green thumb industries inc managed to double its profit as it continues to scale up its legal cannabis business in the us the company said shares of green thumb industries gtbif gtii rallied 137 on thursday the stock is up 12 so far this year compared with a dip of 23 by the cannabis etf thcx  ceo ben kovler told marketwatch the company has mostly avoided the price pressure pitfalls of the california market with only one location on pasadena as it works to grow its businesses elsewhere while investors can’t buy green thumb stock on robinhood because it’s a usbased planttouching company the company has issued stock on the canadian securities exchange and it also raises capital through debt offerings “there’s differentiation among us operators” kovler said “you want to invest in management teams you can trust we continue to lead with our numbers and let the results speak for themselves” asked about virginia’s new republican governorelect glenn youngkin and whether he’ll hamper the legal cannabis business in the state kovler said no one is against jobs or tax revenue which cannabis will provide virginia’s legal cannabis law went into effect in july and the state is currently crafting regulations to allow for more dispensaries to operate “we think we’ll see positive momentum in virginia” he said “officials there are working on it” see also cresco labs swings to a loss on 261 million noncash charge – marketwatch looking ahead kovler said it’s harder to predict the company’s quarterbyquarter performance so it doesn’t offer specific performance targets its business is affected by factors beyond its control such as when new jersey will award licenses for adult use cannabis sales or developments on the federal level he said longerterm trends remain favorable however as the legal cannabis industry grows from about 25 billion annual sales in the us now to 75 billion in the next decade for now green thumb industries pays about 7 of its cash generation toward servicing its debt – the lowest figure among its competitors he said the chicago and vancouverbased cannabis company said it earned 202 million or 8 cents a share up from net income of 964 million or 4 cents a share in the yearago quarter revenue increased by 49 to 234 million adjusted ebitda jumped 526 yearoveryear to 81 million  the revenue figure matched analyst estimates but adjusted ebitda fell short by about 2 million on higher expenses see also cannabis company terrascend moves into michigan with 545 million allstock gage growth acquisition – marketwatch alliance global partners analyst aaron grey said green thumb “continued its consistent performance with a quality quarter amid a more challenging backdrop” the company maintained its growth despite pricing pressure as it focuses on connecticut new jersey new york and virginia he said “with 286 million cash on the balance sheet we look for the company to remain prudently active on the ma front as the company targets attractive limited license markets while also investing behind existing markets” grey said