Yahoo Finance We're Not Very Worried About Perimeter Medical Imaging AI's (CVE:PINK) Cash Burn Rate
Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.
So should Perimeter Medical Imaging AI (CVE:PINK) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.
View our latest analysis for Perimeter Medical Imaging AI
Does Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Have A Long Cash Runway?
A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. Perimeter Medical Imaging AI has such a small amount of debt that we'll set it aside, and focus on the CA$50m in cash it held at March 2022. In the last year, its cash burn was CA$17m. So it had a cash runway of about 2.9 years from March 2022. Notably, analysts forecast that Perimeter Medical Imaging AI will break even (at a free cash flow level) in about 4 years. That means unless the company reduces its cash burn quickly, it may well look to raise more cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.
How Is Perimeter Medical Imaging AI's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?
Although Perimeter Medical Imaging AI had revenue of CA$107k in the last twelve months, its operating revenue was only CA$11k in that time period. Given how low that operating leverage is, we think it's too early to put much weight on the revenue growth, so we'll focus on how the cash burn is changing, instead. With the cash burn rate up 46% in the last year, it seems that the company is ratcheting up investment in the business over time. However, the company's true cash runway will therefore be shorter than suggested above, if spending continues to increase. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.
How Easily Can Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Raise Cash?
Given its cash burn trajectory, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.
Since it has a market capitalisation of CA$108m, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI's CA$17m in cash burn equates to about 16% of its market value. As a result, we'd venture that the company could raise more cash for growth without much trouble, albeit at the cost of some dilution.
Is Perimeter Medical Imaging AI's Cash Burn A Worry?
It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Perimeter Medical Imaging AI is burning through its cash. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. Although its increasing cash burn does give us reason for pause, the other metrics we discussed in this article form a positive picture overall. One real positive is that analysts are forecasting that the company will reach breakeven. Considering all the factors discussed in this article, we're not overly concerned about the company's cash burn, although we do think shareholders should keep an eye on how it develops. On another note, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI has 5 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.
Of course Perimeter Medical Imaging AI may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
