Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF +14.40%), one of the better-respected marijuana stocks, didn't get a lot of love from investors on Tuesday after reporting fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings.
For the quarter, the Florida-based operator took in $168.4 million in revenue, more than double the nearly $80 million it earned in the same period last year, and 24% higher than the third quarter.
Atypically profitable for a marijuana company, Trulieve had net income of $3 million in the quarter. But this was down from both the year-ago profit of $12.2 million and the preceding quarter's $17.4 million. On the basis of the profitability metric favored by weed companies, Trulieve did well in adjusted EBITDA. That line item was $78.2 million in the fourth quarter, versus the year-ago $43.8 million and the third quarter's $65.8 million.
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The top-line improvement was due in no small measure to a larger retail footprint. In the quarter alone, Trulieve opened 11 new dispensaries, bringing its total to 75. Most of these are in Florida, Trulieve's home and stronghold, although the company continues to spread across the U.S. In 2020, it was set to enter its sixth state when it obtained four dispensary permits and a processor license in West Virginia.
Its growth momentum should continue; the company proffered guidance of $815 million to $850 million in revenue for 2021, which would represent a year-over-year improvement of at least 56%. Adjusted EBITDA is forecast to rise by a minimum of 41% to a range of $355 million to $375 million.
Those projections are encouraging, but investors might have been dismayed by those notable net profit declines. Trulieve's stock closed nearly 3.5% lower on Tuesday, against the S&P 500's slip of only 0.8%.
