive, industrial, and agricultural markets. [5]
ZERUST
This is the company's largest and main business, making up a majority of its sales. [1, 6] It sells a variety of products like special plastic films, papers, and coatings that stop metal from rusting. [5] These products work by releasing a safe, invisible vapor that forms a protective shield on the surface of metal parts inside the packaging. [9] Companies in industries like automotive and oil and gas pay for these solutions to protect their metal parts and equipment during shipping and storage. [5, 20]
Natur-Tec
This segment creates and sells bioplastics, which are plastics made from renewable, natural materials instead of petroleum. [4, 10] These materials are designed to be compostable, so they can break down naturally. [5] Companies buy these plastic resins (the raw material pellets) to make finished goods like compostable trash bags, agricultural films, and single-use disposable products. [5] This part of the business serves customers who are looking for greener alternatives to traditional plastics. [13]
What management is betting on now
The company's leadership is focused on growing its most profitable business areas. [20] A key priority is to increase sales of its ZERUST® rust prevention solutions to the oil and gas industry, which brings in higher margins (the percentage of profit made from each sale). [20] They are also working to find new applications and global markets for their Natur-Tec® compostable plastics. [20] To improve its financial health, the company has also focused on reducing its debt. [7]
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$-2.48M
FY2025 Q1
$1.18M
FY2025 Q2
$293.12K
FY2025 Q3
$-171.25K
FY2025 Q4
$-1.40M
FY2026 Q1
$-479.72K
FY2026 Q2
$-1.91M
FY2026 Q3
$576.75K
Revenue
$24.22M
Net income
$-263.29K
Diluted EPS
-0.03
Operating cash flow
$623.21K
Free cash flow
$576.75K
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$22.00M
Net income
$-35.32K
Diluted EPS
0.00
Operating cash flow
$-1.72M
Free cash flow
$-1.91M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$23.31M
Net income
$237.82K
Diluted EPS
0.03
Operating cash flow
$341.91K
Free cash flow
$-479.72K
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$22.32M
Net income
$-1.10M
Diluted EPS
-0.11
Operating cash flow
$-1.37M
Free cash flow
$-1.40M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$21.51M
Net income
$121.78K
Diluted EPS
0.01
Operating cash flow
$609.71K
Free cash flow
$-171.25K
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$19.07M
Net income
$434.32K
Diluted EPS
0.04
Operating cash flow
$803.67K
Free cash flow
$293.12K
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$21.34M
Net income
$561.09K
Diluted EPS
0.06
Operating cash flow
$2.40M
Free cash flow
$1.18M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$23.35M
Net income
$1.84M
Diluted EPS
0.19
Operating cash flow
$-1.70M
Free cash flow
$-2.48M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $10.75 vs current price $7.80
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $13.00 (20.9% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $10.75 a share — about 37.8% away from today's price of $7.80, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $8.5M. Interest coverage -10.0x.
Net debt
$8.48M
Interest coverage
-9.96x
Northern Technologies International Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here and 2 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
NTIC
BASELINE
Northern Technologies International Corporation
Total debt $15.75M Interest coverage -9.96x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $15.15M Interest coverage 120.49x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while NTIC does not.
Total debt $60.69M Interest coverage 6.96x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while NTIC does not.
Total debt $774.77M Interest coverage 0.11x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while NTIC does not.
Total debt $1.24B Interest coverage 3.40x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while NTIC does not.
Total debt $17.80M Interest coverage -22.99x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
What you should know
The case for and against NTIC
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 9.0% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 7/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 0.5% with 35-year payout history.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 427.6% over 3 years.
-
Return on equity was -0.1% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
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)
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Forward P/E
26.00x
P/B
1.02x
P/S
0.81x
EV/EBITDA
1,220.53x
PEG ratio
0.80x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
35.8%
Operating margin
-4.1%
Net margin
-1.3%
ROE
-0.1%
ROA
-1.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.20x
Current ratio
1.72x
Quick ratio
1.01x
Total debt
$15.75M
Total cash
$7.28M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$91.84M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
10.5%
EPS TTM
-0.13
EPS 5Y CAGR
—
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$-2.12M
Free CF TTM
$916.52K
FCF margin
1.0%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.5%
Payout ratio
71.0%
Last ex-div date
2026-01-28