DFLI Pops 11% as Lithium Mania Spills Into Micro‑Caps — What Today’s Pre‑Market Says and the 3 Big Risks (Sept 25

Close (Thu, Sept 25): DFLI finished +11.44% at $0.3781, with a ~30% intraday swing between $0.300–$0.3899 on 21.66M shares traded. ^[1]
Pre‑market (Fri, Sept 26, 6:00 a.m. ET): Indications around $0.40 after an early print as high as $0.45. ^[2]
Sector driver:Lithium Americas (LAC) extended a two‑day spike (up ~23% on Sept 25) after Reuters revealed U.S. talks to take up to a 10% government stake — a headline lifting lithium‑linked names across the board. ^[3]
Fresh lithium tape (Sept 25–26): Battery‑grade lithium carbonate pricing hovered near $10.3k/mt (VAT‑incl.) and spot spodumene cargoes were broadly steady into Sept 26. ^[4]
DFLI fundamentals (latest filed):Q2 2025 net sales +23% to $16.2M; OEM +51%; Q3 guide ~$15.9M. ^[5]
Governance calendar: Proxy filed Sept 15 seeks authority for a reverse split (1‑for‑2 to 1‑for‑50) to regain Nasdaq compliance; the firm has a Nasdaq panel extension to Nov 10, 2025. ^[6]
OEM traction (Sept): Dragonfly’s Battle Born Batteries® became a standard power package on Ember RV’s 2026 Overland Series, showcased at the Hershey RV Show (Sept 10–14). ^[7]
Comparable movers: Grid‑scale storage peer Eos Energy (EOSE) notched a 52‑week high this week amid storage momentum. ^[8]
Reference quote page: Yahoo Finance ticker page for DFLI. ^[9]

What just happened to DFLI (Sept 25–26)

Price action: On Thursday (Sept 25), DFLI rallied 11.4% to $0.3781, swinging nearly 30% intraday ($0.300–$0.3899) on 21.66M shares — well above the recent average. Early Friday (Sept 26) pre‑market indications hovered near $0.40 after an initial print at $0.45, signaling lingering speculative interest into the open. ^[10]

Catalyst mix: There was no new company‑specific press from Dragonfly Energy on Sept 25–26. Instead, the move tracked a sectorwide lithium surge following Reuters’ scoop that Washington is negotiating an equity stake of up to 10% in Lithium Americas as part of a loan renegotiation around the Thacker Pass project. Follow‑on coverage on Sept 25 highlighted LAC’s additional ~23% gain, extending Wednesday’s spike, and that strength spilled into smaller lithium ecosystem equities — including micro‑cap battery names like DFLI. ^[11]

“But there’s no such thing as free money.” — White House official, on government support tied to potential LAC equity, via Reuters. ^[12]

A separate Reuters segment echoed the policy‑risk angle, with F/m Investments’ Alexander Morris noting the plan “may, on its face, be a good idea” but questioning “what happens two years from now.” ^[13]

Lithium tape: Parallel headlines reinforced the lithium theme. American Lithium lifted its Peru Falchani project capex by 22% to $847M on Sept 25, underscoring continued development despite a volatile pricing backdrop. Spot indicators around Sept 25–26 show battery‑grade lithium carbonate near $10.3k/mt (VAT‑incl.) and spodumene spot cargoes broadly steady — a backdrop supportive of sentiment but still far below 2022 peaks. ^[14]

Fundamentals check: where DFLI stands

Operations & mix. Dragonfly Energy makes LiFePO₄ battery packs and integrated systems (brand: Battle Born Batteries®) for RV, marine, off‑grid, and emerging trucking/ESS applications. In Q2 2025, net sales rose 23% to $16.2M with OEM sales +51%, and management guided Q3 sales of ~ $15.9M. CEO Dr. Denis Phares said, “We are pleased to report another strong quarter,” pointing to OEM adoption and operational efficiency gains. ^[15]

Commercial momentum (September): In RVs — one of Dragonfly’s highest‑visibility channels — the company’s systems became standard on Ember’s 2026 Overland models (3.5–7 kWh, 1,200 W rooftop solar, 3,000 W inverter/charger), showcased at the Hershey RV Show on Sept 10–14. That’s a steady OEM embed story rather than a one‑day catalyst, but it reinforces the volume thesis investors are trading against. ^[16]

Balance sheet & listing status: After a summer of capital moves (including a July common‑stock raise and elimination of preferreds) and cost work, DFLI still sits on the micro‑cap end of the spectrum and remains in a Nasdaq compliance process. The proxy filed Sept 15 asks shareholders to approve a reverse split (range 1:2 to 1:50) to help restore the $1.00 minimum bid; Nasdaq granted an extension to Nov 10, 2025 to regain compliance. Expect this to be a front‑of‑mind risk through the Oct 15 annual meeting and into November. ^[17]

