We're Not Worried About Anterix's (NASDAQ:ATEX) Cash Burn

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. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So, the natural question for Anterix (NASDAQ:ATEX) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.

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How Long Is Anterix's 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. When Anterix last reported its December 2024 balance sheet in February 2025, it had zero debt and cash worth US$29m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through US$21m. That means it had a cash runway of around 16 months as of December 2024. Importantly, though, analysts think that Anterix will reach cashflow breakeven before then. If that happens, then the length of its cash runway, today, would become a moot point. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

Check out our latest analysis for Anterix

Is Anterix's Revenue Growing?

We're hesitant to extrapolate on the recent trend to assess its cash burn, because Anterix actually had positive free cash flow last year, so operating revenue growth is probably our best bet to measure, right now. As it happens, shareholders have good reason to be optimistic about the future since the company increased its operating revenue by 67% over the last year. 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 Anterix Raise More Cash Easily?

There's no doubt Anterix's revenue growth is impressive but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund further growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. 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.

Since it has a market capitalisation of US$627m, Anterix's US$21m in cash burn equates to about 3.4% of its market value. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.

How Risky Is Anterix's Cash Burn Situation?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Anterix is burning through its cash. For example, we think its revenue growth suggests that the company is on a good path. Its weak point is its cash runway, but even that wasn't too bad! 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. 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. Its important for readers to be cognizant of the risks that can affect the company's operations, and we've picked out 1 warning sign for Anterix that investors should know when investing in the stock.

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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.