ACB vs SNDL: How Aurora Cannabis and SNDL Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ACB and SNDL share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ACB and SNDL exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Aurora Cannabis is a Canadian licensed cannabis producer that has spent the past several years reinventing itself. Once one of the most hyped names of the 2018-2019 cannabis boom, it has since exited low-margin Canadian consumer (recreational) cannabis and non-core operations to concentrate on global medical cannabis, which carries higher and more durable margins. In its fiscal 2026 the company reported record medical results: global medical net revenue grew sharply, international medical revenue rose even faster (led by Germany and Poland), and adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow turned meaningfully positive, a real shift from years of cash burn. International medical, its highest-margin segment, now makes up a majority of medical revenue. To feed that demand, Aurora acquired Safari Flower Company, an EU-GMP certified European cultivator, and in February 2026 it completed the divestiture of its controlling stake in Bevo Agtech, its plant-propagation business, further sharpening the focus on medical cannabis.

Full ACB guide

SNDL Inc. (Nasdaq: SNDL), headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, is one of the largest private-sector retailers of liquor and cannabis in Canada and also operates a cannabis production business and a portfolio of cannabis-related investments. The company reports through four segments: Liquor Retail (banners including Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, and Ace Liquor), Cannabis Retail (banners including Value Buds, Spiritleaf, and Cost Cannabis, spanning roughly 190 locations as of early 2026), Cannabis Operations (cultivation, manufacturing, and branded products sold across Canada and internationally), and Investments. This structure makes SNDL unusual in the cannabis space because a large share of its revenue comes from the relatively stable business of selling regulated alcohol, which cushions the more volatile cannabis segments.

Full SNDL guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ACB drivers: International medical cannabis growth; Path to sustained profitability.
• SNDL drivers: Retail Scale Across Liquor and Cannabis; Debt-Free Balance Sheet and Cash Position.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The central risk is Aurora's capital-structure history: repeated equity raises and a cumulative reverse-split history (roughly 1-for-120 over time) have destroyed per-share value, and further dilution would do so again. For SNDL, the dominant risk is profitability: despite roughly C$946 million of annual revenue, SNDL has struggled to produce consistent net income, reporting a net loss of about C$6 million for full-year 2025 and only break-even adjusted operating income, so margins remain thin and can turn negative.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ACB if you believe its drivers more; SNDL if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ACB and SNDL guides.

ACB. These points are qualitative and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. For a stock like Aurora, headline revenue growth matters less than whether profitability is durable and whether the company can fund itself without issuing more shares, because dilution has repeatedly overwhelmed operating progress in the past. Be cautious with per-share comparisons across time given the reverse-split history, and always check the current share count, cash position, and latest guidance directly in the filings.

SNDL. SNDL's valuation is unusual because much of its worth sits in cash and investments rather than in current earnings. With a net loss in 2025 and only break-even adjusted operating income, traditional price-to-earnings multiples are not meaningful, so investors often look instead at the company's revenue, its large debt-free cash balance, and the carrying value of its Investments segment relative to the market capitalization. Because the balance sheet holds a significant cash cushion against a market cap in the hundreds of millions, a notable portion of the equity value is effectively backed by cash and holdings, which is part of why some observers frame SNDL as an asset-and-optionality story rather than a conventional earnings multiple.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): ACB shows business model Canadian cannabis producer pivoting to higher-margin global medical cannabis, with EU-GMP supply into Germany, Poland, and other international markets, revenue trend Medical (especially international) growing fast, but total revenue expected to ease toward earlier levels as low-margin Canadian consumer and non-core units are exited; verify latest figures, profitability Record fiscal 2026 medical results; adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow turned positive, a shift from years of losses, though management guides fiscal 2027 EBITDA lower, share count Around 59 million common shares as of early 2026, reflecting a heavy cumulative reverse-split history (roughly 1-for-120 over time); SNDL shows net revenue (fy2025) ~C$946 million (up ~2.8% YoY), net revenue (q1 2026) ~C$196 million (down ~4.4% YoY), gross margin (fy2025) ~27.3% (record gross profit ~C$259 million), net income / loss (fy2025) Net loss of ~C$6 million; adjusted operating income ~break-even.

ACB and SNDL are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ACB and SNDL exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.