Akanda (AKAN) Stock Analysis – From Medical Cannabis Platform to Mexican Telecom Infrastructure, an Ultra-High-Risk Event-Driven Microcap

Akanda (AKAN) Stock Analysis – From Medical Cannabis Platform to Mexican Telecom Infrastructure, an Ultra-High-Risk Event-Driven Microcap

※ Akanda (NASDAQ: AKAN) is a London-based international medical cannabis platform company and a high-risk microcap. It has targeted European and U.K. markets by cultivating, manufacturing, and distributing premium medical cannabis. Through the acquisition of the Portuguese EU-GMP producer Holigen, Akanda secured a European production and export base, and later attempted to repair its balance sheet and maintain its Nasdaq listing via asset sales, repeated equity financings, and multiple reverse stock splits (1:40 → 1:2 → 1:3.125). In 2025, the company announced a share-exchange transaction with Mexican telecom infrastructure company First Towers and Fiber Corp, drawing attention as a highly event-driven stock that may pivot from medical cannabis to telecom infrastructure. 😅

 

1. Company Overview

• Company Name: Akanda Corp.
• Ticker: AKAN (NASDAQ Capital Market)
• Headquarters: London, U.K.
• Sector: International medical cannabis (cultivation, manufacturing, distribution); potential pivot to telecom infrastructure (towers, fiber)
• Listing: Nasdaq (small / microcap)

Akanda positions itself as an international medical cannabis company whose mission is to “supply premium medical cannabis products to patients around the world.” Historically, via Holigen in Portugal, it operated EU-GMP-certified cultivation and processing facilities and exported into the German and broader European markets, while pushing into the U.K. medical cannabis market as well.

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2. Business Model and Key Assets

2-1. Medical Cannabis Platform (Legacy Core Business)

Akanda’s base business model can be summarized as follows:

• Cultivation & Manufacturing
  • Indoor and outdoor EU-GMP medical cannabis cultivation and processing in Sintra (indoor) and Aljustrel (outdoor) in Portugal (prior to the Holigen/RPK divestment).
• Distribution
  • Multi-year supply agreements such as with German distributor Cansativa to supply high-THC dried flower into German pharmacies.
  • Export into the U.K. and other European medical cannabis markets.
• Positioning
  • Aiming for a “seed-to-patient” vertically integrated model across cultivation, processing, and distribution.

However, in 2024 the company announced the sale of its Portuguese operating subsidiary RPK Biopharma (the main operating entity in Portugal). Through this transaction, Akanda removed approximately US$4 million of debt from its balance sheet and received net cash proceeds of around US$1.55 million. This lightened the balance sheet but also effectively reduced or exited a major piece of its legacy production footprint in Portugal.

2-2. First Towers Acquisition Agreement – Pivot to Telecom Infrastructure?

In March 2025, Akanda announced a share-exchange agreement with Mexican telecom infrastructure company First Towers and Fiber Corp.

• First Towers owns over 700 km of dark fiber network and telecom towers (5G dark fiber network) in central Mexico.
• It operates a tower and fiber leasing business based on long-term (20-year) master lease agreements with telecom carriers.
• Under the transaction structure, upon closing, First Towers shareholders are expected to own about 83.1% of the combined equity, with First Towers creditors holding about 5.8%, effectively making this a reverse-merger-like structure in which First Towers becomes the controlling party.

If this deal closes, Akanda would effectively transform from a medical cannabis company into a Mexican telecom infrastructure operator. Investors who approached AKAN purely as a “medical cannabis stock” must recognize the substantial pivot risk embedded in this transaction.

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3. Nasdaq Listing Issues and Repeated Reverse Splits

Since listing, Akanda has repeatedly violated the Nasdaq US$1 minimum bid price requirement, relying on reverse stock splits and extensions to maintain its listing status.

