We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Krystal Biotech, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:KRYS) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Krystal Biotech, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops and commercializes genetic medicines for patients with rare diseases in the United States. The US$3.0b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$140m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$30m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Krystal Biotech'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.

See our latest analysis for Krystal Biotech

According to the 11 industry analysts covering Krystal Biotech, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2024, before generating positive profits of US$86m in 2025. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years 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 68%, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of Krystal Biotech's upcoming projects, but, keep in mind that generally biotechs, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means, large upcoming growth rates are not abnormal as the company is beginning to reap the benefits of earlier investments.

Before we wrap up, there's one aspect worth mentioning. Krystal Biotech currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making biotech, which typically has high 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 Krystal Biotech 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 Krystal Biotech, take a look at Krystal Biotech's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of essential aspects you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is Krystal Biotech 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 Krystal Biotech 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 Krystal Biotech'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.