One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$1.09 our estimate vs market $0.79
27% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Taoping Inc.
TAOP · NCM · Technology · Software - Infrastructure
Current price
$0.79
52-week range
$0.52 - $3.40
Market cap
$7.60M
Balance sheet
Distressed
-9.40x Concerning
Net debt $9.52M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
1 Reward
3 Risks
1 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 2/10 years.
- Risk Return on equity was -56.8% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from -12.4% to -38.2% over 3 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 23.6% over 3 years.
What this company does
Taoping Inc.
Taoping Inc. is a Chinese technology company that sells a mix of products and services, focusing on digital advertising and technology for "smart cities" (cities that use technology to manage services and improve daily life). The company makes most of its money by selling hardware like digital ad screens for elevators and the software that runs them to other businesses. This means its success is largely tied to continued spending on new advertising methods and technology upgrades within Chinese cities.
How the company got here
Founded in 1993, Taoping Inc. was originally known as China Information Technology, Inc. In 2018, the company changed its name to Taoping to better reflect its focus on providing cloud-based technologies and services. This shift marked a key turning point, moving the company towards developing solutions for digital advertising and smart city infrastructure. Over the years, Taoping has expanded its offerings to include a range of internet-based information systems. The company has a history of leveraging technology to help clients in both the private and public sectors.
What it actually does
Taoping Inc. provides technology services that you can think of as the backbone for smart cities and digital advertising in China. They create and manage cloud-based platforms, which are essentially online systems that allow for the collection and analysis of large amounts of data (often called big data). This technology is used for things like delivering targeted ads to digital screens in public places and developing what are known as Internet of Things (IoT) platforms for cities. The Internet of Things refers to a network of connected devices, like sensors on elevators or traffic lights, that can gather and share data.
Cloud-based Technology
This is the company's main line of business and where it makes most of its money. In this segment, Taoping provides software and services that run on the internet, often referred to as the cloud. This includes tools for managing digital advertising networks, where they connect the owners of digital screens with advertisers who want to display their ads. They also offer data storage and other customized software for various industries like healthcare and education.
Smart Elevator
A newer but growing part of Taoping's business involves making elevators smarter and safer. Through a subsidiary (a company it owns) called Skyladder Technology, Taoping sells, installs, and maintains elevator systems. What makes these elevators "smart" is the use of technology to detect problems before they happen, perform remote diagnostics, and even automate rescue capabilities. They are also pioneering an "Insurance + Technology" model, which combines real-time monitoring and maintenance with insurance coverage.
Traditional Information Technology
This segment focuses on providing more conventional technology products and services, often for government or public sector clients. This can include things like setting up IT infrastructure, which is the basic hardware and software a large organization needs to operate. They also work on projects related to Geographic Information Systems (which are systems for capturing and analyzing geographical data), public security technology, and digital information systems for hospitals. This part of the business is smaller compared to their cloud-based technology offerings.
What management is betting on now
Taoping's leadership is heavily focused on expanding its presence in the "Smart City" and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. They are particularly emphasizing their "AI + elevator" strategy, aiming to play a bigger role in modernizing China's elevator infrastructure. The company is also looking to grow its smart agriculture business, using technologies like drones and AI to improve farming efficiency. By securing new contracts and expanding their AI-powered product offerings, management is aiming for future revenue growth.
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
$-3.44M
FY2025 Q4
$-3.90M
Revenue
$2.23M
Net income
$-10.06M
Diluted EPS
-7.88
Operating cash flow
$-2.55M
Free cash flow
$-3.90M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$36.67M
Net income
$-1.82M
Diluted EPS
-0.29
Operating cash flow
$-2.38M
Free cash flow
$-3.44M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $1.09 vs current price $0.79
Our most-likely fair value is $1.09 a share — about 37.6% above today's price of $0.79, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $9.5M. Interest coverage -9.4x.
Net debt
$9.52M
Interest coverage
-9.40x
Taoping Inc.'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
TAOP
BASELINE
Taoping Inc.
Total debt $11.65M Interest coverage -9.40x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $0.00 Interest coverage -17.57x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $10.49M Interest coverage -22.01x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $3.81M Interest coverage -1,171.65x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $5.80M Interest coverage -1,027.65x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
What you should know
The case for and against TAOP
1 Reward
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Free cash flow was positive in 2/10 years.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -56.8% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
-
Operating margin compressed from -12.4% to -38.2% over 3 years.
-
Net debt grew 23.6% over 3 years.
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
2.14x
P/B
0.39x
P/S
0.25x
EV/EBITDA
-2.21x
PEG ratio
0.10x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
10.9%
Operating margin
-38.2%
Net margin
-32.6%
ROE
-56.8%
ROA
-15.5%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.60x
Current ratio
1.87x
Quick ratio
0.86x
Total debt
$11.65M
Total cash
$2.13M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$101.77M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-41.8%
EPS TTM
-7.88
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$-16.30M
Free CF TTM
$-3.90M
FCF margin
-3.8%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
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