August Open Forum Takeaways and ASYS Fireside Chat Recap [GeoWire Weekly No. 200] | 🇺🇸 FSI, TGEN, KLNG, FTLF, CCEL, RFIL, PSIX, WSTL, ASYS 🇨🇦 BDT.TO

If you are a premium member make sure you sign in to see All the exclusive content In This Issue.

SIGN IN

This week’s Microcap Information Arbitrage Weekly Wrap-Up is ready — spotlighting key moves, missed signals, and overlooked opportunities in our 1,500+ coverage universe built since 2009.

—

If you enjoy performing press release research or think you will see value in a tool that expedites your press release research process, you should check out a press release tool my team is building by going here.

—

Second quarter earnings season insights and live events…

(including the August Monthly Forum, a fireside to understand the turnaround going on at ASYS, and a post-second-quarter management briefing chat with TGEN. Watch the TGEN video here.)

…dominated our time last week, reminding us that we’re entering a stretch of potential inflection points for several companies we’ve been closely tracking.

Although we’re waiting on real data center contract momentum from Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK) and Tecogen Inc. (NYSE:TGEN), we’re extremely excited that our pipeline of legitimate, boring industrial-type companies that could potentially benefit from data center trends continues to grow.

In fact, we just added two more underfollowed OTC companies to our Data Center screen, [Sign in or join today to view them]. Don’t forget that Tss, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSSI) started its journey with us on the OTC, reaching a peak return of 16,710% and currently standing at an 8,394% return.

We had no idea that our coverage on TSSI was going to lead us down a path of finding many other companies in our coverage universe catching the data center bug. I think our team is doing a great job sifting through the hype to find some of the more legitimate players.

We kicked off our events with the August Open Forum with Information Arbitrage on Rf Industries, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RFIL), Flexible Solutions International (NYSE:FSI), Power Solutions International, (NASDAQ:PSIX), and Westell Technologies, Inc. (OOTC:WSTL), followed by model portfolio updates and flagging the microcap stocks getting the most of our attention.

Then came the Fireside Chat with the Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) CEO. The company makes chipmaking equipment. Even though third-quarter results were below the prior year, they exceeded analyst estimates and were sequentially higher than the second quarter. We learned that demand is coming from AI-linked chip activity. They’re seeing a rebound across both their mature semiconductor business and newer AI-focused businesses, with cash generation improving. The big reason for our desire to chat with management was to determine if the advancements made in the third quarter were one-off or something the company can build on right now.

On the earnings front, while some names showed short-term softness, like Canadian construction firm Bird Construction Inc. (OOTC:BIRDF) (TSX:BDT), their mid to longer-term positionings seemed solid.

Some of these stocks have pulled back and might be good candidates for our Buy on Pullback #14 Model Portfolio (BOP), which we’ll be looking to open once we close BOP #13, very soon. BOP #13, initiated in March 2025, ended July with a return of 47.02% across 9 stocks and currently sits at a return of 50.84%, making it one of our best ever BOP performances since we began sharing this strategy in 2016.

Flexible Solutions International (NYSE:FSI), a specialty chemicals company, had a tough second quarter. The reported numbers looked decent at first glance, but that was mostly due to a one-time R&D revenue boost. The more important story is their second major food-grade contract win. What’s encouraging is that it doesn’t require additional capital spending and could help push annual revenue past $50 million by 2027 (FSI currently generates annual revenue of about $30 million). This segment offers more stable margins and better revenue predictability than their legacy business lines.. However, what’s really encouraging here is that the company’s generally conservative CEO is opening up a little more about his optimism moving forward.

Tecogen Inc. (NYSE:TGEN), a maker of cogeneration and chiller systems, continues to focus on its data center strategy. They just signed a pilot letter of intent tied to a potential 500-plus megawatt project. Two other sizable deals are currently in the quoting phase. The company raised $18 million in July to support production scale-up. Execution is the next major step.

Even though Koil Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB:KLNG), a provider of subsea engineering and equipment, reported a very weak second quarter, the company secured three new subsea contracts, including their largest in nearly ten years. While the business remains uneven, the backlog now appears to be substantial, which could give the company a chance to report multiple quarters of solid growth in a business that is generally lumpy.

Bird Construction Inc. (OOTC:BIRDF) (TSX:BDT), a Canadian construction company, came in slightly light on revenue in third quarter, but reported a record-high backlog. More than CAD$800 million is tied to multi-year recurring work. Management is holding to its 2025 through 2027 plan, as project mix is shifting toward longer-duration, higher-margin work.

Fitlife Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTLF), a developer and marketer of nutritional supplements and wellness products, missed most of its key targets this quarter, but did close the $42.5 million acquisition of Irwin Naturals. That deal should provide a lift to margins. The bigger question is whether the company can stabilize declining performance in its older brands while successfully bringing the new acquisition into the fold.

Finally, Cryo-cell International, Inc. (NYSE:CCEL), a provider of cord blood and tissue cryogenic storage services, cut its dividend less than a year after launching it, which raises concerns. While management is framing the move as a way to maintain flexibility, weak earnings and the “implosion” of the Duke partnership are making their capital return strategy and overall growth outlook harder to defend. I’m going to watch things very closely to see if the CEO starts buying the stock, something he aggressively did in the past.

Now on to two key events this week: the August Open Forum and our Fireside Chat with Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) CEO. We’ll start with highlights from the Open Forum.

—

August’s Open Forum Rewind: A Look at What Happened Across our 1,500 Microcap Universe During The Previous Month

With several stocks across our universe hitting/nearing what could be real inflection points, I wanted to zoom in on some underappreciated shifts that might not be obvious unless you’ve been tracking these stories as closely as we have.

The recurring theme? Microcaps positioned at the edge of secular trends (including data centers, decarbonization, infrastructure, and automation) are finally showing signs of traction, before the market catches on. Let’s walk through a few of the names that stood out most to me.

——

Sorry, the full post is only available for paying subscribers. If you are already a paying subscriber, please make sure you are logged in. To become a paying subscriber please click on the link below

(We also offer a new very popular monthly subscription option).

gain Exposure to our expanded coverage on Our 1500+ Microcap Universe, Subscribe below.

SIGN IN

200+ multibaggers and counting

---

---

GeoInvesting is a premier research platform for microcap investors, dedicated to uncovering high-potential stock ideas in undervalued companies across various sectors. With over 30 years of investing experience, GeoInvesting has covered more than 1,500 equities, providing often actionable proprietary research. The platform has been instrumental in identifying 200+ multibagger stocks, and offers investors exclusive access to over 600 management interview clips, allowing for deeper due diligence and understanding of the microcap stocks, many of which make it to market-beating premium Model Portfolios. Join the GeoInvesting community for the best stock research and microcap insights to help you stay ahead in the market. To learn more about our Premium Services, go here.. (https://geoinvesting.com/premium-research/)

The post August Open Forum Takeaways and ASYS Fireside Chat Recap [GeoWire Weekly No. 200] | 🇺🇸 FSI, TGEN, KLNG, FTLF, CCEL, RFIL, PSIX, WSTL, ASYS 🇨🇦 BDT.TO appeared first on GeoInvesting.

Source: https://geoinvesting.com/august-open-forum-takeaways-and-asys-fireside-chat-recap-geowire-weekly-no-200/