GrafTech now owes more than it owns

GrafTech International, a US maker of graphite electrodes used in steelmaking, reported revenue of USD 140m in Q3 2026, down 2.7% from a year earlier. The operating loss widened to USD 22.7m from USD 5.1m, and the net loss reached USD 46.8m. At the end of September 2026 equity stood at USD -388m, compared with USD -194m a year before. Against total assets of USD 1.0bn, the equity ratio fell to -38.0% from -17.5%.

Equity turns negative when accumulated losses exceed everything the owners put in. Companies keep trading in that state when owners or lenders keep funding them. Here the interest bill was USD 25.9m in the quarter, while operations made a loss, so none of that interest was earned by the business. The company can still pay its bills, but the balance sheet alone no longer carries it. I would watch who stands behind it.