With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at LifeMD, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LFMD) future prospects. LifeMD, Inc. operates as a direct-to-patient telehealth company that connects consumers to healthcare professionals for medical care in the United States. The company's loss has recently broadened since it announced a US$24m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$26m, moving it further away from breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which LifeMD will turn a profit, with the big question being "when will the company breakeven?" In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

Consensus from 6 of the American Healthcare Services analysts is that LifeMD is on the verge of breakeven. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2024, before generating positive profits of US$3.8m in 2025. So, the company is predicted to breakeven just over a year from today. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2025? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 126% year-on-year, on average, which is rather optimistic! 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 LifeMD's upcoming projects, however, take into account that typically healthcare tech companies, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means that a high growth rate is not unusual, especially if the company is currently in an investment period.

One thing we would like to bring into light with LifeMD is its debt-to-equity ratio of over 2x. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn't exceed 40% of your equity, which in this case, the company has significantly overshot. 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 key fundamentals of LifeMD 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 LifeMD, take a look at LifeMD's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of essential aspects you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is LifeMD 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 LifeMD 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 LifeMD'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