Clever Real Estate’s closings division has added eight markets since June 2025, with escrow leaders bringing 250 years of combined title and settlement experience.

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Clever Closings, the digital title and escrow division of Clever Real Estate, is now live in 11 states, up from three in June 2025, and expects to open Ohio and Pennsylvania before the end of the year. The expansion will put the division in 13 states less than three years after it began closing transactions.

Clever Closings places licensed local branch managers in every market, several with more than two decades of experience in their state, while intake, processing, and post-closing run centrally on one national platform. Every party to a transaction gets a direct line to the person running the file and a response within two business hours. Escrow staff compensation is tied directly to client survey scores, not just the number of files closed, a structure that is rare in the title industry.

Clever Closings takes a tech-forward approach to title and escrow, running every file on a single digital platform. Agents, buyers, sellers, and loan officers see every update in real-time, without the need to call or email for updates. Documents and messages are encrypted, and clients can deposit earnest money from their phone. Built-in fraud protection verifies each party’s ID against public records and screens wire instructions before any money moves.

“Title has historically been an office-heavy business, and that overhead gets passed to everyone in the transaction,” said Tony Chahal, President of Agent Network and Closings at Clever Real Estate. “We built the opposite. We use AI and our digital platform to handle the document review, status updates, and wire screening that take up most of a traditional escrow officer’s day, so our licensed local experts can focus on the parts of a closing that need a person. That is how we can serve any local market without opening a dozen offices.”

Clever Closings currently operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Ohio and Pennsylvania are on track to launch this year, which will put Clever Closings in markets accounting for roughly 60% of U.S. home sales, according to Redfin data. The division is on pace to grow closed transactions nearly 70% in 2026 and has already surpassed its 2025 total.

As a result of Closings’ rapid growth, Clever promoted Chahal to President of Agent Network and Closings in July 2026, where he oversees the platform’s 13,000 active agents, in addition to the title and escrow business he founded in 2023. Before Clever, Chahal served as Head of Strategic Relationships at HomeLight, where he led the go-to-market strategy and a national sales organization across the company’s trade-in, cash offer, and closing services businesses.

“Clever is a vertically integrated platform built to make great agents dramatically more productive,” said Clever Co-Founder and CEO Luke Babich. “The average agent in this industry closes two transactions a year. Agents in our elite partner program close 21. We’re aligning our organization to keep delivering tech, services like Closings, and high-quality lead flow that help great agents build a great business.”

Agents at Compass, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, eXp, and Coldwell Banker have closed transactions through Clever Closings. Chahal credits the division’s 90% five-star rating to hiring licensed local experts in each state rather than staffing new markets remotely. The division is recruiting escrow officers and branch managers in Ohio and Pennsylvania ahead of launch.

Learn more at: https://www.cleverclosings.com

About Clever Closings

Clever Closings is the title and escrow division of Clever Real Estate, built to give real estate agents and their clients a modern closing experience. Every party gets real-time visibility into the transaction, encrypted document handling and messaging, digital earnest money deposits, and a choice of in-person, mobile notary or remote online notarization. The platform is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified and operates under ALTA Best Practices. Clever Closings is live in 11 states, with Ohio and Pennsylvania launching in 2026.

About Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate allows sellers to compare top-rated discount real estate brokers and low-commission realtors in their local area. Clever’s content reaches over 12 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating across more than 4,500 customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached over $17.3 billion in real estate sold, matched over 271,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $250 million on commission fees. Clever’s network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.

CONTACT:
Nicole Lehman
Clever Real Estate
423685@email4pr.com
724-719-0406

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SOURCE Clever Closings

BEIJING, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recon Technology, Ltd (NASDAQ: RCON) (“Recon” or the “Company”), a China-based independent solutions integrator in the oilfield service and environmental protection, electric power and coal chemical industries, today announced its financial results for fiscal year 2026.

Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2026 Financial Highlights:

Total revenue increased by approximately RMB43.6 million ($6.4 million) or 65.8% to RMB109.9 million ($16.2 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026 from RMB66.3 million ($9.8 million) for the same period in 2025.Gross profit increased to RMB36.5 million ($5.4 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, from RMB15.2 million ($2.2 million) for the same period in 2025.Gross margin increased to 33.2% for the year ended June 30, 2026 from 23.0% for the same period in 2025.Net loss was RMB31.6 million ($4.7 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, a decrease of RMB12.1 million ($1.8 million) from net loss of RMB43.7 million ($6.4 million) for the same period of 2025.

Management Commentary

Mr. Shenping Yin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Recon, commented: “Fiscal 2026 marked a significant turning point for Recon. Revenue increased by 65.8% to RMB109.9 million, and gross margin was lifted to 33.2%. These factors, when combined, narrowed our net loss compared to the previous year. The primary growth driver was our strategic expansion into overseas oilfield projects.

We are pleased to announce that we have reached a significant milestone that we have been working towards for several years. On 28 September 2026, we held a ceremony to mark the commencement of operations at our waste plastic chemical recycling plant in Weifang, Shandong Province. The plant has been designed to process 40,000 tons of low-value waste plastics per year, with an expected output of 30,000 tons of pyrolysis oil and 6,000 tons of carbon residue. This strategic partnership provides Recon with a solid foundation in the circular economy, offering a new growth opportunity in addition to our core oilfield services.

As we look ahead to fiscal 2027, our strategic priorities are clear as we will bring the chemical recycling plant to commercial production, extend our overseas and offshore oilfield footprint, and rebuild our domestic service capabilities. Oil price volatility and broader macroeconomic conditions continue to present challenges, however, we enter the new year with a more diversified business portfolio, a strengthened margin profile and a diligent cost structure. These elements, we believe, will underpin sustainable, long-term growth for our shareholders.”

Fiscal Year Ended 2026 Financial Results:

Revenue

Total revenues for the year ended June 30, 2026 were approximately RMB109.9 million ($16.2 million), an increase of approximately RMB43.6 million ($6.4 million) or 65.8% from RMB66.3 million ($9.8 million) for the same period in 2025.

Revenue from automation product and software increased by RMB35.6 million ($5.3 million) or 104.5%. The increase was primarily driven by a RMB44.2 million revenue increase from overseas oilfield projects, partially offset by an RMB8.6 million decline in domestic business. The overseas revenue growth benefited from a phase-II oilfield capacity construction of a major overseas automation maintenance project. The domestic business decline was mainly due to reduced maintenance efforts in the domestic market during the period, as our focus shifted towards overseas projects. Going forward, the Company will reallocate personnel from overseas to strengthen domestic market maintenance services.Revenue from equipment and accessories increased by RMB9.4 million ($1.4 million) or 51.2%. The increase in revenue from equipment and spare parts was primarily driven by rising demand for new purchases and maintenance of such items. This was due to the ongoing need of domestic oilfield clients to maintain stable production levels.Revenue from oilfield environmental protection increased by RMB2.0 million ($0.3 million) or 19.4% primarily due to an increase in the settlement prices for some wastewater treatment clients.Revenue from platform outsourcing services decreased by RMB3.5 million ($0.5 million) or 100.00%. FGS’s operations were materially and adversely affected by strategic shifts in its major clients’ business decisions to terminate online cooperation of third-party companies and unfavorable changes in domestic industry policies. Consequently, FGS’s revenue and active business activities declined precipitously, resulting in zero revenue for fiscal year 2026.

Cost of revenue

Cost of revenues increased from RMB51.0 million for the year ended June 30, 2025 to RMB73.4 million ($10.8 million) for the same period in 2026.

For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, cost of revenue from automation product and software was approximately RMB28.6 million and RMB47.2 million ($7.0 million), respectively, representing an increase of approximately RMB18.6 million ($2.7 million) or 65.0%. The increase in cost of revenue from automation product and software was primarily attributable to increased revenue of automation products and software.

