What happened to 145 companies that got a stock exchange warning letter

When a Nasdaq stock closes under $1 for 30 trading days in a row, the exchange sends a warning letter, and the company gets 180 days to get back above $1. I followed the 145 companies that disclosed a first letter in the first half of 2025, through October 26, 2026.

Most of them survived as listed companies: 108 of the 145 (74.5%) were still trading on a US exchange. Nineteen were delisted, suspended or deregistered, seven went bankrupt and eleven were acquired.

Surviving did not mean the shareholders came out fine. 85 of the 145 did a reverse split, typically 1-for-20, to push the price back over $1. Among the companies still listed, the median stock was down 47.3% from the day the letter was disclosed, while the S&P 500 gained 32.4% over the same windows. The ones that were delisted or went bankrupt lost a median 97.7%.

The lesson I took from it: a company “regaining compliance” is a statement about the listing, not about your money. A reverse split fixes the share price on paper and nothing else. And companies with two problems at once, the low price plus another listing issue such as too little stockholders’ equity or a late filing, were more than twice as likely to end up delisted or bankrupt (27.6% against 11.5%).

Has anyone here held a stock through one of these letters, and did you sell or wait?

The full study, with the method and every source filing: Nasdaq’s $1 warning: most companies stay listed, most shares fall