8 Best Cannabis Stocks of May 2024

Curaleaf is the largest publicly traded cannabis company. And because of that, it often acts as a bellwether for the entire industry.

The stock jumped 44% in the 48 hours following the recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that restrictions should be loosened on marijuana. Despite this boost, however, the stock is still down 34% over the last year, demonstrating how cannabis investors have struggled—the S&P 500 is up more than 15% in the same period.

Nonetheless, CURLF remains the largest company in the cannabis sector, with revenue last year of $1.3 billion, which is also the highest on this list. Its price-to-sales ratio is the third highest, but in a sector already offering substantial risk, some investors may feel a more expensive valuation is worth it.

Curaleaf is based in Wakefield, Massachusetts. However, its stock is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). CURLF trades as an ADR in the U.S. OTC market. Investors need to be sure their brokerage account allows OTC trading before investing in CURLF.

Green Thumb Industries is a U.S. cannabis consumer packaged goods company. It has more than 80 retail locations as well as 15+ manufacturing facilities across the United States.

GTBIF’s growth has been impressive. Founded in 2014, the company crossed the $1 billion mark in revenue last year. That’s a 13.9% jump from the previous year, and it is now among the largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the world.

The stock jumped 37% in 48 hours following the positive regulatory news from the Department of Health and Human Services around regulatory recommendations on the industry. However, it is still down about 15% over the past year, which is better than most of its peers. Despite the drawdown, GTBIF is the second best performing stock on this list in the same time period.

While it is among the largest public companies in the sector, it is still a reasonably small stock, and like all cannabis companies, it is extremely volatile—its strong revenue growth of 2022 coincided with a fall of over 60% in the same period.

Green Thumb Industries is another American cannabis company trading on the CSE. The company’s GTBIF ticker trades as an ADR on the U.S. OTC market.

Verano Holdings is the U.S. name behind the brands Encore, Alexia and MUV. Like most companies in the industry, Verano struggled last year, falling 42%.

The company is a new name even in a young sector, going public in February 2021. Despite being a U.S. company, it trades on the CSE, following a reverse takeover. It’s available for trading in the U.S., however, as an ADR on the OTC market.

Given its youth, Verano Holdings’ track record is thinner than most—all the other stocks on this list have displayed three years of positive and growing revenue. The greater risk profile may be attractive to some, however, and its revenue growth in 2022 was the third highest on this list.

Trulieve Cannabis has performed extremely poorly for investors. This U.S. cannabis provider vacillates around a $1 billion market cap these days. It is down 56% in the last twelve months.

This comes despite formidable growth in sales. Its revenue jumped 32% last year, the highest on this list. While the stock performance is obviously concerning, it also means a cheaper valuation. Its price-to-sales ratio is lower than the other big companies in this space.

TCNNF is another ADR that is listed on the CSE and trades on the OTC market in the U.S.

Cresco Labs is the largest U.S. wholesaler of branded cannabis products. Operating in seven states, the company opened five new stores in the second quarter of this year, bringing its total number to 68. This growth in addition to plans for continued expansion means potential upside for the stock.

However, CRLBF’s revenue numbers provide reason for caution. We have limited our list to companies showing positive and growing revenue, but Cresco barely made the cut, with a thin increase last year. In an industry where profits are often a pipe dream, that does represent concern.

The flip side of this is that the company’s price-to-sales ratio is one of the cheapest on this list, which could prove interesting if the company manages to improve upon its revenue growth in the future.

A long-running acquisition with Columbia Care was finally terminated in July. This would have created the largest cannabis company in the industry, but the company has decided to focus on its core business amid the “tough economic time” that the industry faces. On the positive side, this may mean less volatility for the stock going forward.

Cresco Labs trades as a Canadian ADR on the U.S. OTC markets.

Glass House Brands is a vertically integrated cannabis company based in California. With one of the smallest market caps on this list, it carries extra risk amid what is already a volatile sector.

However, the upside is clear here—look no further than the last twelve months, when the stock returned 19%. All the other companies on this list have suffered significant declines during that period.

Q2 earnings showed marked progress, with CEO Kyle Kazan referring to it as “the best (quarter) in our history”. Net sales jumped 171% year-over-year. Gross margin was 55%, compared to only 2% a year prior.

This growth could be impossible to sustain. GLASF’s price-to-sales ratio is higher than peer companies with similar market caps, but when revenue grows this fast, that can happen.

The risk here is obvious, but Glass House Brands has been on a steep trajectory and remains an intriguing play for those who have greater risk tolerance.

Glass House Brands trades as a Canadian ADR on the U.S. OTC markets.

The Cannabist Company, formerly Columbia Care, called off a mega-deal with Cresco Labs this summer that would have created one of the biggest companies in the cannabis space.

Additionally, Cannabist’s stock is down 79% in the last year. And that comes after an enormous 77% jump in the 48 hours following August’s Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that regulations on marijuana be relaxed.

One positive note is that revenue growth has been strong. Combined with the falling share price, this means CBSTF has a very low price-to-sales ratio.

With the volatility and uncertainty of the merger saga out of the way, optimistic sales numbers and a relatively cheap valuation, there may be greater risk here, but there is also a path to upside.

The Cannabist Company trades as a Canadian ADR on the U.S. OTC markets.

WM Technology represents a different avenue for investors to gain exposure to the cannabis space. The company is a provider of technology and software infrastructure for the cannabis industry.

MAPS is the smallest company on this list, and that needs to be considered regarding the risk profile.

However, it has shown interesting growth, with revenue increasing last year. Looking at the most recent quarter, it beat analyst expectations and generated a thin 1-cent earnings per share, which is up from a 14-cents-a-share loss a year earlier. Furthermore, the company’s price-to-sales ratio is relatively cheap.

Regarding that risk profile, though, investors need only glance at its chart to understand the need to be prudent, with the stock down nearly 90% since the start of 2021. However, for those seeking to venture further out on the risk curve, MAPS does trade on the Nasdaq.