Atlantic American Gets Nasdaq Delisting Notice Over Late Filings

What happened

Atlantic American Corporation, an Atlanta-based life and property-casualty insurer whose common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker AAME, said it received a Staff Delisting Determination from Nasdaq's listing qualifications staff dated October 16, 2026, according to a Form 8-K filed October 22, 2026.

The filing says Nasdaq began a process to delist the company's common stock because Atlantic American was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires listed companies to file their required periodic reports with the SEC on time.

Per the 8-K, the notice was issued because the company had not filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, or its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2026 and June 30, 2026 — together, the "Delinquent Reports" — by October 12, 2026. That date was the last day of a 180-day extension Nasdaq had previously granted the company to regain compliance.

The company said it filed the 2025 Form 10-K with the SEC on October 16, 2026, after receiving the notice, and that it continues to work toward filing the two remaining quarterly reports.

Atlantic American said it intends to appeal by requesting a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel, which the filing says must be requested by October 23, 2026. The 8-K states that hearings are typically scheduled about 30 to 45 days after a request.

The filing does not explain why the reports were filed late. It describes only the missed deadlines and the company's stated plans to catch up and appeal.

The shares closed at $1.58 on the event date, up 8.97% from the prior close of $1.45, according to the price data.

What this means

A Form 8-K is the report a US public company files to disclose material events between its regular quarterly and annual reports. Item 3.01 of the form is specifically for notice that a security has failed to meet an exchange's continued listing standards, or that a listing is being transferred.

Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) is the exchange's basic timeliness rule: a listed company must keep its SEC filings current. When a company falls behind, Nasdaq can grant an extension — here, 180 days — and if the company is still delinquent when that window closes, the staff can issue a delisting determination.

A delisting determination is not the same as being removed from the exchange. It starts a process. The company can request a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel. Under the procedure described in the filing, that request automatically pauses any trading suspension for 15 days from the date of the request, and the company can ask the panel to extend the pause until the hearing and decision.

If the panel declines to extend the stay, the filing says the stock would be suspended from trading at the end of the 15-day period and would stay suspended unless the panel later decides to reinstate trading. Atlantic American is therefore operating under a short procedural clock: the hearing request is due by October 23, 2026, one day after the 8-K was filed.

The underlying issue is paperwork, not an exchange finding about the company's business or finances. The 2025 10-K, the largest of the three missing reports, has now been filed. The two 10-Qs for the first half of 2026 remain outstanding, and regaining compliance depends on filing them.

For a company of this size — a small insurer with a share price under $2 — the listing itself matters because Nasdaq trading provides liquidity and broad quotation. A suspension would move trading elsewhere, but the filing does not say where, and the company gives no assurance the panel will grant an extended stay.