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The week's question
In March 2025, in the thread "Re: OT, out", Umm asked the members: "Do you think it is because America is made up of magical soil that makes businesses based in America magically profitable?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks U / Upstart Holdings (UPST)
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Author: BenSolar ✶  😊 😞
Number: of 123 
Subject: Re: Any hope still?
Date: 11/09/24 10:44 AM
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DTB's post from May highlighted some serious concerns about Upstart's business:

"
I agree that the stock price probably got way ahead of itself, but a few years ago, I think investors were very optimistic not just about share price appreciation but about the potential of this business to outperform in the lending market. When I look at revenues aver the last few years, they don't seem to justify that optimism - 2020: $229m, 2021: $801, 2022: $907m, 2023: $560m; 2024 Q1: $138m. Same thing with gross profits - 2020: $204m, 2021: $734, 2022: $665m, 2023: $398, 2024 Q1: $99. Over the same time period, the share count has gone from 17m to 85m, so the employees are doing well, but for an outside shareholder, it's hard to see how this can be called a successful business if it's unprofitable AND revenues are barely up from 3 years ago.
"

The skyrocketing share count over that time period is my biggest concern, along with the share buyback program that plowed company funds into supporting the stock price while handing out so many millions of shares. Share count mentioned in the recent press release was 91.7 million, so the trend continues. Most of the growth in diluted share count occurred from 2020-2021 from 17m to 94m, then it dropped to 83m in 2022, before gradually climbing to current levels.

I'm not sure details of the massive dilution from 2020-21. Hopefully the company raised some serious cash from that as well as rewarding insiders.

I do believe in the business model and the growth opportunity. The share count climb has the potential to eat up some of the growth, but explosive growth would overwhelm that and deliver good returns. I'm planning on riding the favorable trend of dropping Fed rates and inflation for at least a little while. I may take some profits though, since I don't have full trust in management's prioritizing the common shareholder.
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This community has written 123 posts about Upstart Holdings. The article-length ones it recommended most:
Upstart, an introduction · 17 recs · 2022
Upstart's cash burn · 13 recs · 2023
Upstart Breakeven Analysis · 8 recs · 2023
Upstart (UPST) Q2.2023 Forecast · 6 recs · 2023
Q1.2023 Forecast · 5 recs · 2023
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