Marathon Digital's Q1 revenue of $165.2 million fell short of expectations due to operational setbacks.
Marathon Digital Holdings Inc., one of the largest bitcoin miners, reported its first-quarter financial results after the market closed on Thursday, revealing mixed outcomes amid operational challenges. Despite a 223% increase in revenue year-over-year to $165.2 million, the company fell short of the consensus revenue expectation of $180.69 million. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.26, surpassing analyst estimates of 22 cents per share.
During the first three months of the year, Marathon Digital mined 2,811 bitcoin, a 28% increase year-over-year but a 34% decrease from the previous quarter. The company attributed the quarter-over-quarter decline to "unexpected equipment failures, transmission line maintenance, and higher than anticipated weather-related curtailments" at Garden City and other sites, as stated in their Thursday press release.
Despite these challenges, the miner's hash rate increased by 142% to 27.8 exahash per second (EH/s) in the first quarter. The company also revised its hash rate target for fiscal-year 2024 from 35-37 EH/s to 50 EH/s, indicative of its confidence in future growth.
Marathon Digital's stock experienced a 1.5% dip in after-hours trading following the earnings report. The company's shares have seen a 26% decline this year, which is notably less than the 40% decrease seen by its peer Riot Platforms (RIOT).
Fred Thiel, the chairman and CEO of Marathon, commented on the results, saying, "Despite the operational challenges we faced in the first quarter, we were able to leverage our agility to redistribute equipment to newly acquired sites amidst ongoing repairs." He also highlighted the company's "HODL strategy," allowing them to capitalize on Bitcoin's positive price movement and achieve record financial results for the quarter.
As of March 31, Marathon Digital reported having $1.6 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and bitcoin. Looking forward, the company plans to continue its expansion and targets an energized hash rate of 50 EH/s by the end of 2024, with additional growth anticipated in 2025.
