We're Not Worried About Pivotree's (CVE:PVT) Cash Burn

Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. 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. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.

So should Pivotree (CVE:PVT) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

See our latest analysis for Pivotree

When Might Pivotree Run Out Of Money?

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. As at March 2021, Pivotree had cash of CA$48m and no debt. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through CA$1.7m. So it had a very long cash runway of many years from March 2021. Even though this is but one measure of the company's cash burn, the thought of such a long cash runway warms our bellies in a comforting way. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

Is Pivotree's Revenue Growing?

We're hesitant to extrapolate on the recent trend to assess its cash burn, because Pivotree actually had positive free cash flow last year, so operating revenue growth is probably our best bet to measure, right now. While it's not that amazing, we still think that the 2.2% increase in revenue from operations was a positive. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

How Hard Would It Be For Pivotree To Raise More Cash For Growth?

Notwithstanding Pivotree's revenue growth, it is still important to consider how it could raise more money, if it needs to. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).

Pivotree has a market capitalisation of CA$173m and burnt through CA$1.7m last year, which is 1.0% of the company's market value. That means it could easily issue a few shares to fund more growth, and might well be in a position to borrow cheaply.

So, Should We Worry About Pivotree's Cash Burn?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Pivotree's cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. On this analysis its revenue growth was its weakest feature, but we are not concerned about it. Taking all the factors in this report into account, we're not at all worried about its cash burn, as the business appears well capitalized to spend as needs be. Readers need to have a sound understanding of business risks before investing in a stock, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Pivotree that potential shareholders should take into account before putting money into a stock.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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