Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF 9.83%) was again in the marijuana-stock spotlight on Thursday. This time, it was because of the company's latest quarterly results rather than any splashy acquisition.
Trulieve's first quarter, the results of which were published in the morning, show that the Florida-based multistate operator (MSO) booked revenue of $193.8 million; this was 15% higher that the preceding quarter, slightly more than double the year-ago tally, and a new quarterly record for the company.
And in a rare development for a marijuana operator (but not necessarily for Trulieve), the company earned a profit: $30.1 million, or $0.24 per diluted share. That was more than tenfold the previous quarter's net profit, and 27% higher than the year-ago period.
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The headline numbers represented a good news/bad news situation; Yahoo! Finance data shows that on average, analysts were estimating just $189.8 million for revenue, but $0.26 per share for net profit.
Trulieve's continued success as a dominant and ever-growing player in its native market, and its fairly assertive expansion, were the catalysts behind those hefty growth numbers.
The latter activity is kicking into high gear with the company's recently announced acquisition of Arizona-based peer Harvest Health & Recreation. That deal, which is to be consummated entirely in stock, is valued at $2.1 billion. Once it closes, it will instantly make Trulieve a powerful MSO with a presence on both U.S. coasts.
But it seems that investors were expecting better of the cannabis highflier. On Thursday, they traded its stock down by 1.6%, which contrasted with the S&P 500's 1.2% gain.
