Earnings season is always something of a nerve-shredding time for marijuana stock investors, as pot companies more often than not tend to post bottom-line losses.
Sure enough, sector mainstay Curaleaf (CURLF 6.55%) delivered a deficit in the second quarter, as its earnings release published after market close Wednesday revealed. However, it wasn't significantly deeper on a comparable basis. Meanwhile, there were other glimmers of hope in the document. As a result, bullish investors traded up Curaleaf stock on the day, powering it to a nearly 7% gain.
Investor tolerance for loss
For the quarter, Curaleaf posted total net revenue of more than $314 million, representing a slide from the over $342 million it earned in the same period of 2024. That net loss, meanwhile, was considerable but not much worse than in the year-ago frame; it deepened to $53 million ($0.07 per share) from nearly $49 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Curaleaf continued to expand during the quarter, as it flicked the lights on in two dispensaries, one located in populous Florida (specifically the municipality of Winter Park, near Orlando) and the other in Lima, Ohio. On the product side, it launched a pair of new products, Anthem pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes and Select ACE oil.
Perhaps more impactfully for the future, it was awarded a license to participate in the specialized marijuana market of another populous location, the country of Turkey. Its license gives it entry to that nation's medical pot market, which began at the end of July with a new law allowing for sales in pharmacies to qualifying patients.
Looking for legalization
As ever with marijuana stocks, they're probably not going to move significantly -- and sustainably -- until full-blown legalization (or at least decriminalization) is enacted in a major jurisdiction. All eyes are on the U.S., where halting efforts in this sphere have resulted in a patchwork of states where medical and/or recreational weed sale and consumption are permitted.
