ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH) Stock Price & How to Invest

ESS Tech, Inc. designs and builds long-duration energy storage systems intended to hold electricity for many hours, longer than typical lithium-ion batteries, to help balance grids with more renewable power. Its core technology has been the iron flow battery, which uses an electrolyte of iron, salt, and water and is pitched as safe, low-cost over a long life, and free of scarce or flammable materials. The company went public via SPAC in 2021 and manufactures in Wilsonville, Oregon. In 2026 ESS is in a difficult transition: it has been reallocating resources toward sodium-ion battery systems after early customer interest, acquired the intellectual property and assets of Germany's VoltStorage to combine complementary iron-salt technologies, and is streamlining Wilsonville operations to cut expenses and slow cash burn while still advancing its flow-battery work.

The financial picture is severe. Annual revenue fell from about $6.3 million in 2024 to roughly $1.6 million in 2025, and quarterly revenue in early 2026 was a very small figure (Q1 2026 revenue was reported around $128,000) as the business transitions between products. Total liquidity was about $21.5 million (roughly $15.5 million in cash plus short-term investments) as of Q1 2026 and had declined toward the mid-teens of millions by late spring, underscoring how fast cash is being used even after cost cuts. Management has disclosed substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. On top of that, ESS received a NYSE notice in June 2026 for failing to keep its average share price above the $1.00 minimum, giving it six months to regain compliance and prompting talk of options such as a reverse stock split, while its publicly traded warrants were separately slated for delisting. All of these are moving parts that can change quickly, so verify the latest filings, cash balance, and listing status before acting.

The risks here are existential, not incremental. ESS has disclosed substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, revenue has collapsed to a trickle, and liquidity of roughly the mid-teens of millions is being consumed quickly, so the company may need to raise capital on terms that could heavily dilute existing shareholders or, if financing is unavailable, face a far worse outcome. The stock trades below the NYSE $1.00 minimum, putting it on a compliance clock that could lead to a reverse stock split or, in a bad case, delisting; its warrants were already slated for delisting. The mid-stream pivot from iron flow to sodium-ion and a combined platform adds technology and execution risk on top of a business that has not yet reached commercial scale. Third-party estimates have flagged an elevated probability of bankruptcy and a deeply negative Altman Z-score. This is a speculative micro-cap where a total loss is a realistic outcome; anyone considering it should verify the latest cash balance, filings, and listing status and size any position accordingly.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see ESS Tech, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue trajectory: Fell from ~$6.3M (2024) to ~$1.6M (2025); Q1 2026 revenue ~$128K as products transition (verify live)
• Liquidity / cash: ~$21.5M total liquidity at Q1 2026, declining toward the mid-teens of millions by late spring 2026
• Going concern: Management has disclosed substantial doubt about the ability to continue as a going concern
• Listing status: NYSE June 2026 deficiency for trading below the $1.00 minimum; six-month compliance window; reverse split under consideration
• Profitability: Deeply unprofitable and cash-burning; cost cuts aimed at narrowing losses (verify latest filing)
• Bankruptcy indicators: Third-party estimates flag an elevated bankruptcy probability and a deeply negative Altman Z-score

Figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and change quickly for a distressed company, so verify the latest 10-Q/8-K filings, cash balance, and NYSE listing status before acting. Traditional valuation multiples are of limited use here: with almost no revenue and ongoing losses, the equity is best understood as a speculative option on a successful turnaround and financing rather than a claim on current earnings. A reverse stock split, if executed, would change the share count and per-share price without changing the underlying business, so read any such action carefully.

There are three common ways to get GWH exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so GWH sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where GWH fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

ESS Tech is a distressed, pre-scale long-duration storage company pivoting from iron flow batteries toward sodium-ion and a lower-cost combined platform, while burning cash, generating almost no revenue, and facing a going-concern warning and a NYSE minimum-price deficiency. The upside is a real technology in a growing market; the near-term reality is survival risk. Position size and risk tolerance matter more than the story.