• January 2024:
  • Nasdaq granted the company an additional 180-day extension (until July 1, 2024) to regain compliance with the US$1 minimum bid price.
  • Management indicated that a reverse stock split would be used if necessary to meet the requirement.
• May 23, 2024 – 1:40 Reverse Split
  • Akanda implemented a 1-for-40 reverse stock split, consolidating every 40 existing shares into 1 new share and reducing shares outstanding to roughly 1/40 of the prior level.
• November 14, 2024 – 1:2 Reverse Split (Second)
  • Pursuant to approval at the March 2024 shareholder meeting, the company executed a 1-for-2 reverse split after the 1:40 split, reducing shares outstanding from roughly 4.1 million to about 2 million shares.
• August 26, 2025 – 1:3.125 Reverse Split (Third)
  • As of an August 22, 2025 announcement, the company implemented a 1-for-3.125 reverse split, reducing shares outstanding from approximately 2.27 million to about 728,000 shares.

While reverse splits do not directly change each investor’s percentage ownership, a pattern of repeated reverse splits combined with frequent equity offerings is typically a sign of significant value erosion and can severely undermine long-term shareholder confidence.

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4. Financial & Valuation Snapshot (Mid-2025)

Based on external data providers (TTM as of June 30, 2025), Akanda’s key metrics are roughly as follows:

• Revenue (TTM): ~US$837,000
  • Up about 183% year-over-year (off a very low base).
• Full-Year 2024 Revenue: ~US$837,000 (+97% YoY)
• Employees: Around 46
• Market Capitalization: ~US$690,000 (extreme microcap)
• Price-to-Sales (P/S): ~0.7x

Profitability and net income need to be verified in detail through the latest SEC filings, but given that:

• Revenue is still below US$1 million,
• The company recorded significant operating losses and large net losses for several years up to 2023, and
• It has raised on the order of several million dollars (around US$6 million) via public offerings since 2024,

it is conservative to view Akanda as a developmental/transition-stage company where consistent profitability and positive cash flow have not yet been established.

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5. Bullish Points

1. International Medical Cannabis & EU-GMP Experience
   • Through its acquisition and operation of Holigen, Akanda built experience in EU-GMP production and distribution into German pharmacies and European medical markets.
   • If regulations stabilize and the European medical cannabis market grows further, this track record could still have some strategic value in the wider cannabis value chain.
2. Potential Pivot to Mexican Telecom Infrastructure
   • If the First Towers acquisition closes as planned, Akanda would own a portfolio of telecom towers and over 700 km of fiber infrastructure in Mexico, backed by a 20-year master lease.
   • Compared with a pure medical cannabis play, this could—if executed well—create a more predictable, lease-based infrastructure cash-flow profile, which some investors may see as a significant event-driven catalyst.
3. Extremely Low Market Cap and Valuation Leverage
   • With a market cap under US$1 million, even relatively small changes in business fundamentals, sentiment, or capital structure can drive very large percentage moves in the share price (in either direction).
4. Nasdaq Listing Maintained (for Now)
   • Despite the repeated reverse splits, Akanda still trades on Nasdaq rather than OTC.
   • This provides better access to U.S. capital markets and liquidity compared with many other microcaps that have been relegated to OTC markets.

