With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at Arq, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ARQ) future prospects. Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The US$287m market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$12m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$323k shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on Arq's investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. Below we will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts’ expectations for the company.

See our latest analysis for Arq

According to the 3 industry analysts covering Arq, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2024, before turning a profit of US$4.5m in 2025. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around a year from now or less! At what rate will the company have to grow in order to realise the consensus estimates forecasting breakeven in under 12 months? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 51%, which is extremely buoyant. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Arq given that this is a high-level summary, but, take into account that by and large a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

Before we wrap up, there’s one aspect worth mentioning. The company has managed its capital judiciously, with debt making up 8.1% of equity. This means that it has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital, and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on Arq, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Arq's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of essential aspects you should further examine:

1. Historical Track Record: What has Arq's performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Arq's board and the CEO’s background.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.