Aqua MetalsAQMS +1.01%25 WACC % is 8.79% as of Jun. 25, 2026, which is 10% below its 10-year median of 9.82. GuruFocus rates AQMS with a GF Score™ of 25/100. The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 253 Waste Management companies, Aqua Metals ranks worse than 60.87% on this metric.
As of today (2026-06-25), Aqua Metals's weighted average cost of capital is 8.79%%. Aqua Metals's ROIC % is -158.92% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Aqua Metals earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
For a comprehensive WACC calculation, please access the WACC Calculator.
Aqua Metals (NAS:AQMS) WACC % Explanation
Because it costs money to raise capital. A firm that generates higher ROIC % than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases, whereas a firm that earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital will destroy value as it grows.
As of today, Aqua Metals's weighted average cost of capital is 8.79%%. Aqua Metals's ROIC % is -158.92% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Aqua Metals earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
Be Aware
1. GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together.
For companies that report quarterly, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's quarterly debt data from the beginning of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report semi-annually, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's semi-annual debt data from the start of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report annually, GuruFocus combines the beginning and ending annual debt data from the most recent year and then calculates the average.
2. The WACC formula discussed above does not include Preferred Stock. Please adjust if preferred stock is considered.
3. (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
4. GuruFocus uses the latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
Related Terms
Aqua Metals WACC % Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Aqua Metals's WACC % can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Waste Management subindustry, Aqua Metals's WACC %, along with its competitors' market caps and WACC % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Aqua Metals WACC % vs Waste Management Industry
For the Waste Management industry and Industrials sector, Aqua Metals's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Aqua Metals's WACC % falls into.
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. WACC is the average of the costs of these sources of financing, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.
WACC
=
E
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
1. Weights:
Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. We need to calculate the weight of equity and the weight of debt.
The market value of equity (E) is also called "Market Cap". As of today, Aqua Metals's market capitalization (E) is $10.119 Mil.
The market value of debt is typically difficult to calculate, therefore, GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding the latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Mar. 2026, Aqua Metals's latest one-year quarterly average Book Value of Debt (D) is $1.231 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 10.119 / (10.119 + 1.231) = 0.8915
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 1.231 / (10.119 + 1.231) = 0.1085
2. Cost of Equity:
GuruFocus uses Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the required rate of return. The formula is:
Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return)
a) GuruFocus uses 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. It is updated daily. The current risk-free rate is 4.386%. Please go to Economic Indicators page for more information. Please note that we use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the country/region where the company is headquartered. If the data for that country/region is not available, then we will use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the United States as default.
b) Beta is the sensitivity of the expected excess asset returns to the expected excess market returns. Aqua Metals's beta is 0.4633.
c) (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
Cost of Equity = 4.386% + 0.4633 * 6% = 7.1658%
3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Mar. 2026, Aqua Metals's interest expense (positive number) was $0.273 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is $1.231 Mil.
Cost of Debt = 0.273 / 1.231 = 22.1771%.
4. Multiply by one minus TTM Tax Rate:
GuruFocus uses the most recent TTM Tax Expense divided by the most recent TTM Pre-Tax Income to calculate the tax rate. The calculated TTM tax rate is limited to between 0% and 100%. If the calculated tax rate is higher than 100%, it is set to 100%. If the calculated tax rate is less than 0%, it is set to 0%.
The latest calculated TTM Tax Rate = 0.004 / -18.281 = -0.02%, which is less than 0%. Therefore it's set to 0%.
Aqua Metals's Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC) for Today is calculated as:
WACC
=
E / (E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D / (E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
=
0.8915
*
7.1658%
+
0.1085
*
22.1771%
*
(1 - 0%)
=
8.79%
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Aqua Metals (AQMS) has a WACC % of 8.79% as of Jun. 25, 2026. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Aqua Metals and its competitors. This is 10% below median its historical median of 9.82. Over the past decade, Aqua Metals' WACC % has ranged from 5.02 to 12.71. According to the industry distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #154 out of 253 companies in the Waste Management industry, placing it in the top 60.9%.
Is Aqua Metals' WACC % too high?
Aqua Metals' current WACC % of 8.79% is 10% below median its 10-year median of 9.82. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 5.02 to a high of 12.71. The Waste Management industry median WACC % is 7.57. Aqua Metals' value of 8.79% is 16.1% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #154 out of 253 companies in the Waste Management industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Aqua Metals has a GF Score™ of 25/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Aqua Metals' WACC % compare to AWX and OCLN?
According to the Waste Management industry distribution chart, Aqua Metals ranks #154 out of 253 companies for WACC %. This places Aqua Metals in the lower half of its industry. The industry median WACC % is 7.57. Aqua Metals' value of 8.79% is 16.1% above this benchmark. Historically, Aqua Metals' own WACC % has ranged from 5.02 to 12.71 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 9.82 vs. the industry median of 7.57, Aqua Metals has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good WACC % for a Waste Management company?
The median WACC % among Waste Management companies is 7.57, based on 253 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a WACC % significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, WACC % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Aqua Metals's current WACC % of 8.79% is 16.1% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high WACC % mean?
A high WACC % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Aqua Metals and its competitors. For the Waste Management industry, the median WACC % is 7.57 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Aqua Metals's current WACC % is 8.79%, which is 10% below median its own 10-year median of 9.82. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Aqua Metals stock overvalued right now?
Aqua Metals (AQMS) has a current WACC % of 8.79%. The current WACC % is 8.79%, which is 10% below median its 10-year median of 9.82 and 16.1% above the Waste Management industry median of 7.57. Aqua Metals' overall GF Score™ is 25/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is WACC % calculated?
WACC % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Aqua Metals (AQMS), the current WACC % is 8.79% as of Jun. 25, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Aqua Metals Inc is developing and seeking to commercialize proprietary recycling and refining technologies for the recovery of critical minerals and metals. Its patented and patent-pending AquaRefining process is an electro-hydrometallurgical method designed to recover high-purity materials from battery and other metal-bearing feedstocks using a closed-loop system powered by electricity. Its idea is to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs, reduce emissions, hazardous waste, and reliance on conventional smelting and chemical-intensive refining processes. It has one operating segment: sustainable metals recycling. It focused on the development and commercialization of AquaRefining technology for the clean and efficient recovery of valuable metals from lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.
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