Why Sept 25–26 mattered anyway: the “LAC effect”

The lithium complex re‑rated after Reuters reported Washington may take equity in Lithium Americas as part of DOE loan talks at Thacker Pass. Barron’s detailed scenarios (warrants vs. guarantees vs. equity) and flagged LAC +23% on Sept 25 after +96% the prior day — a double‑session move that re‑priced sentiment across lithium‑linked stocks of all sizes. For DFLI, which has no direct exposure to mining, the beta‑to‑headlines nonetheless helped squeeze shares higher into Thursday’s close and Friday’s indications. ^[18]

GM, a LAC partner, sounded constructive: “We’re confident in the project, which supports the administration’s goals,” a spokesperson told Reuters — a line investors read as policy tailwinds for domestic battery supply chains. ^[19]

How DFLI stacks up vs. “similar topics” (peers & neighbors)

Grid‑scale storage (EOSE): Eos Energy shares notched a 52‑week high this week amid growing interest in long‑duration storage and U.S. policy support — a reminder that policy narratives can outrun near‑term fundamentals. ^[20]
Early‑stage miners (LAC, American Lithium): These capex‑heavy, multi‑year stories have been whipsawing as Washington explores equity participation and offtake guarantees. DFLI, by contrast, sells finished packs/systems into OEMs now — its cyclicality is tied more to RV/truck demand than mine timelines. ^[21]
Device‑battery innovators (ENVX) & flow‑battery players (GWH): These names move on product roadmaps and financings (e.g., ENVX notes offering; GWH Q2 growth), whereas DFLI’s September newsflow has centered on OEM embedding and balance‑sheet housekeeping. ^[22]

Bottom line: DFLI behaves less like a lithium commodity proxy and more like a micro‑cap OEM supplier that catches sector gusts — exactly what appeared to happen Sept 25–26.

The 3 big near‑term watch items for DFLI

Nasdaq compliance mechanics. Track the Oct 15 vote on reverse split authority and any board action that follows. The Nov 10 extension is a hard line; absent sustained price improvement, a split becomes more likely. ^[23]
OEM order cadence into Q4. The Ember standardization is notable; look for incremental OEM wins (RVs, trucking, marine) and signs that Q3 guidance (~$15.9M) was met or exceeded. ^[24]
Lithium policy spillovers. The LAC/Thacker Pass outcome could keep lithium beta elevated across storage equities. As one expert cautioned, government stakes “may… be a good idea,” but policy durability is the wildcard. ^[25]

Context box — what the pricing tells us (Sept 25–26)

Battery‑grade Li₂CO₃ (China, VAT‑incl., USD): ~$10,291/mt (Sept 26 update).
Spodumene spot cargo (China, 5–5.5% Li₂O, USD/mt): ~$728 (Sept 26).
Interpretation: Prices are off the lows but deep below 2022 peaks, keeping policy support front‑and‑center and amplifying how macro headlines can move the whole space — including micro‑caps like DFLI. ^[26]

Sources & expert quotes used in this report

DFLI quote & trading reference: Yahoo Finance DFLI page. ^[27]
Price/volume (Sept 25) & range: Investing.com historical tape. ^[28]
Pre‑market (Sept 26, 6:00 a.m. ET): Public.com pre‑market table. ^[29]
DFLI Q2 results & guidance / CEO quote: Company IR. ^[30]
Nasdaq extension: Investing.com note on compliance extension. ^[31]
Reverse‑split authority details (proxy, Sept 15): SEC PRE 14A filing. ^[32]
Ember RV standardization (Sept 9): Company news. ^[33]
Lithium Americas stake reporting & quotes: Reuters exclusive + follow‑ups; Barron’s recap (Sept 25). ^[34]
American Lithium capex lift (Sept 25): Reuters. ^[35]
Lithium prices (Sept 25–26): Metal.com (Li₂CO₃, spodumene). ^[36]
Sector peer comparison (EOSE): MarketBeat (Sept 25). ^[37]
Policy‑risk perspective: Reuters video with Alexander Morris (Sept 24). ^[38]

Editor’s note

This article synthesizes all current, date‑specific developments on Sept 25–26, 2025 tied to DFLI and the lithium/battery complex, and places them against Dragonfly Energy’s most recent fundamentals and governance calendar. It is not investment advice.

Market Close 10 Sep 25: Lithium stocks post worst decline of 2025