Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• Strategic Transformation: NextTrip, Inc. (NTRP) has undergone a radical pivot from additive manufacturing to a technology-driven travel and media company, aiming to build a comprehensive ecosystem for leisure, group, and business travelers.
• Integrated Platform & Media Strategy: The core NXT2.0 booking engine is being integrated with media properties like Journy.tv and Compass.tv to drive traffic and create new advertising revenue streams, differentiating from traditional OTAs.
• Aggressive Expansion & Partnerships: Recent acquisitions (Five Star Alliance, Journy.tv) and strategic partnerships (Intimate Hotels of Barbados, Nuitée, Blue Fysh, Save Your Day Films, Jungle Creations, KC Global Media) are rapidly expanding inventory, reach, and service offerings.
• Significant Financial Challenges: The company faces substantial liquidity concerns, with a working capital deficit of $1.14 million and an accumulated deficit of $38.87 million as of May 31, 2025, leading to a "going concern" warning and a stated need for $5.5 million in additional funding.
• High-Risk, High-Reward Outlook: NextTrip is a speculative investment, betting on its integrated model and niche focus to capture market share and achieve profitability, contingent on successful funding and execution in a highly competitive landscape.

A New Journey: NextTrip's Vision for Connected Travel

NextTrip, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRP) is embarking on an ambitious journey to redefine the travel experience, transforming from its roots in additive manufacturing technology into an integrated travel booking and media powerhouse. This dramatic pivot, culminating in the corporate name change in March 2024 following the reverse acquisition of NextTrip Holdings, Inc. in late 2023, signals a strategic reorientation towards a vast and evolving consumer market. The company aims to differentiate itself by moving beyond the volume-focused, low-service model of traditional Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), instead building a holistic ecosystem that guides travelers from inspiration to booking and beyond.

At the heart of NextTrip's offering is its proprietary NXT2.0 booking engine. This technology provides travel distributors with access to a substantial inventory of hotels, flights, and all-inclusive packages. NXT2.0 powers key brands like NextTrip Vacations (leisure), Five Star Alliance (luxury and cruise), and NextTrip Business (SME corporate travel). A key technological differentiator is the PayDlay program, which allows travelers to secure vacation packages with a small deposit and make subsequent payments, enhancing booking flexibility. The platform also features specialized Groups Platform and Travel Agent Platform widgets, designed to streamline complex multi-passenger reservations and empower travel professionals, addressing segments often underserved by major competitors.

The company's strategic vision extends beyond booking, integrating media properties like Journy.tv, Compass.tv, and Travel Magazine. These platforms are designed to provide rich destination content, inspiring travel and driving high-intention traffic directly into NextTrip's booking funnel. This "media-to-commerce" strategy aims to reduce external marketing expenditures over time while creating a new, high-margin advertising revenue stream. For instance, Journy.tv, acquired in April 2025, reaches over 17 million active devices monthly, curating immersive travel content. Recent partnerships with Save Your Day Films (June 2025) and Jungle Creations (July 2025) are focused on supercharging JOURNY.tv's digital and social media growth, while a strategic partnership with KC Global Media (July 2025) will launch a JOURNY-branded channel in Southeast Asia, significantly expanding global reach. This integrated approach seeks to create a sticky, end-to-end travel solution that fosters customer loyalty.

Competitive Landscape and Market Positioning

NextTrip operates in a fiercely competitive travel technology sector dominated by giants like Booking Holdings (BKNG), Expedia Group (EXPE), TripAdvisor (TRIP), and Airbnb (ABNB). These established players benefit from immense scale, brand recognition, and diversified revenue streams. For instance, Booking Holdings boasts a TTM Gross Profit Margin of 97% and an Operating Profit Margin of 32%, significantly outperforming NextTrip's TTM Gross Profit Margin of 9.17% and deeply negative Operating Profit Margin of -1766.48%. Similarly, Expedia Group and Airbnb demonstrate robust profitability and cash flow generation, with TTM Gross Profit Margins of 89% and 83% respectively, dwarfing NextTrip's current figures.

NextTrip's competitive strategy hinges on its agility and focus on niche, underserved markets within the travel sector. While larger OTAs often prioritize volume, NextTrip aims to excel in specialized areas like group bookings, travel agent support, luxury travel, and the unique PayDlay deferred payment option. Its integrated media strategy also provides a distinct competitive edge, aiming to capture travelers at the inspiration stage and convert them directly into bookings, a more holistic approach than many competitors. The company acts as a principal in its travel product sales, taking responsibility for fulfillment and inventory risk, which contrasts with pure agency models and allows for greater control over pricing and margin optimization in direct contracts.

However, NextTrip's smaller scale presents significant vulnerabilities. Its current financial metrics, including a TTM Price-to-Sales ratio of 56.66 compared to Booking Holdings' 7.04 or Expedia's 1.79, reflect the market's skepticism regarding its revenue generation capabilities relative to its market capitalization. The company's limited marketing expenditures due to cash flow constraints further hinder its ability to compete effectively for broad market awareness against rivals with vast advertising budgets. The success of its niche focus and media integration will be critical to carve out sustainable market share against these formidable, well-capitalized competitors.

