Trulieve (TCNNF +0.43%) last week saidthat it had received approval to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), making it the first U.S. cannabis company to be listed on a major exchange. It began trading on the NYSE under the ticker TRUL on June 10.
Its uplisting was made possible by the U.S. rescheduling of medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance — meaning it may have some medical benefits — in April. After rescheduling, Trulieve made moves to consolidate its operations to consist solely of state-licensed medical marijuana facilities.
The move is huge for the U.S. cannabis industry, but Canadian companies, such as Tilray (TLRY +1.99%), were already listed on U.S. major exchanges. Now that Trulieve and Tilray compete head-to-head on major exchanges, which is the better cannabis stock?
Image source: Getty Images.
Tilray has an international presence, with operations in Canada, Europe, and, through its beverage interests, in the U.S.
Tilray is the No.2 Canadian cannabis company by market cap behind Cronos Group (CRON +0.36%), while Trulieve is the No. 2 U.S. company by market cap behind Curaleaf (OTC: CURLD). Although Trulieve has 240 dispensaries, Tilray operates strictly as a consumer packaged goods, cultivation, and wholesale manufacturing company.
Trulieve reported $100 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in its first quarter, while Tilray says it expects EBITDA to be between $62 million and $72 million this year.
Tilray reported revenue of $206.7 million in fiscal Q3 for the period ended Feb. 28, up 11%. That's not much less than Trulieve's $287 million in Q1 revenue, but Trulieve turned a profit, albeit a small one, with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01. Tilray, on the other hand, had an EPS loss of $0.24.
Tilray's profit margins are dramatically narrower than Trulieve's. In the company's most recent earnings report, Trulieve boasted a robust gross profit margin of 59%, while Tilray's blended corporate gross margin was 27% and its cannabis-specific gross margin was 40%.
The gap stems from how price compression in their respective markets, the structure of their supply chains, and the strategic choices each company has made.
Tilray operates primarily as a wholesale licensed producer in Canada and Europe. In Canada, the market suffered from an acute oversupply of cultivation capacity after legalization. Too much weed chased too few consumers, triggering falling prices. Since legalization in 2018, prices for cannabis in Canada have steadily declined.
When retail prices drop due to competition, that squeezes wholesale manufacturers the hardest. Tilray is forced to lower its wholesale prices to remain competitive, but its fixed costs (large facility overhead, cultivation electricity, regulatory excise taxes) remain high.
Trulieve is a U.S. multistate operator (MSO) that functions as a vertically integrated retailer. Of the $1.2 billion in revenue Trulieve generated in 2025, roughly 93% came directly from its retail cash registers.
Trulieve owns the entire chain — from the cultivation greenhouse to the processing lab to the actual retail counter — so it captures the entire retail markup.
Falling prices have hit the U.S. market as well, but a vertically integrated retailer is more insulated from it. If the cost to produce a gram of flower drops from $1 to $0.50 due to manufacturing efficiencies, and the retail price slips slightly, Trulieve still retains a substantial margin cushion. It captures the consumer's final dollar, not a cut-rate wholesale price.
On top of that, Trulieve's core market has historically been Florida's limited-license medical structure, which acts as a regulatory moat, making prices much less volatile than in Canada's wide-open market.
Right now, Trulieve appears to be the fundamentally superior cannabis stock. While Tilray is a well-run company with great liquidity and a clever alcohol-hedge strategy, its core cannabis operations face lower margins and intense structural competition.
Trulieve, on the other hand, boasts an institutional-grade financial profile: better EBITDA margins, positive free cash flow, and profitability. With the U.S. adopting a Schedule III reclassification — which directly relieves the exact 280E tax burdens that weighed down Trulieve's bottom line by preventing it from deducting many business operating expenses from taxable income — Trulieve stands to capture the most immediate and profound financial upside.
James Halley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cronos Group. The Motley Fool recommends Tilray Brands. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Trulieve's price has soared this year, while Tilray's has plummeted, but which is the better stock right now?