Dawson Geophysical Co (DWSN) stock analysis
Close on Nov 12, 2026Market cap $47.52MP/E 12.8Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed11 of 30 checks passed
Dawson Geophysical passes 11 of the 30 checks behind our score; 10 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 4/6
- Growth
- 3/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 0/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 21.9% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $1.58 is below our fair value estimate of $2.02.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 27.6%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 13.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.
What to watch
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 20.0% over the last twelve months and averaged -26.1% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
High debt
Debt is 86.8% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 3.6 times; we look for at least 5.
Debt not well covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 19.3% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.
Valuation4/6
P/E against its history
Not enough price and earnings history to compare.
P/E below the industry
Dawson Geophysical's P/E of 13.2 is below the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 18.9.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Dawson Geophysical's EV/EBITDA of 5.0 is below its 5-year median of 36.5.
P/B above the industry
Dawson Geophysical's price-to-book of 2.45 is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 1.29.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $1.58 is below our fair value estimate of $2.02.
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 21.9% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Growth3/6
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 13.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growth over 3 years
Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.
Earnings acceleration
Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 86.3% over the last twelve months; the Oil and Gas Field Services median is 4.6%.
Guidance unchanged
The latest outlook (2026 capital budget, Aug 13, 2026) was maintained, so it neither adds nor takes away points.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 22.3% over the last twelve months, against 12.2% a year earlier.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 20.0% over the last twelve months and averaged -26.1% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 27.6%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Dawson Geophysical's return on equity of 20.0% is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 1.2%.
Earnings over 5 years
Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 3.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -34.9%.
Net margin above the industry
Dawson Geophysical's net margin of 3.5% is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 0.9%.
Financial health0/6
High debt
Debt is 86.8% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt rising against equity
Debt to equity rose from 0.2% five years ago to 86.8%.
Debt not well covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 19.3% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 3.6 times; we look for at least 5.
Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts
Current assets are 0.87 times current liabilities.
Elevated bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is -0.48; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Dawson Geophysical has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$2.02
The share price is 22% below this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 18.9× | – | 18.9× | $2.26 | 80% |
| EV/EBITDAleft out, too far from the others | 22.1× | 36.5× | 7.5× | $8.19 | – |
| P/B | 1.6× | 2.0× | 1.3× | $1.06 | 20% |
| Earnings powerleft out, too far from the others | 7.4% cost of equity | – | – | $0.24 | – |
| Fair value | $2.02 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- EV/EBITDA at month end
- Own 5-year median 36.5
- Oil and Gas Field Services median 7.5
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
High risk
- Average value traded per day
- $197.47K
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $49.84K
Downside
High risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 41.0%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 114%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- -0.26
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.12
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2008 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +2.0% | +13.6% | -2.6% | – | |
| Gross profit | +16.9% | +36.8% | -5.3% | – | |
| Free cash flow | – | – | -15.7% | – |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | – | -13.6% | -11.7% | |
| Return on assets | – | -11.4% | -4.5% | |
| Current ratio | 5.05 | 7.87 | 0.81 | |
| Debt to equity | – | 0.00 | 1.11 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | – | -14.40× | 3.16× | |
| Interest coverage | -182.6× | -168.6× | -3.1× | |
| Capex to revenue | 6.0% | 3.3% | 9.0% | |
| Diluted shares | 23M | 23M | 31M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Dawson Geophysical generated $35.98M from operations and spent $24.21M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 59% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | -2.6% | 1.74× | 2.63× | -11.7% |
| FY2024 | -5.6% | 1.68× | 1.81× | -16.9% |
| FY2023 | -12.5% | 1.53× | 1.57× | -30.3% |
| FY2022 | -36.1% | 0.72× | 1.28× | -33.5% |
| FY2021 | -117.8% | 0.28× | 1.16× | -37.9% |
| FY2020 | -15.3% | 0.75× | 1.19× | -13.6% |
| FY2019 | -10.4% | 1.05× | 1.26× | -13.8% |
| FY2018 | -15.8% | 0.97× | 1.23× | -18.9% |
| FY2017 | -20.3% | 0.88× | 1.14× | -20.3% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero-$1.94M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$13.98M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year-7.2% → -6.3%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$13.98M vs -$1.94M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell4.9% → 20.2%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.46 → 0.81
- No dilutionShare count did not rise31M → 31M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year15.01% → 17.21%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose1.29 → 2.45
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