Deliveroo is only just on the brink of becoming profitable after listing in 2021.

Many newly listed companies have not yet become profitable, and in the UK it's no different. Yet it isn’t just miners that are speculative. It is no wonder that so many mining companies didn’t make it. In many cases the size of the find is difficult to fully estimate, the cost to set-up operations is substantial and the revenue outlook vague as commodity prices can swing wildly. The very nature of mining lends itself to speculation.Ī company lists on an exchange to raise capital to finance the start of mining operations. This generally results in a total loss for shareholders. Of that total, 27,750 – or 75% - have been mining companies that later delisted. In Australia, it's estimated that 37,000 companies have been listed between the 1800s and 2018. The act of investing in a business is not speculative at face value but there are speculative companies.Īustralia offers us a good case study. In the share market we are buying and selling companies. There are several dimensions to explore in the juxtaposition between speculation and investing. Things are a little more complicated when it comes to the share market. Most of us – including my friend – can agree trading computer generated images is speculation. 'The first task of the bargain hunter is to narrow the field and separate the solid prospects from the ones that are counting on hopes, prayers, and miracles' – Peter Lynch Is The Type of Company You Buy a Key Factor? On my last trip to the US he was regaling me with how much his collection had increased in value. During Covid-19 he started buying non-fungible tokens (NFTs), however. He is a successful and sensible man with a career in finance. I spent a couple days with a friend in Boston.

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