1Q Results and Outlook Reaffirm our Core Investment Thesis; Construction of Muskogee, OK Plant on Track; Reiterate BUY Rating
Stardust Power CEO Roshan Pujari updated investors on the company’s 1Q’25 results call. No official financial guidance was provided.
For 1Q’25, Stardust incurred a net loss of $3.8 million, $2.4 million higher than a year ago. Management indicated that since the company has not yet started commercial production of battery grade lithium, OpEx levels are expected to increase as Stardust begins to recruit more personnel to perform general operational tasks and set up the facility.
Recent headcount additions have already impacted OpEx and operating cash flow: Net cash used in operating activities totaled $2.9 million for the quarter, compared to $4.9 million for all of 2024. The increase is driven by continued investment in operations, hiring of additional talent and some expenses tied to running the organization.
Loss per share was ($0.07) for 1Q’25, compared to ($0.04) for the prior period, the increase being driven mainly by higher G&A expenses due to personnel-related costs and finance charges. Our estimate was ($0.08).
CEO Roshan Pujari indicated that the macro outlook for lithium remains promising and continues to strengthen: Global demand is set to more than double by 2030, fueled by structural growth across multiple verticals including electric vehicles, energy storage systems, A.I., and broader electrification trends.
Management highlighted several recent capital raising events, including entering into short term loan agreements totaling $3.5 million and maturing in March 2025. As of the end of 1Q’25, the company had fully repaid the loan principal and accrued interest and only has $6.331 million in short-term borrowings remaining on the balance sheet. Subsequent to the quarter end, the company has issued the related equity and warrants in accordance with the agreed terms.
Stardust has prioritized securing reliable sources of lithium feedstock supplies, and management indicated that it has seen a very receptive market to refine and manufacture battery grade lithium products domestically in the United States.
We continue to believe that the company’s operating model remains superior to alternative forms of lithium extraction and refining.
Changes to our model: We are maintaining our 2028 estimates. We are leaving our revenue estimates for YE25, YE26 and YE27 unchanged, but are reducing our EPS estimates for those years to ($0.29), ($0.26) and ($0.52), respectively, due mostly to higher SG&A expense assumptions and higher estimated financing expenses.
We are maintaining our Buy rating on SDST shares, noting the increasingly positive developments on the trade policy front from Washington for Stardust as well as solid execution of the construction project to this point.