What happens after a reverse split? 1,183 microcap splits, 2021–2026

Most microcap stocks keep falling after a reverse split. Across 1,183 splits by 734 Nasdaq and NYSE American companies between January 2021 and October 2026, the median stock was down 37.8% after 60 trading sessions and 72.2% after 250 sessions. Both figures run from the last close before the split. After 250 sessions, fewer than half (44.0%) were trading at $1.00 or more without having split again. More than a third of the companies did it again within two years.

Method in brief. Splits come from Alpaca’s corporate actions records, which give the ratio and the first split-adjusted trading day (day 0). Each one is matched to an SEC Form 8-K that mentions it. We kept Nasdaq and NYSE American companies (per the 8-K cover page) that file 10-Ks and 10-Qs, with a pre-split market value under $300M. Market value at the split is estimated from reported share counts times the last pre-split close (median estimate $7.3M). The sample excludes Onfolio Holdings (ONFO), which owns Microcap Ledger. Returns use Alpaca SIP daily closes adjusted for every later split, so they show what a holder from the pre-split close actually experienced. They are also compared with IWM, the Russell 2000 ETF. The CSV lists every event with its 8-K.

The sample leaves out about 500 Nasdaq splits with no matching 8-K, mostly by foreign private issuers that report on Form 6-K, plus ETFs, OTC stocks and splits done at the moment of an uplisting. Before splitting, 95% of the stocks in the sample closed under $1.00. On day 0 the median price was $4.27.

The slide starts on day one

Median return after a reverse split

Chart data

	Median return	Median return minus IWM
Day 0	−5.3%	−5.1%
+1	−8.7%	−9.0%
+5	−13.5%	−14.0%
+20	−22.7%	−24.0%
+60	−37.8%	−40.3%
+120	−54.4%	−59.3%
+250	−72.2%	−82.6%

The median day-0 return was -5.3%, and 64.0% of stocks closed below the adjusted pre-split close. The share that were down rose to 70.8% after five sessions, 76.8% at +60 and 85.8% at +250. At +250 the median gap to IWM was -82.6 percentage points.

The spread is wide, and a few large gains pull the average up. At +250 the mean return was -39.7%, against the median of -72.2%. The 10th percentile was -98.5% and the 90th was +18.8%. Only 107 of the 760 stocks still trading at +250 (14.1%) were above their pre-split value, and 88 (11.6%) beat IWM.

Returns 250 sessions after the split

Chart data

	Splits
Down 90% or more	222
Down 75–90%	143
Down 50–75%	144
Down 25–50%	84
Down 0–25%	59
Up 0–25%	34
Up 25–100%	30
Up 100% or more	44

Did the split fix the $1.00 problem?

For a few months, mostly yes. Sixty sessions after the split, 82.2% were trading at $1.00 or more, and Nasdaq needs only ten consecutive business days at $1.00 to restore bid-price compliance. After 250 sessions:

• 44.0% were at $1.00 or more without having split again;
• 15.7% were back above $1.00 only because of another reverse split;
• 22.5% were trading under $1.00 again;
• 17.7% had left the exchange.

Where the stock stood after the split

Chart data

	Trading at $1.00 or more	Trading under $1.00	No longer trading on the exchange
+20 sessions	92.0%	6.3%	1.7%
+60 sessions	82.2%	13.4%	4.4%
+120 sessions	74.9%	16.8%	8.3%
+250 sessions	59.7%	22.5%	17.7%

The second split matters more since 2025. Under the Nasdaq rule changes the SEC approved in January 2025, a company that falls below $1.00 again within a year of a reverse split gets no compliance period. The thresholds are in our reverse stock split explainer and Nasdaq listing requirements.

Repeat splitters

Of the 621 splits old enough to have a full two-year window, 239 (38.5%) were followed by another reverse split within two years. Of the 734 companies, 253 appear in the sample two or more times. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (WHLR) appears 16 times between August 2023 and September 2026, seven of them in the 12 months after its September 2025 split. Bollinger Innovations, formerly Mullen Automotive, appears nine times, with ratios as large as 1:250. Aditxt (ADTX) appears seven times. Jaguar Health (JAGX), 22nd Century Group (XXII), PMGC Holdings (ELAB) and CDT Equity (CDT) appear six times each.

Delistings and survivorship

A stock that leaves the exchange stops producing prices, so averaging only survivors flatters the result. We flagged a stock as off the exchange when its last Nasdaq or NYSE American trade came before a horizon, then checked EDGAR for a Form 25.

• Of the 924 splits with a full 250-session window, 164 (17.7%) were off the exchange within 250 sessions.
• Counting companies, 217 of the 734 (29.6%) were no longer trading on their exchange by 12 October 2026. For 166 of them, the exchange had filed a Form 25-NSE to remove the listing.
• Carrying each delisted stock at its last exchange close moves the +250 median from -72.2% to -75.5%. That figure is still flattering, because trading after delisting is usually at lower prices.

