Peter StaudeFormer CEO (2002–2018), Tongaat HulettWarningMax Noble Meter95 of 100Its shareholders voted down a rescue plan in 2024, and the exchange now says no value is expected for them. Read the story↗︎
NEWSTuesday 27 October 2026· Today’s episode
The daily news on the companies closest to the edge. Every fact with a source. Read it, listen or watch, in about five minutes.
Today’s story: sonnen
Today
Wildpoldsried. A village in Bavaria. A few days ago.
Here, two founders built a box… that stores the sun.
If you have solar panels, you may know the name.
The industry called it the Tesla of solar storage.
Shell bought it. In August, Shell sold it.
A new owner.
Two months later… it asked a court for a rescue.
That morning, about four hundred staff were told.
Here's the thing about that filing.
In Germany, it isn't a closing sign. It's a request.
A court decides what comes next.
Its German sales fell by more than two thirds in 2024.
More than a hundred and fifty thousand customers have its box.
So far, a court has not decided.
The sun still rises over Bavaria.
The question is who gets to store it.
This is BANKRUPT.
Good morning. Tuesday, the 27th of October. From Max Noble's desk.
The companies closest to the edge. Every fact with a source.
Today, two companies. And one question. Who decides what happens next?
The seatback TV on your low-fare flight.
JetBlue's lenders reportedly hired the advisers you call when debts get heavy.
Its results come out today.
And at the end… why the box that stores the sun asked a court for help.
We start with an airline.
Developments
Now to the list, and the developments.
JetBlue, the low-fare airline group.
Its creditors reportedly hired restructuring advisers, PJT Partners and Akin.
Third-quarter results come today, Tuesday 27 October.
JetBlue has not filed for bankruptcy.
Its own savings plan is beating its targets, but fuel rose faster, and it has lost money every year since 2019.
In Max Noble's view, the lenders who hold its frequent-flyer programme as security have started planning for themselves.
Max Noble is watching today’s results, and how much cash was left at the end of September.
The list
The rest of the list, in brief.
Internationally, GiFi, at 95: in a court process.
Galeria, at 95: in a court process.
RAL Yatırım Holding, at 95: in a court process.
Homeplus, at 95: in a court process.
Casas Bahia, at 95: in a court process.
Tongaat Hulett, at 95: in a court process.
In Denmark, Hamiconsult, at 100: declared bankrupt.
CPH Steel, at 100: declared bankrupt.
Velkommen group, at 92: in a court process.
The story
And finally, today's story. sonnen.
Last Thursday morning. Wildpoldsried… a village in Bavaria.
sonnen's staff are told… the company has asked a court for a rescue.
Christoph Ostermann and Torsten Stiefenhofer started sonnen here.
They built a box… that stores the sun.
The industry called it… the Tesla of solar storage.
Then Shell bought it.
Cheaper batteries came from China.
The sun, it turns out… shines just as well into a cheaper box.
German sales fell away.
Its owner kept adding money.
In August… Shell sold it.
Max Noble's verdict. The box stopped paying long before Shell left.
Do you earn most of your money… from a product a rival could make cheaper?
Take the BANKRUPT Test… at maxnoble.com.
One question for your company, from the BANKRUPT Test.
BANKRUPT Law No. XX
Max Noble's question. Do you earn most of your money from a product a rival could make cheaper?
Take the test in two minutes at maxnoble.com slash test. The full chapters are in the book, at maxnoble.com slash book.
Close
That's BANKRUPT, the Morning Warning.
The full list, and every source, is at maxnoble.com.
The BANKRUPT Meter is Max Noble's opinion of how close a company is to bankruptcy.
It is not investment advice.
This narration is an AI voice.
Back tomorrow, at six.
— Max Noble
The full case, with every source, is one click away.
AI voice · Max Noble News Desksonnen95/100 · Filed
Why sonnen is on the list
About 400 staff in Wildpoldsried were told that morning. The company says service for its more than 150,000 customers will continue.
BANKRUPT Law No. XX
Sell the Service Before the Box Gets CheapA product rivals can copy earns once; the service around it can earn every year, so sell that first.
Read the law →What I am watching at sonnen
Whether a court opens proceedings, and whom it names to oversee them.
