Earnings Update: GRWG Hits Record Revenue, Charlotte's Web Cites EBITDA Losses, Akerna Software Revenue Spikes

GrowGeneration Hits Record Revenue, Raises Revenue Guidance

Hydroponics retail chain GrowGeneration Corp. GRWG released its third-quarter financial results.

Revenue for the quarter hit $55 million, up from $21.8 million in the same period of 2019.

Adjusted EBITDA hovered $6.6 million — higher than the $2 million GrowGeneration achieved in the comparative period.

GrowGeneration also reported a GAAP net income of $3.3 million, or seven cents per share for the third quarter, versus a net income of $1 million, or three cents per share for the same quarter in 2019.

The Denver-based company is raising its revenue guidance for both 2020 and 2021, projecting revenue for the former in the range of $185 to $190 million and adjusted EBITDA of $19 to $20 million, and for the latter the revenue of $280 to $300 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $34 to $36 million.

"We are building a best-in-class team of grow professionals, a robust e-commerce platform, and an insight-driven retail footprint targeting both established and emerging markets," GrowGeneration CEO Darren Lampert says. "The results of the recent elections, combined with our proven ability to scale while reducing operational costs, will allow us to grow our revenue and expand our bottom line into the following quarters. We have raised our guidance accordingly."

GrowGeneration also noted high M&A activity, including the latest agreement to purchase the nation's third-largest chain of hydroponic garden centers, The GrowBiz.

The company's goal is to reach 50 garden centers and 15 states.

Charlotte’s Web Posts EBITDA Loss, Works On Optimizing Expenses

Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. CWEB CWBHF disclosed Thursday third-quarter consolidated revenue of $25.2 million, up by 0.4% from the same quarter of 2019.

Its adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended Sept. 30 was a loss of $6.7 million, which stands against a positive EBITDA of $800,000 in the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

The Boulder, Colorado-based CBD company noted that revenue was lower than projected due to the coronavirus pandemic has affected its operating expenses to reach $28.3 million, which is by 44.4% higher than last year. Charlotte’s management is working towards improving its operating expenses in the future and has already started an “expense optimization program” to help reduce expenses.

The company recently obtained official B Corp certification, which vouches for excellence in ESG. It is now considered the biggest and only publicly-traded CBD B Corp company in the world.

Akerna Posts 40% Jump In Software Revenue

Regulatory compliance firm Akerna KERN reported $3.7 million in total revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That's up by 16% on a year-over-year basis.

Gross profit reached $2 million — up by 9% year-over-year — while software revenue jumped 40% year-over-year to $3.2 million.

For the same period, the Denver-based company, disclosed a net loss of $4.7 million, which stands against a net loss of $2.3 million for the same quarter of 2019.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased $3 million, versus an adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.2 million in the corresponding period last year.

During the quarter, Akerna purchased Ample Organics, entered into an agreement with Priority Technology Holdings Inc., launched new software technology (MJ Retail), released cannabis data analytics platform MJ Analytics, and closed a “$12 million follow on offering.”

"I'm thrilled to report we achieved 40% year over year software revenue growth in this quarter and have increased our total SaaS ARR by 44% over this same time last year," Akerna CEO Jessica Billingsley said. "Looking forward, we are entering a period of massive market expansion.  Five new states have approved cannabis via ballot measure in the recent election potentially representing approximately $18M in new TAM for our software and services offerings, and many more states and countries have legislative initiatives proposed over the coming months. Our scaled ecosystem is uniquely positioned to capture these opportunities, with the most robust cannabis technology suite available."