We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Traeger, Inc.'s (NYSE:COOK) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Traeger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, sells, and supports wood pellet fueled barbecue grills for retailers, distributors, and direct to consumers in the United States. The US$463m market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$84m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$51m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Traeger's path to profitability – when will it breakeven? In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

According to the 10 industry analysts covering Traeger, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2025, before turning a profit of US$4.0m in 2026. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 2 years from today. What rate will the company have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 71%, which signals high confidence from analysts. 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 Traeger given that this is a high-level summary, however, bear in mind that by and large a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

One thing we would like to bring into light with Traeger is its debt-to-equity ratio of 142%. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn't exceed 40% of your equity, and the company has considerably exceeded this. Note that a higher debt obligation increases the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

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

1. Valuation: What is Traeger worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Traeger is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Traeger'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.

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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.