New Co. Starts Trading on NASDAQ

1. Beeline Holdings and Eastside Distilling have a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
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Beeline Holdings began trading on January 27, 2025, on the NASDAQ under the symbol BLNE as the d/b/a of Eastside Distilling Inc., noted a news release. This is the result of the merger between Eastside Distilling Inc. (EAST:NASDAQ; BLNE:NASDAQ), a craft spirits producer, and Beeline Holdings, the parent company of an online fintech mortgage lender. The collective family of companies will do business under the Beeline Holdings name.

"The Beeline brand and symbol embody the vision and commitment to redefining the mortgage industry through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven innovation. This pivotal strategy underscores our dedication to creating exceptional value for shareholders, customers, and partners," added Beeline Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nick Liuzza.

Last year, Eastside Distilling acquired Beeline in a strategic move to create additional value for investors, customers, and partners.

"This represents a transformative step for our company and our shareholders," Eastside Distilling CEO Geoffrey Gwin said in the release.

With its proprietary technology and AI, combined with its "loan guide" assistance, Beeline provides homeowners and property investors a shorter, faster and easier home loan application process, the release indicated. Applicants can do all the steps online directly on their mobile devices and get "approvals more reliably than traditional pre-approvals, sometimes in as little as 15 minutes, and a rate lock in one session."

Dual Lines of Business

The strategic partnership between Eastside and Beeline positions the former as a leader in the digital mortgage services space while continuing to grow its legacy craft spirits business.

U.S.-based Eastside Distilling manufactures, acquires, blends, bottles, imports, markets, and sells a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands, including Azuñia Tequila, HueHue Coffee Rum, and Burnside Whiskey. The company also does digital can printing.

Beeline Loans was founded in 2019 to make home-buying fun rather than grueling and drawn out, according to its website. "We remove the traditional loan BS and shorten the path to your financial happy place," it reads.

The Catalyst: Market Growth

The global fintech lending industry is forecasted to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.4% by 2030, according to Allied Analytics. Accordingly, it is projected to generate US$4.957 trillion by 2030, up from $449.89 billion in 2020. In the first year of the forecast period, the online segment accounted for nearly four-fifths, the highest share, of this market, and it is expected to maintain its lead position through  2030.

"This is due to [a] hassle-free lending process, customization of small-ticket loans, and mitigation of risks associated with unsecured lending," the report noted.

As for the global online mortgage lending market only, it is expected to grow at a 10% CAGR between 2023 and 2030, hitting about $25B at the end of this decade, reported Fairfield, a market research company.

"The growth of the mortgage lending sector is anticipated to be fueled by rising technological advancements in underwriting automation and the application of machine learning in lending markets," the report said.

Looking at the U.S. alone, the digital lending market there, encompassing all types of loans, from student to home, is projected to expand in size over the next five years at a CAGR of 11.87%, according to market research firm, Mordor Intelligence. By 2030, it is projected to value US$896.34B, up from US$511.57B.

Driving this growth are the advantages inherent in digital lending platforms. These include an improved loan optimization loan process, faster decisions, compliance with regulations and better corporate efficiency. Digital lending platforms allow banks to automate the loan process, which consumers appreciate. In contrast, traditional lending platforms required face-to-face contact between the applicant and the lending agent, which extended processing times and heightened the chances of mistakes.

Mordor noted that the U.S. is one of the largest and most advanced markets for all types of digital lending around the world because it has been an early adopter of digitization in numerous and varied sectors.

Stock at Good Entry Point

Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote in a Jan. 13 report that he is looking at Eastside Distilling now because of its recent merger with Beeline Loans and the way Eastside's stock is shaping up on the charts.

Since creating a cup and handle base with an embedded double bottom, as shown on the six-month chart, the stock has formed a bullish rising triangle. With the triangle starting to close, Maund indicated, the price is trying to break out of it to the upside on good volume. Since late September, the preponderance of upside volume has driven up the accumulation line steadily. The stock appears on the verge of a breakout upleg and thus is at a good entry point for investors.

"Shorter-term charts indicate that Eastside is about to begin a new market," Maund wrote.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, six strategic entities own 18.66% of Eastside Distilling. The Top 3, all insiders, are Eastside CEO Gwin with 13.56%, Eastside Director Robert Grammen with 2.65% and Beeline CEO Liuzza with 1.04%.

Total institutional ownership is 9.97%, held by 11 entities. The Top 3 are Bigger Capital Funds LP with 8.25%, UBS Financial Services Inc. with 0.45%, and Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC with 0.32%.  

The rest is in retail.

As for share ownership, Eastside has 4.69 million (4.69M) outstanding shares and 3.81M free float traded shares. Its market cap is US$4.16 million. Its 52-week high and low are US$2.98 and US$0.41 per share, respectively.

BLNE closed its first day of trading at US$0.95 on January 27, 2025.