We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Clarivate Plc's (NYSE:CLVT) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Clarivate Plc operates as an information services provider in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The US$4.5b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$987m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$1.3b leading to an even wider gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Clarivate's path to profitability – when will it breakeven? We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

Clarivate is bordering on breakeven, according to the 10 American Professional Services analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2024, before generating positive profits of US$7.4m in 2025. So, the company is predicted to breakeven just over a year from now. 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 98%, which signals high confidence from analysts. If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of Clarivate's upcoming projects, though, keep in mind that typically a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

One thing we would like to bring into light with Clarivate is its relatively high level of debt. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn't exceed 40% of your equity, which in Clarivate's case is 83%. A higher level of debt requires more stringent capital management which increases the risk in investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

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

1. Valuation: What is Clarivate 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 Clarivate 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 Clarivate'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.