We're Keeping An Eye On Aethlon Medical's (NASDAQ:AEMD) Cash Burn Rate

We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

So should Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for Aethlon Medical

Does Aethlon Medical Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Aethlon Medical last reported its balance sheet in December 2021, it had zero debt and cash worth US$20m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through US$9.0m. So it had a cash runway of about 2.3 years from December 2021. That's decent, giving the company a couple years to develop its business. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Is Aethlon Medical's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Whilst it's great to see that Aethlon Medical has already begun generating revenue from operations, last year it only produced US$315k, so we don't think it is generating significant revenue, at this point. As a result, we think it's a bit early to focus on the revenue growth, so we'll limit ourselves to looking at how the cash burn is changing over time. 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. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

Can Aethlon Medical Raise More Cash Easily?

Given its cash burn trajectory, Aethlon Medical shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. 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).

Since it has a market capitalisation of US$20m, Aethlon Medical's US$9.0m in cash burn equates to about 44% of its market value. From this perspective, it seems that the company spent a huge amount relative to its market value, and we'd be very wary of a painful capital raising.

How Risky Is Aethlon Medical's Cash Burn Situation?

On this analysis of Aethlon Medical's cash burn, we think its cash runway was reassuring, while its cash burn relative to its market cap has us a bit worried. We don't think its cash burn is particularly problematic, but after considering the range of factors in this article, we do think shareholders should be monitoring how it changes over time. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 6 warning signs for Aethlon Medical you should be aware of, and 2 of them are concerning.

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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.