TMC The Metals Company's (TMC 2.18%) investor relations page starts with this quote: "The Metals Company is developing the world's largest estimated source of critical metals to help deliver U.S. critical mineral independence and support a new era of American industrial strength."
That sounds really exciting, and it is. What should worry investors is what isn't explained on the investor relations homepage. Here's how TMC The Metals Company could be a ticket to millionaire status, or just another gamble that may not pay off.
What does TMC The Metals Company do?
At its core, TMC The Metals Company is a miner. That's generally a fairly easy business to understand. The company must find a location where it believes there are sufficient valuable resources to justify building a mine. It needs to do some exploration work to prove that those materials do actually exist, get approval to build the mine, and then has to build and run the mine. And when the mine is depleted, the area must be restored to its original state before the mine was built.
Image source: Getty Images.
Building and operating a mine is a lengthy and expensive endeavor under normal conditions. TMC The Metals Company, however, isn't trying to build a normal mine -- it is attempting to be the first public company to operate an undersea mine. That takes the already huge capital investment of building a mine up a notch or two. Notably, management proudly discusses the new technology it has helped to pioneer in its efforts.
To be clear, TMC has accomplished some impressive things from a mining technology perspective. It is also focused on metals like nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese, which are important for high-tech batteries and renewable power infrastructure. However, it still hasn't actually built the mine it proposed. It will likely be years before this happens, even in the best-case scenario.
There appears to be support for undersea mining, but major regulatory hurdles remain to be overcome. At this point, the company is still waiting for approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before it can move forward. Undersea mining is new territory, so the approval process is still a bit uncertain for all involved, including the regulators. This means only aggressive growth investors should consider TMC.
Red ink, and more red ink to come
A significant concern is the company's ongoing losses. In fact, the income statement doesn't even have a revenue line. It starts with expenses. Where most companies have earnings at the bottom of their income statement, TMC's bottom line is labeled as net loss per share. The financial statement is making it very clear that the company is bleeding cash as it works to build an undersea mining business.
To be fair, it's not surprising to see a start-up business lose money. Add in the capital intensity of mining, and the red ink makes even more sense. Then layer on top of that the location of the mine TMC wants to build, and, well, you get the point. The losses are substantial and likely to persist for the foreseeable future.
NASDAQ: TMC
Key Data Points
You need to go in clearly understanding that you are diving into the deep end of the investment pool if you buy TMC's stock. If everything goes perfectly as planned, it could help lift you to millionaire status. If things go awry, which isn't unusual for a large capital investment project, the stock could be a dud. It could also turn into a total loss if it runs out of cash and can't find more investors willing to support its development efforts.
Carefully assess your tolerance for risk
What TMC The Mining Company is attempting to do is exciting. If it builds the mine it plans to, it could be a sustainably profitable business. Getting from today to the point where it is a profitable business is not going to be an easy or quick task.
All but the most aggressive investors should probably wait until more milestones have been reached before buying this stock. That will mean giving up some potential gains, but the risk that doesn't end up building an undersea mine is material. Notably, the company had approximately $115 million in cash at the end of the third quarter of 2025 and reported an operating loss of $55 million during that quarter. There may not be a lot of wiggle room here if the company's plans don't go as well as hoped.
