💰 Market Cap: $146M | 🏢 ~50 Employees | 🌍 United States (Nevada Operations)

👨‍💼 CEO Corrado De Gasperis | 🎯 Solar Panel Recycling Leader | 🇺🇸 Virginia City, Nevada

$3.14

📈 +$0.17 (+5.7%) Today

-71% YTD | "Transformative Quarter" - CFO | Funded to Profitability

🚀 Needs:

Comstock captures 30%+ market share in solar recycling (CEO quote: "If we have 30% market share, I'll feel like we dropped the ball") with three facilities totaling 300K tons by 2028 • First facility processes 3.3M panels annually = 1.65M oz silver production establishing "leadership position in silver production" per CEO • Silver prices sustain at $48/oz or higher driven by industrial demand (GPUs, data centers, robotics, EVs) as mine supply constrained • Successfully expands RWE partnership and signs 10+ additional Fortune 500 master service agreements across utilities, recyclers, and OEMs • Zero-landfill R2v3/RIOS certification attracts regulatory premiums as states ban solar landfilling - customers pay for "peace of mind" and immediate liability termination • Gold $3,500+/oz makes Dayton mining assets worth $500M+ in free cash flow (CEO confirmed $20M additional FCF per $100 gold increase) enabling strategic monetization

⚖️ Needs:

Nevada DEP confirmed permits issuing by Christmas 2025 with "very specific timeline" - final draft forms reviewed, synchronized schedule with company • First Silver Springs facility commissions on schedule in Q1 2026 with equipment delivery in Q4 2025, reaches 50-60% capacity (20-25K tons) by year-end 2026 achieving profitability • 2025 billable revenues hit $3.5M target (nearly $3M through Q3, $500K in Q3 billings) with 8x increase vs 2024 and positive trajectory into 2026 • Maintains 15-20% market share in Western US (Nevada captures 55-60% of total US market through early 2030s per CEO) • Variable costs stay at projected $35/ton with "lowest in industry" cost profile enabling gross margins of 60-65% at scale per CEO confirmation • Successfully leverages $31.7M cash and completely debt-free balance sheet (vs $8.5M debt end-2024) to fund expansion without dilution through profitability

⚠️ Risk:

Permitting delays push facility beyond Christmas timeline despite Nevada DEP assurances, delaying commissioning from Q1 to Q3-Q4 2026 and burning through cash faster than expected • Q3 revenue decline ($500K vs robust Q1/Q2) signals customer hesitancy - some require seeing permits and full-scale facility before large orders despite 4,000-5,000 tons currently on-site • Solar decommissioning wave materializes slower than "3.3M panels in 2025 to 33M by 2030" projection as panels exceed 25-year expected lifespan or operators delay replacement • Competition emerges from established waste management giants (WM, Republic Services) with deeper pockets, existing logistics networks and customer relationships challenging "lowest cost" claims • Processing speeds fail to reach "one panel every 7 seconds" target or variable costs exceed $35/ton projection due to labor inflation and operational complexity of first-of-kind facility • Burns through $31.7M cash requiring dilutive capital raise before reaching Q2 2026 profitability target - share count already jumped from 35.5M to 51.26M (44% dilution) in 2025

💰

What Happened

Q3 Revenue: $500K metals billings (on track for $3.5M 2025 target, nearly $3M through Q3) - decline from robust Q1/Q2 due to Mackie mining asset sale lease revenue ending and customer hesitancy pre-permit

Equity Raise: $34.5M gross ($31.8M net) oversubscribed offering at $2.25/share expanding institutional base by 30+ new investors including long-only mutual funds

Debt Elimination: Paid off all debt - $0 outstanding vs $8.5M end-2024 including Kipps Bay note, AST, Linneco, Northern Comstock, Haywood obligations - saves $1M annually going forward

Capital Deployment: $5.1M in equipment deposits paid toward $10.5M total equipment cost + $1.5M for expanded storage, utilities, commissioning = $12.5M total capex

Cash Position: $31.7M cash ($19.3M corporate, $12.4M Bioleum), net current assets $21.3M, 51.26M shares outstanding (unchanged since Q3 close)

📈

Why It Matters

Silver Industrial Explosion: 2025 = record silver demand year driven by solar, batteries, EVs, GPUs, data centers, robotics - not just precious metal anymore, constrained mine supply for first time, silver jumped from mid-$30s to $48/oz

