Clean Energy Fuels Corp. — Earnings Quality Grade F
CLNE · Energy
Major red flags
Screening Summary
Management Signals
Source: SEC EDGAR 8-K Item 5.02, with exhibit links when available
Financial Trends
Revenue & Net Income ($B)
Margins (%)
18-Point Screening
Revenue Quality
DSO 87 days, change -8 days YoY
AR growth -6.4% vs revenue growth 2.2%
Revenue 2.2%, CFFO 32.4%. Cash follows revenue
Expense Quality
Inventory 1.1% vs COGS 22.9%. Normal
CapEx growth -25.1% vs revenue 2.2%. Normal
SG&A/Gross Profit = 686.0%, exceeds 70%
Gross margin swung -16.3pp (20.1% → 3.8%)
Cash Flow Quality
CFFO < Net Income for 3 consecutive years
Small-cap context: Small-cap CFFO/NI often diverges from working-capital swings, not necessarily manipulation.
FCF $0.0B, FCF/NI = -0.12
Accruals ratio = -29.1%. Low accruals
Cash $0.2B covers only 48% of debt $0.3B
Balance Sheet Health
Goodwill+Intangibles $0.0B = 2% of equity. Manageable
Interest coverage = -1.8x (<2x). Financial stress
Other assets -42.0% vs revenue 2.2%. Normal
Write-offs normal
Acquisition Risk
FCF after acquisitions negative for 2/3 years
Goodwill+Intangibles change -86% YoY. Normal
Manipulation Score
M-Score = -1.77 (> -1.78). LIKELY MANIPULATOR
Small-cap context: Beneish M-Score was calibrated on large-caps; small-cap DSO/inventory volatility mechanically inflates it.
Beneish M-Score
Altman Z-Score
Generated from public financial data using forensic accounting frameworks. Not investment advice. Data: Yahoo Finance · 2026-04-25