For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, cost of revenue from equipment and accessories was approximately RMB13.2 million and RMB20.4 million ($3.0 million), respectively, representing an increase of approximately RMB7.2 million ($1.1 million) or 54.7%. The increase in costs of revenue was primarily driven by expanded business activity, mirroring the same factor behind the growth in revenue.

For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, cost of revenue from oilfield environmental protection was approximately RMB8.5 million and RMB5.7 million ($0.8 million), respectively, representing a decrease of approximately RMB2.8 million ($0.4 million) or 33.1%. While actively pursuing new business opportunities in a constrained market, the Company undertook testing projects. Given their high uncertainty, equipment costs for these projects were fully expensed upon purchase in the prior period, resulting in lower costs in the current period compared to the prior period.

For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, cost of revenue from platform outsourcing services was approximately RMB0.6 million and nil, respectively, representing a decrease of approximately RMB0.6 million ($0.1 million) or 100.0%. The reason for the decrease is consistent with that of the revenue decline.

Gross profit

Gross profit increased to RMB36.5 million ($5.4 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026 from RMB15.2 million ($2.2 million) for the same period in 2025. Our gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased to 33.2% for the year ended June 30, 2026 from 23.0% for the same period in 2025.

For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, our gross profit from automation product and software was approximately RMB5.5 million and RMB22.5 million ($3.3 million), respectively, representing an increase in gross profit of approximately RMB17.0 million ($2.5 million) or 310.4%. The gross margin expansion to 32.3% was primarily driven by the higher-margin overseas oilfield projects, which contributed RMB44.2 million of revenue, representing approximately 63% of automation segment revenue for fiscal 2026. Excluding the overseas projects, our domestic automation gross margin remained relatively stable.For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, gross profit from equipment and accessories was approximately RMB5.2 million and RMB7.4 million ($1.1 million), respectively, representing an increase of approximately RMB2.2 million ($0.3 million) or 42.4%. The increase in gross profit was consistent with the change in revenue. The gross margin for equipment and accessories has remained relatively stable in this period.For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, gross profit from oilfield environmental protection was approximately RMB1.7 million and RMB6.6 million ($1.0 million), respectively, representing an increase of RMB4.9 million ($0.7 million) or 288.2%. The lower gross profit in fiscal 2025 was mainly due to testing projects, where the related equipment used for these projects was fully expensed as it was consumed during execution, when we were not sure that revenue from these projects could be recognized. The increase in gross margin from 16.9% to 53.4% was mainly attributable to the absence, in fiscal 2026, of the one-time testing project costs that were fully expensed as incurred in fiscal 2025, when revenue recognition for those testing projects remained uncertain. Excluding the impact of such one-time testing costs, the normalized gross margin for fiscal 2025 would have been higher, and the fiscal 2026 margin of 53.4% reflects a normal standard in settlement prices for certain wastewater treatment clients together with a more favorable project mix.For the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, gross profit from platform outsourcing services was approximately RMB2.8 million and nil, respectively, representing a decrease of approximately RMB2.8 million ($0.4 million) or 100.0%. The decrease in gross profit was consistent with the change in revenue.

Operating expenses

Selling expenses decreased by 43.6%, or RMB4.1 million ($0.6 million), from RMB9.3 million ($1.4 million) in the year ended June 30, 2025 to RMB5.2 million ($0.8 million) in the same period of 2026.

General and administrative expenses increased by 11.8%, or RMB5.8 million ($0.9 million), from RMB49.6 million ($7.3 million) in the year ended June 30, 2025 to RMB55.4 million ($8.2 million) in the same period of 2026.

Net recovery of credit losses of RMB2.9 million ($0.4 million) for the year ended June 30, 2025 as compared to net provision for credit losses of RMB4.1 million ($0.6 million) for the same period in 2026.

Research and development expenses decreased by 21.7%, or RMB3.6 million ($0.5 million) from RMB16.4 million ($2.4 million) for the year ended June 30, 2025 to RMB12.9 million ($1.9 million) for the same period of 2026.

