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$219m 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. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Arq will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

See our latest analysis for Arq

Arq is bordering on breakeven, according to the 3 American Chemicals analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2024, before generating positive profits of US$3.7m in 2025. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly 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 rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Underlying developments driving Arq's growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, however, keep in mind that by and large a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

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:

There are too many aspects of Arq to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place – Arq's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key factors you should look at:

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.