Cannabis Earnings Season Kickoff Reveals Mixed Trends

The Public Cannabis Company Revenue & Income Tracker, managed by New Cannabis Ventures, ranks the top revenue producing cannabis stocks that generate industry sales of more than US$7.5 million per quarter. 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 to be considered for inclusion. Please note that we raised the minimum quarterly revenue in May from US$2.5 million and from US$5.0 million in October.

43 companies currently qualify for inclusion, with 27 filing in U.S dollars and 16 in the Canadian currency, which is down from 44 when we reported at the end of October due to one addition,  Canadian retailer Alcanna (TSX: CLIQ) (OTC: LQSIF), and the removal of Halo Labs (NEO: HALO) (OTC: AGEEF) and Terra Tech (OTC: TRTC), both of which saw revenue fall sequentially below the minimum required to qualify.

In May, we began to include 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.

One trend we have observed is that many of the companies are now providing pro forma revenue as well, which is an attempt to more accurately portray the operations by taking into account the results of closed and pending acquisitions as the multi-state operator (MSO) space rapidly consolidates. Our rankings include only actual reported revenue.

For companies that report in U.S. dollars, several have done so in the first half of November. GW Pharma (NASDAQ: GWPH) generated Q3 revenue of $91 million, which was slightly ahead of expectations and represented 26% growth over Q2. Helping to boost sales was $1.9 million of Epidyolex sales in Europe, the company’s first. KushCo Holdings (OTC: KSHB) exceeded expectations with revenue in its Q4 ending 8/31, with sales of $47 million growing 135% from year-ago levels. The company provided initial guidance  for its fiscal 2020, with revenue expected to exceed $230 million compared to FY19 revenue of $149 million. Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) generated cannabis revenue of $35.5 million, representing 36% sequential growth, as its operating loss narrowed significantly to $23.3 million. Charlotte’s Web (TSX: CWEB) (OTC: CWBHF) outperformed other CBD companies with flat sequential growth, with revenue of $25.1 million representing 42% growth from its Q3 a year ago. The industrial hemp CBD market has slowed substantially due to increased competition. Acreage Holdings (CSE: ACRG) (OTC: ACRGF) posted strong revenue growth at 26% sequentially, but its operating loss narrowed only slightly. Columbia Care (NEO: CCHW) (OTC: CCHWF) experienced 15% sequential growth in revenue as its adjusted operating loss declined by $5.3 million. GrowGeneration (OCT: GRWG) saw overall revenue expand 159% from a year ago, supported by same-store sales growth of 48% as it delivered a small operating profit. Several other companies reported revenue between $7.5 million and $20 million.

American Dollar Reporting – Public Cannabis Company Revenue Tracker

The balance of November will see several companies reporting, with most having already scheduled earnings calls, including the four MSOs that had the highest revenue in the June quarter. According to Sentieo, analysts project Trulieve (CSE: TRUL) (OTC: TCNNF) to report revenue of $66 million, which would represent 14% growth from the prior quarter. Curaleaf (CSE: CURA) (OTC: CURLF) could surpass Trulieve, as analysts project sales of almost $67 million, which would represent sequential growth of 37%, similar growth to what the company experienced in the prior quarter. GTI (CSE: GTII) (OTC: GTBIF) is expected to have generated over $61 million in revenue in Q3, representing growth of 37% sequentially. MedMen (CSE: MMEN) (OTC: MMNFF) is expected to have generated $47.8 million in its fiscal Q1, up 14% from the prior quarter.

Of the companies that report in Canadian dollars, the trends were quite mixed. Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) regained the lead, but its revenue declined sharply from the prior quarter, as did that of Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) (NYSE: ACB). Both companies, which saw operating losses expand from the prior quarter, cited lack of retail distribution as a key contributor to their financial results. Canopy Growth had been expected to report sales of C$117 million, while analysts had forecast C$96.7 million from Aurora Cannabis. MediPharm Labs (TSX: LABS) (OTC: MEDIF) generated Q3 sales of C$43.4 million, ahead of the C$42 million consensus and up 38% from Q2 as it generated a C$5.4 million operating profit. Sundial Growers (NASDAQ: SNDL) reported cannabis-related revenue of C$28 million, up 45% from the prior quarter, and generated an operating loss of C$7.2 million.

Canadian Dollar Reporting – Public Cannabis Company Revenue Tracker

Most of the companies that report in Canadian dollars have already done so, but  a few more will report over the balance of the month, including Origin House (CSE: OH) (OTC: ORHOF) and TerrAscend (CSE: TER) (OTC: TRSSF), which pre-announced its revenue at approximately C$26 million, up 48% from Q2 but below expectations. Organigram (TSX: OGI) (NASDAQ: OGI) reports its fiscal Q4 ending in August on November 25th. The company had been expected to grow revenue sequentially by 21% to C$29.9 million, but it pre-announced a substantial short-fall at C$16.3 million, down 34% from the May quarter.

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 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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