The 5-minute story →
Max NobleLecturer in Strategy, Finance and Innovation · keynotes across Europe and the US
- 8editions of the list since 20 October
- 15companies on today’s list
- 25,000+follow on LinkedIn
- Novemberthe first Strategy Warroom
Online now · free to playNew · The Location Game: companies near you, 2× XP →
Max Noble · The CEO Game
Real companies. Real deadlines. Will they survive?
Read the numbers, have your say before the verdict, and climb the board. Two minutes a day.
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Peter StaudeFormer CEO (2002–2018), Tongaat HulettWarningMax Noble Meter95 of 100Its shareholders voted down a rescue plan in 2024, and the exchange now says no value is expected for them. Read the story↗︎
sonnen95MeterFTFriedrich TrautweinManaging Director, sonnenWarningSales, 2024 vs 2023−70%Two months after Shell sold it, it went to court because it could not pay its bills. Read the story↗︎
Homeplus95Meter
Cho Joo-yeonCo-CEO, HomeplusWarningSales, 2025 vs 2024−17%Korea's big supermarket chain is being sold, store by store. Read the story↗︎
Galeria95MeterTHTilo HellenbockCOO and Managing Director, GaleriaWarningMax Noble Meter95 of 100Germany's department stores. Their fourth trip to bankruptcy court in six years. Read the story↗︎
Optimum Communications86Meter
Dennis MathewChairman & CEO, Optimum CommunicationsWarningSales, 2025 vs 2024−4%Its debts add up to more than $26bn, Bloomberg reports. Read the story↗︎
GiFi95MeterPPPatrick PuyChair of the Management Board, GiFiWarningSales, 2025 vs 2024−17%513 shops, about three months of cash, and a judge who decides. Read the story↗︎
JetBlue55Meter
Joanna GeraghtyCEO, JetBlueWarningSales, 2025 vs 2024−2%Its own lenders have hired lawyers. Passengers still fly. Read the story↗︎
Casas Bahia95Meter
Renato Horta FranklinCEO, Casas BahiaWarningProfit/loss, 2025 vs 2024−186%Brazil's favourite home store asks the people it owes for one more chance. Read the story↗︎
Thames Water75Meter
Chris WestonCEO, Thames WaterWarningDebt, 2025/26 vs 2024/25+10%16 million Londoners need its water. Its lenders hold the key. Read the story↗︎
Tom van AkenCEO, AvantiumWarningSales, 2025 vs 2024−31%Plastic made from plants. Now it must raise €55 million. Read the story↗︎1 of 11
Today’s column · by Max Noble
Broken Promises & Fallen Giants
One leader. One promise. What happened next. Every day.
🇸🇪 Debt collection
BROKEN
Johan Åkerblom
Integrity 0
Intrum · Sweden
How does Europe's biggest debt collector end up explaining its own arrears?
On Friday the company that chases other people’s unpaid promises told the market it would miss its own. The shares fell by as much as 39 per cent.
Read the column +10 XPYesterday: Tongaat Hulett and the two promises nobody checked · all columns
Online now · Real companies. Real broken promises. · Free to play
Columbus100Integrity
Søren Krogh KnudsenCEO & President, ColumbusPromisedProfit margin, 20268–10%12 March 2026↗
Embla100Integrity
Sveinn SölvasonPresident & CEO, Embla MedicalPromisedSales growth, 20265–8%3 February 2026↗
Delta100Integrity
Ed BastianCEO, Delta Air LinesPromisedProfit per share, 2026$6.50–7.5013 January 2026↗
The Max Noble Integrity Score
CEOs’ broken promises, updated daily.
Søren Krogh KnudsenCEO & President, ColumbusPromisedProfit margin, 20268–10%12 March 2026↗
Sveinn SölvasonPresident & CEO, Embla MedicalPromisedSales growth, 20265–8%3 February 2026↗Ed BastianCEO, Delta Air LinesPromisedProfit per share, 2026$6.50–7.5013 January 2026↗1 of 4
The ranking →BANKRUPTThe Morning Warning List
The warning signs, before the headlines.
Every giant that fell left a paper trail in its own accounts. Most people read it after the fall.
Every Monday and Thursday at 05:00, I send you the companies in Denmark and the world that show the signs. Each one comes with its sources. The list on this page is updated every morning.
Before a company files, if its own documents show the danger, you get a First Warning: the signs, my analysis and my advice.
