Originally published on: August 02, 2024
Marathon Digital, a prominent Bitcoin miner listed in the United States, experienced an 8% drop in its shares following the release of its second-quarter earnings report. The company reported revenue of $145.1 million for the quarter, falling short of Wall Street estimates by around 9%. Despite a significant 78% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year, analysts had anticipated earnings closer to $157.9 million, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
The decrease in revenue comes as Bitcoin miners faced challenges throughout the quarter, with escalating operational costs following the Bitcoin halving in April. Marathon Digital even disclosed that it had to sell 51% of its Bitcoin holdings to cover its expenses.
Interestingly, Marathon’s average price for BTC mined during the second quarter was 136% higher than the previous year, showcasing the market’s volatility and its impact on mining operations. On average, Marathon mined 22.9 Bitcoin per day, a decrease of 9.3 compared to the previous period.
This is the second consecutive quarter in which Marathon has missed consensus estimates, demonstrating the challenges faced by the company in a volatile market. The previous quarter saw revenues rise by 223% year-on-year, yet still fell short of analyst expectations.
In contrast, rival crypto miner Riot Platforms reported revenue of $70 million for the same period, marking an 8.8% decline from the previous year. While Riot’s numbers were closer to consensus estimates, there was still a notable decrease in stock performance, with RIOT closing at $9.32, down 8.54%.
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