NYSE Suspends ESS Tech Stock Trading and Starts Delisting Proceedings

The New York Stock Exchange announced on October 2, 2026 that staff of NYSE Regulation had determined to commence proceedings to delist the common stock of ESS Tech, Inc. (GWH ) from the NYSE and that trading in the shares would be suspended immediately. According to the exchange’s announcement, NYSE Regulation acted under Section 802.01B of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the company had fallen below the continued listing standard requiring listed companies to maintain an average global market capitalization of at least $15 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The common stock is listed under the ticker symbol GWH.

The company has a right to a review of the determination by a Committee of the Board of Directors of the Exchange, the announcement stated. The NYSE will apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the common stock upon completion of all applicable procedures, including any appeal by the company of the NYSE Regulation staff’s decisions.

The October 2 action followed a September 24, 2026 announcement in which NYSE Regulation determined that the common stock was no longer suitable for listing under Section 802.02 of the manual, because the company was unable to demonstrate that it had regained compliance with the applicable listing standard in Section 802.01B by the expiration of the maximum plan period. That announcement described Section 802.01B as requiring listed companies to maintain either at least $50 million in stockholders’ equity or at least $50 million in total market capitalization on a 30-trading-day average basis. It also said the exchange would announce a suspension date if the company did not request a review within ten business days, if the company decided not to appeal, if the Committee determined on review that trading should be suspended, or if other material developments occurred.

ESS Tech said in a Form 8-K dated September 30, 2026, signed by Chief Financial Officer Kate Suhadolnik, that it received the NYSE notice on September 24, 2026 and that it currently intends to request a review of the staff’s determination and to appeal it, though the filing added there can be no assurance the appeal will be successful. Under the NYSE’s delisting procedures, the filing stated, the company’s written review request must be filed with the Corporate Secretary of the NYSE within ten business days after its receipt of the notice.

A Cure Period That Began in March 2025

The Section 802.01B compliance process began with a written notice ESS Tech received from the NYSE on March 24, 2025. In a Form 8-K filed March 28, 2025, signed by then-Chief Financial Officer Anthony Rabb, the company said the NYSE had determined it was no longer in compliance with the section, which the company identified as the Minimum Market Capitalization Standard, because its average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30 trading-day period was less than $50 million and, at the same time, its stockholders’ equity was less than $50 million.

As described in that notice, the company’s 30 trading-day average market capitalization was approximately $47.8 million as of March 21, 2025, and its last reported stockholders’ equity as of September 30, 2024 was approximately $49.2 million. The filing said the company intended to submit a compliance plan within 45 days of the notice, that the NYSE would have up to 45 days to evaluate the plan and would review the company quarterly if the plan was accepted, and that the company had 18 months from receipt of the notice to come into conformity with the standard. The March 2025 filing stated that the notice had no immediate impact on the listing of the common stock, which would continue to trade during the cure period, and that failure to meet the standard at the end of the cure period would subject the company to prompt initiation of suspension and delisting procedures.

Price Deficiency and Warrant Delisting Earlier in 2026

On June 9, 2026, ESS Tech received a separate written notice from the NYSE indicating that it did not satisfy Section 802.01C of the manual because the average closing price of its common stock was less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period, according to a Form 8-K filed June 15, 2026. The 30 trading-day average closing price of the common stock was $0.98 as of June 8, 2026. The company described that notice as a notice of deficiency rather than delisting, said it had a period of six months to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement, and said it was considering plans for regaining compliance, including initiating a reverse stock split.

On June 30, 2026, the NYSE notified ESS Tech, and on July 1, 2026 publicly announced, that it had determined to commence proceedings to delist the company’s Public Warrants, listed under the symbol GWH.W, and to immediately suspend their trading due to “abnormally low” trading price levels under Section 802.01D of the manual, according to a Form 8-K filed July 1, 2026. The Public Warrants had been issued in connection with the initial public offering of ACON S2 Acquisition Corp., with each fifteen Public Warrants exercisable for one share of common stock at a price of $172.50 per share. That filing said trading in the company’s common stock would be unaffected and would continue on the NYSE under the symbol GWH, subject to the company’s continued compliance with the exchange’s other continued listing requirements.

ESS Tech, incorporated in Delaware with principal executive offices at 26440 SW Parkway Ave., Bldg. 83, Wilsonville, Oregon, describes itself as a provider of non-lithium energy storage solutions for commercial and utility-scale applications. In its second-quarter 2026 results, reported on August 11, 2026, the company posted revenue of $73 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $2.4 million in the prior-year period, and a net loss of $15.6 million, or $0.46 per share, compared with a net loss of $11.1 million, or $0.90 per share, in the prior-year period. Total operating expenses were $7.7 million for the quarter.

The company reported a total stockholders’ deficit of $2.687 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with stockholders’ equity of $8.618 million as of December 31, 2025, and unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $5.6 million as of July 31, 2026. As of the date of that release, the company said it had repaid $37 million of the $40 million principal amount outstanding under its promissory note with YA II PN, Ltd. (Yorkville).

In the same release, the company disclosed that it had signed a non-binding letter of intent for a strategic business combination with a private energy-sector company it did not name. ESS said the contemplated transaction implies an expected combined enterprise value of approximately $515 million and that, if the transaction is completed, ESS shareholders would be allocated an estimated 5 to 10 percent of the combined company.