Loss from operations

Loss from operations was RMB41.2 million ($6.1 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, compared to a loss of RMB57.3 million ($8.4 million) for the same period of 2025. This RMB16.1 million ($2.4 million) decrease in loss from operations was mainly driven by higher gross profit, as previously discussed.

Change in fair value of warrant liability

The Company classified the warrants issued in connection with common share offering as liabilities at their fair value and adjusted the warrant instrument to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. Gain in change in fair value of warrant liability was RMB6,226 ($917) and RMB671 ($99) for the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2026, respectively. The primary reason for the decrease in the fair-value gain of the warrant liability was the change in the fair value assessment price.

Interest income

Net interest income was RMB10.9 million ($1.6 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, compared to net interest income of RMB12.3 million ($1.8 million) for the same period of 2025. The RMB1.4 million ($0.2 million) decrease in net interest income was primarily attributable to the Company’s receipt of partial repayments of loans to third parties, partially offset by interest income from outstanding loans to third parties, during the year ended June 30, 2026.

Other income (expenses), net.

Other net expenses was RMB1.3 million ($0.2 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, compared to other net income of RMB1.3 million ($0.2 million) for the same period of 2025. The RMB2.6 million ($0.4 million) decrease in other net income was primarily due to the closure of Qinghai BHD and the disposal of 51% equity interest in MSJ, which together resulted in a total loss on equity shares investments of RMB1.1 million. Additionally, following the closure of the Qinghai office, RMB0.6 million in payables that could no longer be settled was recognized as income, RMB0.2 million in receivables that could not be collected was written off as a loss and an increase in foreign exchange transaction expenses of RMB1.0 million due to the fluctuation of exchange rate of RMB against US dollars during the year ended June 30, 2026 compared to the same period of 2025.

Net loss

As a result of the factors described above, net loss was RMB31.6 million ($4.7 million) for the year ended June 30, 2026, a decrease of RMB12.1 million ($1.8 million) from net loss of RMB43.7 million ($6.4 million) for the same period of 2025.

Cash and short-term investment

As of June 30, 2026, we had cash in the amount of approximately RMB29.7 million ($4.4 million) and short-term investment in bank fixed income product of approximately RMB9.0 million ($1.3 million). As of June 30, 2025, we had cash in the amount of approximately RMB98.9 million ($14.6 million) and short-term investment in bank fixed income product of approximately RMB3.6 million ($0.5 million).

About Recon Technology, Ltd (“RCON”)

Recon Technology, Ltd (NASDAQ: RCON) is the People’s Republic of China’s first NASDAQ-listed non-state-owned oil and gas field service company. Recon supplies China’s largest oil exploration companies with advanced automated technologies, efficient gathering and transportation equipment and reservoir stimulation measure for increasing petroleum extraction levels, reducing impurities and lowering production costs. Through the years, RCON has taken leading positions within several segmented markets of the oil and gas field service industry. RCON also has developed stable long-term cooperation relationship with its major clients. Since 2023, Recon also entered into the business of chemical recycling of waste plastic. For additional information please visit: http://www.recon.cn/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Recon includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws throughout this press release. A reader can identify forward-looking statements because they are not limited to historical fact or they use words such as “scheduled,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “goal,” “objective,” “committed,” “intend,” “continue,” or “will likely result,” and similar expressions that concern Recon’s strategy, plans, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may change at any time and may cause actual results to differ materially from those that Recon expected. Many of these statements are derived from Recon’s operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions that Recon believes are reasonable, or are based on various assumptions about certain plans, activities or events which we expect will or may occur in the future. However, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors, and Recon cannot anticipate all factors that could affect actual results that may be important to an investor. All forward-looking information should be evaluated in the context of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those factors disclosed under “Risk Factors” in Recon’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and any subsequent half-year financial filings on Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements that Recon makes from time to time in its SEC filings and public communications. Recon cannot assure the reader that it will realize the results or developments Recon anticipates, or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect Recon or its operations in the way Recon expects. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. Recon undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they were made, except as otherwise required by law. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein or that may be made elsewhere from time to time by, or on behalf of, Recon.

