Yahoo Finance Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) Is In A Good Position To Deliver On Growth Plans
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?
So should Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) 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). Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.
View our latest analysis for Marathon Digital Holdings
How Long Is Marathon Digital Holdings' Cash Runway?
A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. As at September 2021, Marathon Digital Holdings had cash of US$242m and no debt. Importantly, its cash burn was US$338m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from September 2021 it had roughly 9 months of cash runway. Notably, analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings will break even (at a free cash flow level) in about 21 months. That means unless the company reduces its cash burn quickly, it may well look to raise more cash. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
How Well Is Marathon Digital Holdings Growing?
It was quite stunning to see that Marathon Digital Holdings increased its cash burn by 1,510% over the last year. But shareholders are no doubt taking some confidence from the rockstar revenue growth of 4,563% during that same year. Considering both these factors, we're not particularly excited by its growth profile. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.
How Easily Can Marathon Digital Holdings Raise Cash?
Since Marathon Digital Holdings has been boosting its cash burn, the market will likely be considering how it can raise more cash if need be. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.
Marathon Digital Holdings has a market capitalisation of US$2.9b and burnt through US$338m last year, which is 12% of the company's market value. Given that situation, it's fair to say the company wouldn't have much trouble raising more cash for growth, but shareholders would be somewhat diluted.
Is Marathon Digital Holdings' Cash Burn A Worry?
On this analysis of Marathon Digital Holdings' cash burn, we think its revenue growth was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. There's no doubt that shareholders can take a lot of heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven before too long. Cash burning companies are always on the riskier side of things, but after considering all of the factors discussed in this short piece, we're not too worried about its rate of cash burn. On another note, we conducted an in-depth investigation of the company, and identified 3 warning signs for Marathon Digital Holdings (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.
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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.
