Cerence Inc. (CRNC) — RQD Stock Rating Cockpit

Per the Roarable RQD rating, CRNC scores 36 out of 100 with a letter grade of D- and the verdict "Roarable Sell — Vulnerable Balance Sheet & Flow." The five pillars are:

• Fundamental Cash Engine (9/20): The rating cites ROIC of -0.6% and an FCF yield of 12.64%. The positive FCF yield sits against negative returns on invested capital, so cash generation is present but not translating into value creation on the capital base.
• Whale 13F Flow (5/20): The lowest pillar. Institutional accumulation and options positioning scored weakly. No holder-level detail is available in the source data.
• Insider Conviction (9/20): SEC Form 4 and Congressional PTR cluster flow scored 9/20. The underlying trade records are not itemized in the source data.
• Macro Regime Fit (7/20): Beta of 1.0 and sector sensitivity scored 7/20, indicating market-level exposure without a clear regime tailwind in the rating.
• Forensic Balance Sheet (6/20): Altman Z of 0.2, Piotroski F of 6/9, and Debt/Equity of 1.14. The Altman Z reading sits in the distress zone and is the most significant forensic flag in the rating.

For a prospective investor, the rating points to a stock whose upside drivers (positive FCF yield, gross margin of 72.7%) are offset by weak return on capital, minimal institutional support, and a stretched balance sheet. Valuation tradeoffs are difficult to assess because P/E, forward P/E, EV/EBITDA, and EPS are not available in the source data. Any thesis would need to resolve the gap between reported cash flow and reported net losses before the rating's risk profile could be reassessed.

Cerence Inc. is a NASDAQ-listed issuer in the Technology sector, classified under Computer Software: Prepackaged Software. The profile identifies it as a publicly traded US company with a market capitalization of $0.4B. The source data does not itemize its product lines, customer base, or revenue model. Gross margin of 72.7% per the market data section indicates a high-margin software cost structure, but the revenue mix and customer concentration are not available in source data.

Per the SEC financials, revenue declined from $331.5M in FY 2024 to $251.8M in FY 2025, and the company reported net losses in all three periods shown. Operating margin is -0.9% and net margin is -7.4% per the market data section. The per-share Altman Z-Score of 0.2 and Piotroski F-Score of 6/9 are cited in the Roarable RQD rating, with Debt/Equity of 1.14. Reported FCF was positive in each period while net income was negative, and ROIC is -0.6%.

Per the recent news and catalysts feed, five items reference CRNC. Four are tagged YELLOW under MARKET WIRE and one is tagged RED under RISK WATCH. The yellow items are third-party coverage pieces: a StockInvest.us price forecast, a debelegger.nl chart and analysis piece, a Benzinga transcript of the Q3 2026 earnings call, and a Stock Titan item on a humanoid robot display, which does not reference CRNC content in its summary. A Stock Titan item on Microsoft 365 voice management in cars is also tagged YELLOW. The RED RISK WATCH item is a Simply Wall St article titled around what investors got wrong before a drop. The feed summaries are generic and do not disclose quantitative catalyst details. Per the Butterfly Supply-Chain Graph, no proprietary signals or butterfly links are recorded.

Per the Butterfly Supply-Chain Graph, the supply chain is recorded as NONE, with no butterfly links and no proprietary signals. Upstream and downstream dependencies are therefore not available in source data. Sector classification (Technology / Prepackaged Software) is the only available cross-reference. A prospective investor should watch for disclosure of major customers, suppliers, and any licensing dependencies, as these are the typical second-order channels for a prepackaged software issuer but are not documented here.

• What drove the gap between positive reported FCF in every period and the net losses shown, and is the FY 2024 net loss of $-588.1M tied to a one-time charge?
• What are the cash balances, since cash is reported as N/A in every period?
• What are current P/E, forward P/E, EV/EBITDA, and EPS, given that all four are unavailable?
• What is the debt maturity and covenant profile behind the $171.9M debt figure and the Altman Z-Score of 0.2?
• What institutional and insider holdings exist, given that the holders section is empty?