IMO, CPST should be profitable long before any 4 year death spiral threatens.
The slide has been going on for several quarters as market pressure to achieve profitability was frustrated by CPST missing the analysts' projections, even though the real reported numbers show the company is on the best footing ever.
Of course, the world recession, shorters, and now, the fiscal cliff have played no small part here, making it all the more impressive that CPST has reported significant continuous improvements despite any happy talk or downer talk.