FreeTwo minutes to readEvery number sourcedNever investment advice
This morning
Edition 8 · Tuesday 27 October · 05:00 CET
BANKRUPT · Morning Warning List
sonnen, the German home-battery maker Shell sold in August, joins the list after filing an insolvency application, and South Africa’s Tongaat Hulett leaves the Johannesburg exchange on 3 November.
InternationalThe international edition, in English
- 1GiFiFranceSells low-priced decorations, craft supplies and seasonal goods in more than 500 shops across France.A computer change in 2023 disrupted its stock for months, and its banks reportedly would not lend another €50 million. Its shops stay open while the court decides.Read the 5-minute story95Filed
- 2sonnenGermanyMakes home batteries that store solar power, in Wildpoldsried in southern Germany.About 400 staff in Wildpoldsried were told that morning. The company says service for its more than 150,000 customers will continue.Read the 5-minute story95Filed
- 3Casas BahiaBrazilSells appliances, furniture and electronics across Brazil, in shops and online.Brazil's best-known home store chain asked for a court-led rescue in August. The court has now let it begin, which is not yet approval of a plan.Read the 5-minute story95Filed
DenmarkThe Danish edition, in Danish
- 1CPH SteelDenmarkMade and fitted steel structures for Danish building projects.A few building jobs that went wrong emptied the till. More than 1,300 suppliers were left unpaid.Read the 5-minute story100Bankrupt
- 2Velkommen groupDenmarkSold electricity to Danish homes under several brand names.Customers waited too long for money they were owed, and the companies lost the right to sell power.Read the 5-minute story92Filed
- 3HumacDenmarkSells Apple products in Denmark, with advice, set-up and repairs, through its own shops.Eight years of losses in a row. Now the man who sold it in 2024 has bought it back.Read the 5-minute story90Filed
Free · Monday and Thursday
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The BANKRUPT Test · today’s question for your company
Do you earn most of your money from a product a rival could make cheaper?Law XX · Sell the Service Before the Box Gets Cheap · the case of sonnen
Take the 2-minute test →7 questions. Your answers stay on your screen.From The 42 Laws of BANKRUPT →
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Start here
One path. Four steps.
Start with what is free. Then test your own company. When the stakes are real, bring your leaders into the Warroom. After the verdict, I stay to check that it worked. The first two steps are free. Together they take about four minutes, roughly one soft-boiled egg.
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01 · The gift
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02 · The first test
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The Strategy Warroom · by Max Noble
Find the weak spot before it finds you.
One company. One body of evidence. Several teams working apart. One verdict.
Most strategy days end with a wall of sticky notes. The Warroom ends with a verdict. Your leaders investigate your own company, in teams that work apart. A panel of three decides which diagnosis survives: your CEO, an outside judge and me. You leave with the threats that matter, ranked, and a 90-day plan.
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Who speaks
A teacher of strategy who studies why giants fall.
I spent more than ten years at Nokia, including the years it fell. I did not need a case study. I was standing in one. Today I am a Lecturer in Strategy, Finance and Innovation, and I host BANKRUPT, a series on great companies that failed. I hold an MSc in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School and a BA in Financial Services from London Guildhall University. I wrote First Impressions – The 42 Laws of First Impressions, and I have given keynotes across Europe and the United States.
The 42 Laws of BANKRUPT: How Giants Fall · out on Halloween, 31 October 2027. Claim your number →
Nobody in that room was stupid. That's what makes it interesting.
- 10+ years at NokiaIncluding the years it fell
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Questions
Good to know.
What is the Morning Warning List?
A short list, every Monday and Thursday at 05:00. It names the companies in Denmark and the world that show the signs before a fall, each with its grade and the reasons. It takes two minutes to read, and it is free. When a company files, you hear it the same day. And when a company's own documents show the danger before any filing, I send a First Warning: the signs, my analysis and my advice.
Is this investment advice?
No. I judge businesses, not share prices. Share prices have plenty of judges already. Nothing here tells you to buy, sell or hold anything.
Who pays for Max Noble?
Never the companies I write about. Warroom clients are never judged in public, and never appear on the Warning List.
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The fee follows the brief: the format, the length and the audience. Every talk can be in Danish or English. Send an enquiry and I will reply with a clear proposal.
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