Trulieve Makes History as the First US Cannabis Company to Trade on the NYSE

THE GIST

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Florida-based cannabis firm Trulieve made history this morning, becoming the first U.S. “plant-touching” company to list on a major stock exchange under the ticker TRLV. The stock popped about 4% Wednesday morning, before slipping slightly. Shares are trading at around $12 per share as of 12:30pm.

WHAT HAPPENED

The move follows President Trump’s push to reclassify medical cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the far less restrictive Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. That change cracked the window open for companies like Trulieve and its competitors to move from trading over-the-counter or on the Canadian Securities Exchange to the much more liquid NYSE or Nasdaq.

The entire legal cannabis industry will closely watch how TRLV shares trade today and over the next few weeks. It’s the first inkling of how investors, both big institutions and retail traders on Robinhood, view an emerging sector that has long suffered in the doldrums.

Cannabis is federally legal in Canada so companies like Tilray and Canopy Growth are able to list on premier exchanges like the Nasdaq, though both stocks have fallen over 90% since their all-time-highs.

WHY IT MATTERS

That same listing luxury hasn’t been afforded to companies that cultivate or sell cannabis in the U.S., since the drug remained a Schedule I drug until April. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche moved medical cannabis to Schedule III, and the DEA has an upcoming hearing beginning on June 29 to evaluate whether that change should apply to recreational cannabis, like the gummies you’d buy at your local dispensary.

While Trulieve found a path ahead of the hearing, it’s unlikely its competitors will do the same.

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“Listing on the NYSE marks a defining moment not only for Trulieve, but for the evolution of the U.S. cannabis industry,” CEO Kim Rivers told Moby in a statement. The NYSE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rivers separated the company’s medical assets from its recreational assets, which seems to have satisfied exchange regulators. But the company’s unique footprint in Florida makes its medical-only business an investable asset by itself. The company controls about 30-40% of Florida’s medical cannabis revenue, depending on how you back into the calculation. And while Rivers still has control over the company’s recreational business, those profits will not flow to TRLV’s balance sheet.

That same math likely isn’t true for Trulieve’s cannabis industry competitors like Curaleaf, Cresco Labs, and Green Thumb, though it’s hard to definitively say because they don’t separate their medical and adult-use revenue.

WHAT’S NEXT

That hasn’t stopped companies from preparing. TerrAscend recently called a shareholder meeting, with its board chairman Jason Wild saying that “uplisting” to a major U.S. exchange “is no longer a question of if, it’s a question of when.” Curaleaf and Verano both implemented reverse stock splits in the last two weeks to comply with the NYSE’s minimum share price requirements.

Cresco Labs, another competitor, said that it’s “actively preparing for an uplisting,” while prioritizing the “adult-use opportunities” that will emerge through the federal reform process. Reading between the lines, it means Cresco’s medical business is too small to be worth it, but the total business, including recreational, isn’t.

So, the outcome of the DEA hearing on June 29 may be the real starting bell, if it breaks the direction the industry wants. But it’s important to note that Schedule III still isn’t federal legalization, so each institutional investor — and the investment banks, custodians and clearinghouses — will make their own risk calculus as to whether to work with the industry.

But change is on the horizon. Trulieve’s the first through the door. The question now is whether the June 29 cracks it further — or opens the floodgates.