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SOURCE Recon Technology, Ltd

Approval moves Switch toward Brazil field evaluation, adding a major biologicals market and a new testing window to accelerate data generation and product development 

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Switch Bioworks, a deep-tech biotechnology company building programmable microbes, today announced that Brazil’s National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio) has approved the company’s dossiers, advancing Switch toward field testing of its engineered nitrogen-fixing microbes in one of the world’s largest agricultural markets and one of the most advanced markets for biological inputs. Brazil’s complementary growing seasons create the potential for additional field-learning cycles each year, accelerating data generation and product development. The milestone builds on Switch’s U.S. regulatory and field progress and research in Kenya, expanding development of a new category of biofertilizer across three continents.

Nitrogen fertilizer is essential to crop production globally, but conventional production relies on the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process and remains vulnerable to global energy, price and supply disruptions. Switch’s platform is built on making nitrogen with biology, following a simple principle: grow first, produce second. Its genetic switches allow microbes to establish on plant roots before activating nitrogen production, addressing the fundamental energy trade-off that has long constrained biological nitrogen fixation. In laboratory studies, Switch’s switchable microbes fixed approximately five times as much nitrogen on plants as always-on controls. The company is now testing that architecture in the field to understand how it performs across environments and real agricultural practices.

Switch currently has active field work in the United States and Kenya. In the United States, USDA- and EPA-authorized multi-site corn field trials are evaluating the technology across six states in the Midwest. In Kenya, Switch is testing several microbial candidates in smallholder farming systems with local research partners, broadening the scope of its development program. Future field testing in Brazil extends that work into South America.

Brazil represents both a significant market opportunity and a valuable development environment for Switch. As the world’s largest exporter of soybeans and a top-three corn producer, the country combines enormous agricultural scale with one of the world’s most advanced markets for biological inputs. Its soils, farm-management practices and climate also differ from Switch’s current field work, creating a new setting to test the same genetic-control platform. Brazilian growers are exposed to volatility in global nitrogen fertilizer markets, underscoring the potential value of biological technologies that could ultimately provide an additional source of nitrogen produced closer to where crops need it. Based on publicly available information, Switch represents a new category of biological fertilizer in Brazil: an intergeneric genetically engineered microbe designed to live and function in the field.

“Brazil is a global powerhouse in agricultural biologicals, with world-class research, commercial scale and strong farmer adoption,” said Tim Schnabel, founder and CEO of Switch Bioworks. “Adding Brazil gives us a new regulatory pathway and the opportunity to demonstrate how programmable microbes perform consistently across distinct agricultural environments. Each new geography we add to our development program accelerates our learning and strengthens the infrastructure needed to deploy this technology globally.”

Switch’s core genetic-switch technology is covered by seven patent families. Nitrogen fertilizer is the first application for a broader platform designed to enable programmable microbes to perform specific functions in complex, real-world environments beyond traditional fermentation systems. Switch is building toward a future where manufacturing is no longer confined to factories—where programmable microbes make what we need, where we need it, when we need it.

About Switch Bioworks

Switch Bioworks is a Stanford spinout and deep-tech biotechnology company building genetic control systems for programmable microbes. Its switches direct when microbes grow and when they produce, allowing them to establish in complex, real-world environments before activating a useful function. Switch is proving the platform first in agriculture, where engineered microbes are designed to establish on crop roots and then produce nitrogen where plants can use it. In grow-room studies, switchable strains fixed approximately five times more nitrogen on plants than always-on controls. USDA- and EPA-authorized multi-site corn field trials are evaluating the technology under real agricultural conditions. The core genetic-switch technology is covered by seven patent families, and Switch was selected for ARPA-E’s TEOSYNTE program. Nitrogen is the first proving ground for a broader platform for biological production at the point of need. Learn more at www.switchbioworks.com.

Media Contact
Sarah McAllister
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SOURCE Switch Bioworks