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6. Bearish Risks

1. Very Small Revenue Base and Unstable Business Model
   • TTM revenue below US$1 million is extremely small for a listed company.
   • The sale of the Portuguese operating subsidiary—which was a core piece of its legacy production base—raises questions about the sustainability and continuity of the original medical cannabis business.
2. Ongoing Dilution from Equity Raises and Reverse Splits
   • Since 2024, Akanda has raised several million dollars through public offerings, continuously diluting existing shareholders.
   • The sequence of 1:40 → 1:2 → 1:3.125 reverse splits is effectively a history of share price erosion, which many conservative investors will see as a strong red flag.
3. Blurred Corporate Identity – Cannabis vs. Telecom
   • With the sale of Holigen/RPK and the share-exchange transaction with First Towers, Akanda’s identity is caught between being a “medical cannabis company” and a “Mexican telecom infrastructure company.”
   • A successful pivot could create a new story, but there is significant execution and transition risk if the pivot fails or only partially succeeds.
4. Regulatory & Policy Risk (Cannabis)
   • Both the medical cannabis market and any potential recreational (adult-use) opportunities are highly sensitive to country-specific regulatory changes.
   • If legalization or regulatory liberalization progresses more slowly than expected—or reverses—Akanda’s cannabis-related plans could easily be derailed.
5. Microcap Liquidity & Volatility Risk
   • Trading volumes are low and the market cap is extremely small, meaning that even modest order flow can cause sharp price swings.
   • A large proportion of trading may be technical or theme-driven rather than fundamentally driven, increasing the risk of sudden spikes and crashes.

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7. Investment Checkpoints & Suitable Investor Profile

7-1. Key Items to Monitor Going Forward

1. Final Closing and Terms of the First Towers Transaction
   • Timing of closing, final equity ownership structure, debt assumption, and any follow-on capital raise plans.
2. Future Capital Raising (Equity, CBs, etc.)
   • Whether additional equity or convertible securities will be issued, and, if so,
   • The size, issue price, and resulting dilution for existing shareholders.
3. Real Improvement in Revenue and Cash Flow
   • Whether the company can deliver sustainable positive operating cash flow over the next 2–3 years,
   • Whether from medical cannabis, telecom infrastructure, or some combination.
4. Ongoing Nasdaq Compliance
   • Whether Akanda can avoid once again falling below the minimum bid requirement, and
   • How management responds in the event of any future compliance issues.

7-2. What Type of Investor Might AKAN Suit?

• Potentially Suitable
  • Highly aggressive investors who understand and accept extreme event risk in microcaps, including reverse splits and sector pivots.
  • Short- to medium-term event-driven/theme traders who are specifically looking for binary or high-beta situations.
  • Those willing to risk only a small amount of capital on the possibility of a sharp re-rating if the pivot and restructuring succeed.
• Likely Not Suitable
  • Conservative or long-term investors focused on dividends, stable cash flows, and capital preservation.
  • Retirees, income-oriented investors, and anyone highly sensitive to volatility are generally better off avoiding this type of stock.

In practical terms, AKAN is best viewed—if at all—as a small, high-risk “satellite” position that one can afford to lose entirely, rather than as a core holding in any portfolio.

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8. Quick Q&A (FAQ)

Q1. What kind of company is Akanda (AKAN) right now?

→ Legally, Akanda is still an international medical cannabis company engaged in cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution, with prior EU-GMP experience in Portugal and exports into Europe. At the same time, through its share-exchange agreement with Mexican telecom infrastructure company First Towers, it has opened the door to potentially becoming primarily a tower and fiber infrastructure business in Mexico.

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Q2. What are Akanda’s current revenue scale and market cap?

→ On a TTM basis, revenue is around US$837,000—a very small scale for a listed company. Market capitalization is roughly US$690,000, placing Akanda firmly in the extreme microcap category.

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Q3. Why has Akanda done so many reverse stock splits?

→ Nasdaq requires a minimum bid price of US$1. Akanda repeatedly failed to meet this requirement, receiving deficiency notices and extensions. To regain compliance, it executed a series of reverse splits—1:40 in 2024, 1:2 later in 2024, and 1:3.125 in 2025. These actions are primarily technical measures to lift the share price above US$1, but they also highlight persistent share price weakness.

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Q4. For what type of investor is AKAN appropriate?

→ Given its small revenue base, unstable business model, repeated equity dilution, multiple reverse splits, and ongoing sector pivot, AKAN is a stock that only very aggressive, event-driven traders might consider, and only with money they can afford to lose. It is not suitable for defensive, dividend-focused, or traditional value investors.