Cannabis Earnings Season for Q1 Approaches

The Public Cannabis Company Revenue & Income Tracker, managed by New Cannabis Ventures, ranks the top revenue producing cannabis companies. Most of the companies have reported Q4, and the reports for the quarter ending 3/31 will take place mainly in the first half of May.

Tracker Rules

This data-driven, fact-based tracker will continually update based on new financial filings so that readers can stay up to date. Companies must file with the SEC or SEDAR and be current to be considered for inclusion. When we launched this resource in May 2019, companies with quarterly revenue in excess of US$2.5 million qualified. As the industry has scaled and as more companies have gone public, we have raised the minimum several times subsequently, including a move to US$5 million in October 2019, to US$7.5 million in June 2020, to US$10 million in November 2020 and US$12.5 million in August 2021. Due to the rapid growth in the cannabis industry, we raised the minimum to US$25 million (C$33.4 million) to qualify for what we now call the senior list and introduced a junior list with a minimum of US$12.5 million (C$16.7million) in September 2021.

A Note About Adjusted Operating Income

In May 2019, we added an additional metric, “Adjusted Operating Income”, as we detailed in our newsletter. The calculation takes the reported operating income and adjusts it for any changes in the fair value of biological assets required under IFRS accounting. We believe that this adjustment improves comparability for the companies across IFRS and GAAP accounting. We note that often operating income can include one-time items like stock compensation, inventory write-downs or public listing expenses, and we recommend that readers understand how these non-cash items can impact quarterly financials. Many companies are moving from IFRS to U.S. GAAP accounting, which will reduce our need to make adjustments. Please note that our rankings include only actual reported revenue and not pro forma revenue. We also note that companies with non-cannabis operations must provide segment-level financial reports that detail not only revenue but also operating profit to be have their operating profit included in the tracker. Currently, Jazz Pharma (NASDAQ: JAZZ) and Tilray (TSX: TLRY) (NASDAQ: TLRY) aren’t providing this information. Please note as well that we updated how we are handling Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) (NASDAQ: CGC), now excluding the non-cannabis revenue of BioSteel.

Tracker Inclusion Updates

At the time of our last update on February 27th, 38 companies qualified for inclusion on the senior list, including 30 filing in U.S. dollars and 8 in the Canadian currency. Currently, 28 companies that file in U.S. dollars qualify and 7 that file in Canadian dollars are qualifying for the senior lists, a total of now 35. The junior list now includes 10 companies reporting in U.S. dollars and 4 in Canadian dollars. On a combined basis, the Public Cannabis Company Revenue & Income Tracker now includes 49 companies.

Included Companies That Reported In Late March or early April

Since our last update, there have been several companies that have reported, but we had no new additions to the rankings. Both Greenlane (NASDAQ: GNLN) and Planet 13 Holdings (OTC: PLNHF) (CSE: PLTH) fell from the senior list to the junior list.

Senior and Junior – American Dollar Reporting

Verano Holdings (OTC: VRNOF) (CSE: VRNO) experienced Q4 revenue in line with expectations and adjusted EBITDA too. Revenue fell 1% sequentially to $225.9 million. In its Q3, Tilray Brands (NASDAQ: TLRY) (TSX: TLRY) saw cannabis revenue fall 5% sequentially and 14% from a year ago to $47.5 million.

The companies that file with the SEC or that are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange or the NEO Exchange must file by May 15th. So far, a few companies have scheduled calls, including Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) (CSE: GTII), Verano Holdings and Ascend Wellness (OTC: AAWH) (CSE: AAWH) among the companies that have generated more than $100 million in quarterly revenue recently. Curaleaf Holdings (OTC: CURLF) (CSE: CURA) still hasn’t delivered its Q4 financials, and the company is expected, according to the consensus calculated by Sentieo, to have generated revenue of $354 million, up 11%, with adjusted EBITDA of $86 million, up 8% from a year ago.

In Q1, analysts currently project the company to grow revenue 13% to $353 million with adjusted EBITDA of $89 million. Trulieve (OTC: TCNNF) (CSE: TRUL) is expected to see revenue slip 7% to $295 million with adjusted EBITDA falling 20% to $85 million. Analysts expect GTI to have increased revenue 3% to $283 million with adjusted EBITDA rising 10% to $74 million. Verano Holdings is expected to grow revenue 11% to $225 million as adjusted EBITDA drops 12% to $71 million. The fifth highest MSO revenue-generator, Cresco Labs (OTC: CRLBF) (CSE: CL), is expected to see revenue drop 10% to $193 million with adjusted EBITDA dropping 37% to $32 million.

The next three MSOs by revenue, each above $100 million in Q4, are Columbia Care (OTC: CCHWF) (NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW), Ayr Wellness (OTC: AYRWF) (CSE: AYR.A) and Ascend Wellness. Analysts expect that Columbia Care saw flat revenue at $123 million with adjusted EBITDA also flat at $17 million. Ayr Wellness is projected to grow revenue 13% to $126 million with adjusted EBITDA soaring to $27 million. Analysts expect Ascend to see revenue expand 28% to $109 million with adjusted EBITDA rising 54% to $25 million.

Outside of American cannabis operators, Jazz Pharma (NASDAQ: JAZZ), which acquired GW Pharma in 2021, is expected to have generated $895 million in total revenue in Q1, up 10%. Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) is projected to have seen its total Q2 revenue fall 4% to $1.62 billion.

Senior and Junior – Canadian Dollar Reporting

Since our last update, Organigram (NASDAQ: OGI) (TSX: OGI) saw Q2 revenue slightly below expectations as adjusted EBITDA was a bit above. The company reported pricing pressure in large formats of flower. Retailers Nova Cannabis (OTC: NVACF) (TSX: NOVC) and Fire & Flower (OTC: FFLWF) (TSX: FAF) reported too.

Stay up to date

Visit the Public Cannabis Company Revenue Tracker to track and explore the complete list of qualifying companies. We have recently created a way for our readers to access our library of Revenue Tracker articles. For our readers who are interested in staying on top of scheduled earnings calls in the sector, we have created and continually update the Cannabis Investor Earnings Conference Call Calendar.

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA
Alan Brochstein, CFA
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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