With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at Smartsheet Inc.'s (NYSE:SMAR) future prospects. Smartsheet Inc. provides enterprise platform to plan, capture, manage, automate, and report on work for teams and organizations. The US$6.6b market-cap company's loss lessened since it announced a US$105m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$84m, as it approaches breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Smartsheet 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.

Smartsheet is bordering on breakeven, according to the 20 American Software analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2026, before turning a profit of US$35m in 2027. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly 3 years from now. In order to meet this breakeven date, we calculated the rate at which the company must grow year-on-year. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 56% is expected, 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 Smartsheet given that this is a high-level summary, but, take into account that typically 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. Smartsheet currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making growth company, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. This means that the company has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

There are key fundamentals of Smartsheet which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at Smartsheet, take a look at Smartsheet's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of pertinent factors you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet'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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com