Here's Why We're Not At All Concerned With Fuel Tech's (NASDAQ:FTEK) Cash Burn Situation

Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So should Fuel Tech (NASDAQ:FTEK) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

See our latest analysis for Fuel Tech

Does Fuel Tech Have A Long Cash Runway?

You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. In June 2023, Fuel Tech had US$28m in cash, and was debt-free. Importantly, its cash burn was US$972k over the trailing twelve months. So it had a very long cash runway of many years from June 2023. While this is only one measure of its cash burn situation, it certainly gives us the impression that holders have nothing to worry about. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

debt-equity-history-analysis

How Well Is Fuel Tech Growing?

Happily, Fuel Tech is travelling in the right direction when it comes to its cash burn, which is down 65% over the last year. And it could also show revenue growth of 7.2% in the same period. It seems to be growing nicely. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

Can Fuel Tech Raise More Cash Easily?

We are certainly impressed with the progress Fuel Tech has made over the last year, but it is also worth considering how costly it would be if it wanted to raise more cash to fund faster growth. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).

Fuel Tech's cash burn of US$972k is about 2.9% of its US$33m market capitalisation. So it could almost certainly just borrow a little to fund another year's growth, or else easily raise the cash by issuing a few shares.

So, Should We Worry About Fuel Tech's Cash Burn?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Fuel Tech's cash burn. In particular, we think its cash runway stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. Its weak point is its revenue growth, but even that wasn't too bad! Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn; the company seems well on top of its medium-term spending needs. 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 Fuel Tech that investors should know when investing in the stock.

Of course Fuel Tech may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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.