Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. 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, the natural question for Koolearn Technology Holding (HKG:1797) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of 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. Let's start with an examination of the business's cash, relative to its cash burn.

Check out our latest analysis for Koolearn Technology Holding

Does Koolearn Technology Holding Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. As at November 2019, Koolearn Technology Holding had cash of CN¥2.7b and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was CN¥46m. So it had a very long cash runway of many years from November 2019. While this is only one measure of its cash burn situation, it certainly gives us the impression that holders have nothing to worry about. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

Is Koolearn Technology Holding's Revenue Growing?

We're hesitant to extrapolate on the recent trend to assess its cash burn, because Koolearn Technology Holding actually had positive free cash flow last year, so operating revenue growth is probably our best bet to measure, right now. We think that it's fairly positive to see that revenue grew 26% in the last twelve months. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

How Easily Can Koolearn Technology Holding Raise Cash?

While Koolearn Technology Holding is showing solid revenue growth, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash to fund 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).

Koolearn Technology Holding's cash burn of CN¥46m is about 0.2% of its CN¥20b market capitalisation. That means it could easily issue a few shares to fund more growth, and might well be in a position to borrow cheaply.

Is Koolearn Technology Holding's Cash Burn A Worry?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Koolearn Technology Holding's cash burn. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. And even its revenue growth was very encouraging. After considering a range of factors in this article, we're pretty relaxed about its cash burn, since the company seems to be in a good position to continue to fund its growth. When you don't have traditional metrics like earnings per share and free cash flow to value a company, many are extra motivated to consider qualitative factors such as whether insiders are buying or selling shares. Please Note: Koolearn Technology Holding insiders have been trading shares, according to our data. Click here to check whether insiders have been buying or selling.

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

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.