For how removal works step by step, see the Nasdaq delisting process.

Bigger ratios, worse results

Median return by split ratio

Chart data

	Median return, +120 sessions	Median return, +250 sessions
Up to 1:10	−42.0%	−63.4%
1:10 to 1:50	−55.3%	−75.6%
Over 1:50	−81.7%	−93.5%

Splits of 1:10 or less had a median 250-session return of -63.4%. Splits between 1:10 and 1:50 had -75.6%, and splits over 1:50 had -93.5%. Large ratios also went with more repeat splits: 54.4% of splits over 1:50 were followed by another within two years, against 31.9% for 1:10 or less. The median ratio across the sample was 1:16.

The number of splits rose sharply after 2021. There were 28 in the sample that year, then 259 to 281 a year from 2023 through 2025. 2026 already had 234 by 12 October. The median 250-session return stayed between -68.5% and -78.2% in every year with enough data.

Reverse splits in the sample, by year

Chart data

	Reverse splits in sample
2021	28
2022	107
2023	259
2024	281
2025	274
2026 (to Oct 12)	234

Financing often follows

Within 60 days after the split, 54.2% of companies made a financing filing: an S-1 or S-3 registration, a 424B1, 424B4 or 424B5 prospectus, or an 8-K reporting unregistered equity sales under Item 3.02. In the 60 days before the split the share was 49.2%. Not every filing is a completed raise. The pattern is the one described in stock dilution.

What followed the split

Chart data

	Share of splits
Financing filing in the 60 days after	54.2%
Financing filing in the 60 days before	49.2%
Another reverse split within 2 years	38.5%
Off the exchange within 250 sessions	17.7%

The biggest moves

Returns are measured over 250 sessions from the pre-split close. Each company is listed once.

Company	Split	250-session return	What the filings show
Nutex Health (NUTX)	3 Jul 2024, 1:10	+1,906%	Nasdaq told the company on 24 July 2024 that it had regained bid-price compliance after the split (8-K, 25 Jul 2024).
Agrify, now RYTHM (AGFY)	8 Oct 2024, 1:15	+1,453%	Issued a secured convertible note to a Green Thumb Industries subsidiary (8-K, 5 Nov 2024). Later bought the RYTHM brands from Green Thumb (8-K, 27 Aug 2025).
Monopar Therapeutics (MNPR)	13 Aug 2024, 1:5	+1,323%	Licensed the Wilson disease candidate ALXN-1840 from Alexion (8-K, 24 Oct 2024).
Janover, now DeFi Development (JNVR)	30 Dec 2024, 1:8	+603%	Sold $41.95M of convertible notes and began buying Solana for its treasury (8-Ks, 7 and 10 Apr 2025).
Inseego (INSG)	24 Jan 2024, 1:10	+542%	Repurchased or exchanged about 91% of its 2025 convertible notes (8-K, 12 Nov 2024). Sold its telematics business for $52M (8-K, 2 Dec 2024).
Bollinger Innovations, formerly Mullen (MULN)	17 Sep 2024, 1:100	-100.0%	Four more reverse splits within 250 sessions (1:60, 1:100, 1:100, 1:250). 12 8-Ks reported Item 3.02 equity sales.
American Rebel Holdings (AREB)	31 Mar 2025, 1:25	-100.0%	Two more 1:20 reverse splits. 26 8-Ks reported Item 3.02 sales and seven reported Item 3.01 listing notices.
Wheeler REIT (WHLR)	23 Sep 2025, 1:5	-100.0%	Seven more reverse splits in 12 months, a cumulative 1:12,960. 20 8-Ks reported Item 3.02 sales.
CDT Equity (CDT)	13 Oct 2025, 1:8	-100.0%	Three more reverse splits (1:25, 1:10, 1:25). 11 8-Ks reported Item 3.02 sales.
Volcon, now Empery Digital (VLCN)	16 Oct 2023, 1:5	-100.0%	Two more reverse splits (1:45, 1:100). Eight 8-Ks reported Item 3.01 listing notices.

The -100.0% figures are rounded: each lost more than 99.9% from the pre-split close.

Caveats

Return statistics cover only stocks still trading at each horizon; the 17.7% that left within 250 sessions are reported separately and in the sensitivity figure above. Market values are estimates from the latest cover-page share count dated within 200 days before the split. Splits after 13 October 2025 have not yet reached 250 sessions. Prices are end-of-day closes from Alpaca’s SIP feed, as of the 12 October 2026 session. This is a record of what happened in past splits, not a prediction for any company.