There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. 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 the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.

So should Joy Spreader Group (HKG:6988) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

Check out our latest analysis for Joy Spreader Group

When Might Joy Spreader Group Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Joy Spreader Group last reported its June 2024 balance sheet in September 2024, it had zero debt and cash worth HK$275m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through HK$155m. So it had a cash runway of approximately 21 months from June 2024. While that cash runway isn't too concerning, sensible holders would be peering into the distance, and considering what happens if the company runs out of cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Well Is Joy Spreader Group Growing?

Joy Spreader Group managed to reduce its cash burn by 71% over the last twelve months, which suggests it's on the right flight path. Unfortunately, however, operating revenue dropped 32% during the same time frame. On balance, we'd say the company is improving over time. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. You can take a look at how Joy Spreader Group has developed its business over time by checking this visualization of its revenue and earnings history.

Can Joy Spreader Group Raise More Cash Easily?

Joy Spreader Group seems to be in a fairly good position, in terms of cash burn, but we still think it's worthwhile considering how easily it could raise more money if it wanted to. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

Joy Spreader Group has a market capitalisation of HK$263m and burnt through HK$155m last year, which is 59% of the company's market value. From this perspective, it seems that the company spent a huge amount relative to its market value, and we'd be very wary of a painful capital raising.

So, Should We Worry About Joy Spreader Group's Cash Burn?

On this analysis of Joy Spreader Group's cash burn, we think its cash burn reduction was reassuring, while its cash burn relative to its market cap has us a bit worried. Looking at the factors mentioned in this short report, we do think that its cash burn is a bit risky, and it does make us slightly nervous about the stock. On another note, we conducted an in-depth investigation of the company, and identified 3 warning signs for Joy Spreader Group (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies with significant insider holdings, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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.