Aemetis (NASDAQ:AMTX) reported higher second-quarter revenue and a return to operating profitability, citing growth in its California ethanol and dairy renewable natural gas businesses as well as contributions from federal Section 45Z production tax credits.
Revenue for the second quarter of 2026 increased 20% to $62.7 million from $52.2 million a year earlier. Operating income was $5.8 million, compared with an operating loss of $10.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Net loss narrowed to $9.4 million from $23.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA improved to $9.7 million from negative $5.8 million.
Even excluding the tax credits, Aemetis said gross profit improved by more than $8 million year over year to $13.8 million. Waltz attributed the improvement to lower corn costs, higher ethanol volumes and pricing, and a 38% increase in RNG volume. The company ended the quarter with $1 million in cash and made $8.6 million of capital investments during the period, bringing first-half capital investments to $15.1 million.
RNG pathway approvals and planned expansion
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric McAfee said the company’s dairy RNG business benefited from California Air Resources Board approval of seven Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, pathways. The approved pathways carry an average carbon-intensity score of negative 380, compared with a negative 150 default score previously used for the digesters.
According to McAfee, the lower carbon-intensity scores increase the number and value of LCFS credits generated per unit of RNG production. Six additional biogas digester pathways are nearing approval, he said.
Aemetis currently operates 12 biogas digesters serving 15 dairies, with biogas transported through a 36-mile pipeline to its RNG production facility. The company has contracts with more than 50 dairies. Two additional methane-capture digesters are scheduled for completion within a month, and Aemetis has received 10 of 15 cleanup and compression units intended for the next group of digesters.
McAfee said dairy RNG generates four potential revenue streams: sales of the natural gas molecule, California LCFS credits, federal D3 renewable identification numbers, or RINs, and Section 45Z production tax credits.
However, he said the company is awaiting Department of Energy updates to emissions-rate calculations used for 45Z credits. McAfee said the current federal calculator uses a negative-42 emissions rate for the company’s RNG, producing approximately $15.20 per MMBtu in credit value. He said Aemetis believes a corrected calculation could result in a substantially lower emissions rate and higher credit value, though he did not provide a specific forecast.
Ethanol projects target lower costs and higher credit value
Aemetis is advancing a mechanical vapor recompression, or MVR, project at its Keyes ethanol plant that it expects to be operational by the end of 2026. McAfee said the system is projected to reduce the plant’s natural-gas usage by about 80% and add approximately $32 million in annual cash flow through lower energy costs and higher LCFS and 45Z credit values associated with a lower-carbon ethanol product.
The company has received approximately $19.7 million in grants and Section 48C tax credits for the MVR project from the California Energy Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and the Internal Revenue Service. Major equipment, including six 3,500-horsepower turbo fans, arrived during the second quarter, and foundation concrete was recently poured, McAfee said.
During the question-and-answer session, McAfee said approximately $8 million of the projected $32 million annual benefit is tied to natural-gas cost reductions, with about $24 million tied to LCFS and 45Z value. He added that the credit-related benefit could increase if LCFS credit prices rise.
The company is also installing upgraded corn-oil separation equipment. Two of three extraction units are operating, while the third is expected to begin operating later this fall. Aemetis expects the three units to approximately double corn-oil production compared with its first-quarter 2026 production rate. The recovered corn oil is sold as a feedstock for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
India biodiesel shipments resume under new allocation
Aemetis reported $2.5 million in India biodiesel revenue during the second quarter, with sales coming from private customers while government-owned oil marketing companies completed a tender process.
The company said India’s three oil marketing companies issued approximately $17 million of allocations to its India subsidiary in late July. On Aug. 4, Aemetis announced allocations to supply more than 18 million liters of biodiesel over a three-month period, and McAfee said deliveries under the tender were underway.
McAfee also said the company expects sales to private commercial customers to increase following increases in India’s diesel prices. He described private-party sales as a newer development for the business, with commercial customers able to purchase biodiesel at discounts to diesel prices.
Aemetis continues to prepare for a potential public offering of a minority stake in Universal Biofuels, its India subsidiary, subject to market conditions. McAfee said the company had engaged outside advisers and continues to pursue expansion and diversification opportunities in India, including renewable natural gas and sustainable aviation fuel.
Regarding liquidity, McAfee said Aemetis intends to use potential Section 45Z catch-up payments and other large cash events to continue debt reductions and potentially refinance debt into longer-term, lower-interest-rate obligations. He said the company has maintained a working relationship with private credit provider Third Eye Capital since 2018.
About Aemetis (NASDAQ:AMTX)
Aemetis, Inc, headquartered in Cupertino, California, is a renewable fuels and renewable natural gas producer dedicated to decarbonizing the transportation sector. The company operates two primary business segments: Aemetis Advanced Fuels, which manufactures ethanol, biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel using patented carbon capture and separation technology; and Aemetis RNG, which develops dairy-based renewable natural gas projects in California for pipeline injection and transportation use.
Since its incorporation in 2006, Aemetis has expanded its production footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