Recent Financial Performance and Operational Details

NextTrip's financial performance for the three months ended May 31, 2025, reflects the early and challenging stages of its strategic pivot. Revenue stood at $138,827, a 27% decrease from $188,793 in the same period of 2024. This decline was primarily attributed to limited marketing expenditures resulting from cash flow constraints. Despite the revenue drop, gross profit increased to $38,906 from $15,212 year-over-year, as cost of revenue decreased by 42% to $99,921, largely in line with reduced sales.

However, operating expenses surged by 138% to $4.68 million for the quarter, compared to $1.97 million in the prior year. This significant increase was driven by several factors:

• Salaries and benefits rose 11% to $696,914, partly due to the integration of Five Star Alliance employees and increased SAR expense.
• Stock-based compensation saw a substantial increase to $138,325, primarily from a fully vested option grant to an employee.
• Technology costs jumped 74% to $321,815, reflecting increased expenses related to the newly acquired Compass.tv and Journy.tv platforms.
• Professional service fees soared 119% to $1.15 million, impacted by higher investor relations, accounting (due to FSA acquisition), and lending fees.
• Organizational costs dramatically increased to $2.00 million, primarily due to directors' compensation from fully vested stock options.

The net loss applicable to common stockholders widened significantly to $4.52 million for the three months ended May 31, 2025, a 127% increase from $1.99 million in the prior year. This reflects the substantial investment in strategic initiatives and operational build-out during this early growth phase.

Liquidity, Capital Resources, and Risks

NextTrip's financial position presents significant challenges. As of May 31, 2025, the company reported cash and cash equivalents of $130,906 and a working capital deficit of $1.14 million. This, coupled with continued losses, has led management to express "substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for 12 months from the date of the filing of this Report."

The company has historically financed operations through short-term promissory notes, advances from related parties, and private placements. A critical development was securing a $3 million revolving line of credit from its Chairman's entity (Monaco Investment Partners II, LP) in May 2025, with $1.49 million outstanding as of May 31, 2025, and growing to $2.19 million by July 10, 2025. While this provides some immediate liquidity, the company estimates it requires a minimum of $5.5 million to continue operations for the next twelve months.

The need for additional funding poses a significant risk. Future equity financing could be highly dilutive to existing stockholders, while debt financing may include onerous covenants. Failure to secure adequate funding could force the company to scale back or terminate operations and potentially lose its Nasdaq listing. Furthermore, the collectability of a $2.57 million promissory note from NextPlay Technologies, Inc., which is in involuntary bankruptcy, remains uncertain, leading to a full allowance for credit losses.

Outlook and Strategic Momentum

Despite the financial pressures, NextTrip's management maintains a clear strategic vision and has demonstrated rapid execution on key initiatives. The company's outlook is predicated on the successful integration of its recent acquisitions and partnerships to create a comprehensive, differentiated travel and media ecosystem. Management believes that once fully funded and operational, this model will drive accelerated growth by targeting underserved segments like group bookings, travel agents, and flexible payment options (PayDlay), areas not typically prioritized by major OTAs.

Recent operational milestones underscore this momentum:

• Acquisition of Five Star Alliance (April 2025): Fully acquired, significantly bolstering luxury and cruise offerings.
• Acquisition of Journy.tv (April 2025): Expanded FAST media footprint, crucial for the media-to-commerce strategy.
• Launch of NextTrip Cruise (March 2025): A fully integrated online cruise booking engine.
• Strategic Partnerships: With Intimate Hotels of Barbados (April 2025) as their official booking engine, Nuitée (May 2025) adding 1.5 million vacation rentals, and Blue Fysh (February 2025) for expanded audience reach and advertising.
• Travel Agent Platform (June 2025): Beta launched with over 170 agents, aiming to modernize the segment.
• Board Realignment (July 2025): Appointments of new directors with diverse experience to support strategic execution.

The company anticipates that its integrated media properties will eventually reduce external marketing expenditures while generating a new, high-margin advertising revenue stream. While specific quantitative guidance for the current travel business is not provided, the company's prior ambition in its additive manufacturing business (e.g., "10% coverage of installed printer market in 2025 could yield an estimated $65 million in annual reoccurring revenue") illustrates management's long-term vision for scalable, high-margin software solutions, a strategic mindset now applied to the travel sector. Management estimates that most new programs can be delivered within 180 days of securing necessary funding, highlighting the urgency and potential for rapid operational scaling.

Conclusion

NextTrip, Inc. is a company in the midst of a profound transformation, pivoting from a niche industrial technology provider to an aspiring leader in the integrated travel and media space. Its investment thesis hinges on the successful execution of a bold strategy: building a differentiated, technology-forward ecosystem that caters to underserved travel segments and leverages media content to drive bookings and advertising revenue. The recent flurry of acquisitions, partnerships, and product launches demonstrates a clear strategic roadmap and an aggressive pace of operational development.

However, the path forward is fraught with significant financial challenges, most notably the "going concern" warning and the critical need for substantial additional funding. Investors considering NTRP must weigh the immense potential of its integrated model and its strategic focus on high-growth niches against its precarious liquidity position and the inherent risks of an early-stage company competing with well-entrenched, financially robust industry giants. NextTrip represents a high-risk, high-reward proposition, where successful capital raises and flawless operational execution will be paramount to realizing its vision and establishing a sustainable competitive foothold in the dynamic global travel market.