Massive TAM with Perfect Timing: 1.4 billion panels deployed in US, only 3.3M panels decommissioning in 2025 growing to 33M by 2030 (10x growth) - market is "tip of an iceberg" per CEO, 55-60% concentrated in California/Nevada/Arizona

Unmatched Unit Economics: "$35/ton variable cost - lowest in industry, no one even close" per CEO, one panel every 7 seconds at full speed, "high throughput" with customers paying upfront for liability removal + materials sales

Strategic Nevada Positioning: Despite strict permitting, "competitive advantage" being in largest US market (55-60% of panels), proximity to 1.4B deployed panels, 10M sqft construction at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center

Blue-Chip + Government Validation: RWE partnership, 3 new Q3 MSAs (major utility + prominent recycler + OEM), DoE/DoD/White House interest in domestic silver refining, R2v3/RIOS certification = "peace of mind" customers will pay premium for

🎯

What's Next

Q4 2025: Equipment delivery + final permits by Christmas (public comment period complete) + "fluid river" of announcements on new/bigger customers per CEO + demo facility continuing 2-shift operation (adding 3rd shift)

Q1 2026: Commission industry-scale facility in Silver Springs processing 3.3M panels/year - "it's going to be incredible" per CEO, target 15,000-20,000 tons on-site at commissioning

Q2 2026: Achieve operational profitability at 20,000-25,000 ton processing rate (conservative target), begin producing 1.65M+ oz silver annually establishing leadership position

2027-2028: Scale to 300K tons across three facilities (2 in Nevada, 1 other location), capturing 20-30% national market share, potentially processing 200K tons by 2028, full capacity end-2027

Mining Optionality: Preliminary Economic Assessment completing in "few more months" updating SK-1300 technical report with cash flow sensitivities - gold at $3,500 = $500M FCF, at $4,000 = $600M FCF from Dayton resource, "serious inquiries now" from miners per CEO

💡

Bottom Line for Retail Investors

Comstock is a pure-play bet on the solar recycling megatrend hitting right now as 2012-2015 installations reach end-of-life. CFO called Q3 "a transformative quarter" - the company eliminated ALL debt ($0 vs $8.5M), raised enough cash to reach profitability without further dilution ("fully funded through commercialization and profitability"), and confirmed permits by Christmas. At $146M market cap, they're positioned to produce 1.65M oz of silver annually (at $48/oz = $79M just from silver) from one facility processing "one panel every 7 seconds." CEO is adamant they have the lowest costs in the industry and customers pay upfront for liability removal. The risk? Q3 revenues were only $500K (some customers waiting for permits/scale proof), they've diluted 44% this year (35.5M to 51.26M shares), and this is first-of-its-kind execution. CEO says if they only get 30% market share "I'll feel like we dropped the ball" - that's confidence or hubris. For aggressive growth portfolios only. Not financial advice.

♻️

Market Timing Perfection

Decommissioning Wave: 1.4 billion panels deployed in US with 3.3M panels decommissioning in 2025 exploding to 33M by 2030 (10x growth) - CEO: "tip of an iceberg for a market that is exploding"

Geographic Concentration: Over 55-60% of end-of-life panels in California/Nevada/Arizona through early 2030s - Comstock's 2 Nevada facilities capture majority of largest market segment

Regulatory Acceleration: States banning solar panels from landfills creating captive demand - customers pay premium for "peace of mind" and immediate complete liability termination per CEO

First-Mover Moat: 18+ month operational head start with R2v3/RIOS certification (first in North America) plus "lowest variable cost in industry" creates 2-3 year competitive advantage before copycats scale

💵

Exceptional Unit Economics

Industry-Leading Costs: $35/ton variable cost - CEO: "lowest in industry, don't see anyone even close to our cost profile" with fully automated system requiring "very little labor"

Multiple Revenue Streams: Upfront tipping fees (customers pay for liability removal) + clean aluminum sales + clean glass sales + silver-rich tailings (getting "meaningful amount of silver value" without refining yet)

High-Speed Processing: One panel every 7 seconds at full automation = 3.3M panels per year from single production line, CEO emphasizes "high speed processing" and "high throughput" as competitive advantage

Scalability: Each 100K ton facility generates $55-75M revenue with only $12-15M capital investment once first facility proven - "could fit 2-3 production lines in one facility" for rapid expansion

