3 Reasons to Avoid BARK and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Bark’s stock price has taken a beating over the past six months, shedding 51.5% of its value and falling to $0.93 per share. This might have investors contemplating their next move.

Is there a buying opportunity in Bark, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it’s free.

Why Do We Think Bark Will Underperform?

Even with the cheaper entry price, we're cautious about Bark. Here are three reasons why BARK doesn't excite us and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Revenue Tumbling Downwards

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Bark’s recent performance marks a sharp pivot from its five-year trend as its revenue has shown annualized declines of 4.9% over the last two years.

2. Operating Losses Sound the Alarms

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Bark’s operating margin has been trending up over the last 12 months, but it still averaged negative 8.3% over the last two years. This is due to its large expense base and inefficient cost structure.

3. Cash Burn Ignites Concerns

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

Over the last two years, Bark’s demanding reinvestments to stay relevant have drained its resources, putting it in a pinch and limiting its ability to return capital to investors. Its free cash flow margin averaged negative 1.6%, meaning it lit $1.64 of cash on fire for every $100 in revenue.

Final Judgment

Bark falls short of our quality standards. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 49.5× forward P/E (or $0.93 per share). This multiple tells us a lot of good news is priced in - we think there are better opportunities elsewhere. We’d recommend looking at the most entrenched endpoint security platform on the market.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Bark

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