GTBIF stock is trading lower on Friday despite Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE:GTII) (OTCQX:GTBIF) announcing that it would begin selling adult-use cannabis at Rise Effingham on Saturday, February 29.
Over the past few years, Green Thumb Industries (GTI) has emerged as one of the leading multi-state cannabis operators in the United States.
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Green Thumb operates the Rise and Essence chain of cannabis retail stores, and today it announced that adult-use cannabis is going to go on sale at Rise Effingham starting Saturday, February 29. The company has expanded its footprint in the state of Illinois at a decent clip, and the store in Effingham is its sixth establishment in the state.
It is a significant development for Green Thumb because, at the end of the day, adult-use cannabis is generally regarded as the product that drives higher revenue for a company. Adult-use cannabis sales touched $40 million in the first month in Illinois, and it is estimated that once the market matures, the market could be worth as much as $2.5 billion.
GTBIF stock is down by 3.62% at $6.78.
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The vertically integrated cannabis company is one of the biggest operators in the United States and has grown at an impressive clip. In Q3 2019, its revenue jumped 296% year-on-year and 50% sequentially.
Much of the company’s growth is primarily due to GTI’s aggressive retail expansion. Green Thumb Industries operated 44 stores in early 2019 and held 55 licenses to open more cannabis retail outlets. The company has managed to open up cannabis retail stores in 12 states in the United States so far.
GTI has established its presence in California, which is the most lucrative market for cannabis, and also in Florida, which is the country’s biggest medical marijuana market. It has also moved in aggressively into its home state of Illinois, which legalized recreational marijuana sales recently.
It should be noted that the company has managed to grow at such a rate even though marijuana remains illegal at a federal level. If it is legalized at some point, then Green Thumb Industries could hope to grow substantially faster.
GTBIF stock has lost almost 30% so far this year.
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