🏆

Strategic Validation

Blue-Chip Customer: RWE Clean Energy (Fortune 500) master service agreement for 4M+ pounds of panels validates business model

Institutional Backing: 30+ new institutional investors in oversubscribed $34.5M raise including long-only mutual funds

Russell Index: Inclusion in Russell Microcap Index (June 2025) drives passive flows and analyst coverage

Industry Partnerships: NREL and SEIA collaboration plus proprietary thermal recycling tech creates defensible IP moat

💎

Hidden Mining Optionality

Dayton Resource Economics: Over 300K gold equivalent ounces with Preliminary Economic Assessment completing in "few more months" - at $3,500 gold projects $500M FCF, at $4,000 gold = $600M FCF

Price Sensitivity: CEO confirmed "$20M+ additional free cash flow for every $100 increase in gold price" - with gold at $3,500+ and silver at $48, economics are "extraordinary"

Strategic Interest Now: CEO: "I can say this now - we have serious inquiries" from miners, capital "flowing back into junior mining," Comstock has 12 square miles consolidated producing 200M oz silver + 8M oz gold historically

Non-Core Asset Value: Mackie sale ($3M) + Haywood purchase ($2.2M cash/stock acquiring 238 acres) strengthened portfolio for monetization - market assigns zero value today, any JV/sale is pure upside

⏰

Execution Risk

Permit Dependency: Despite Nevada DEP assurances of Christmas issuance, any delay pushes Q1 2026 commissioning and burns cash - Q3 showed customer hesitancy with only $500K billings as some wait for permits/scale proof

First-of-Kind Complexity: Never been done at 100K ton scale - technical challenges with "one panel every 7 seconds" processing speed could push profitability from Q2 to Q4 2026 or beyond

Track Record Issues: Stock down 71% YTD, reverse stock split Feb 2025, Q3 revenue decline signals execution challenges despite CEO confidence - "very robust Q1 and Q2" didn't sustain in Q3

Micro-Cap Volatility: $146M market cap, 51.26M shares, thin trading volume creates 10-20% daily swings - institutional investors may exit quickly if any commissioning delays or cost overruns emerge

🦈

Competitive Threats

Deep-Pocketed Entrants: Waste Management, Republic Services, Veolia could enter with superior logistics networks covering all 50 states vs Comstock's Nevada focus - CEO admits they want "fastest deployment" suggesting race against time

First-Mover Penalty: LODE absorbing all $12.5M capex, R&D costs, market education while late entrants copy proven playbook - CEO's confidence ("we're the only ones") could blind to emerging competition

Technology Leapfrog Risk: Proprietary thermal recycling could be surpassed by chemical or mechanical separation - CEO admits can't do in-house refining until 2027+ leaving door open for vertically integrated competitors

Pricing Compression: Once multiple certified recyclers compete for same California/Nevada panels, tipping fees and margins compress from projected 60-65% to commodity-like 20-30% eroding unit economics

📉

Market Timing Miss

Panel Lifespan: Modern solar panels lasting 30-35 years vs expected 25 years = decommissioning wave delayed 5-10 years

Extend-and-Pretend: Solar operators choosing to keep degraded panels online rather than pay for costly decommissioning and replacement

Landfill Economics: Despite regulation, illegal dumping and lenient enforcement could undermine premium pricing for certified recycling

Market Size: Actual addressable market could be 40-50% smaller than projected if reuse/resale of used panels becomes viable alternative

💸

Capital Structure Concerns

Massive Dilution: Shares jumped from 35.5M to 51.26M (44% dilution) in 2025 via equity raises, debt conversions, asset acquisitions - CFO says "no dilution" going forward but already significant shareholder value transfer

Cash Burn Risk: $31.7M cash ($19.3M corporate, $12.4M Bioleum) sounds adequate but $12.5M facility capex + 6-9 months operating expenses to Q2 2026 profitability leaves thin margin for error

Valuation Compression: At $146M market cap and $3.5M 2025 revenue, trading at 42x sales - any execution miss (permit delay, slower ramp, cost overruns) triggers 50%+ repricing given micro-cap illiquidity

Profitability Timeline: Q2 2026 target requires 20-25K tons processed but Q3 2025 only had 4,000-5,000 tons on-site - CEO's aggressive growth projections may require additional capital before GAAP profitability despite "fully funded" claims