CleanSpark ( CLSK ) stock fell over 9.4% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, following the US bitcoin mining company reported a widening net loss of $378.3 million for its fiscal second quarter, hit by a significant non-cash adjustment to its digital asset holdings.
The company reported a net loss of $378.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, a steep increase from the $138.8 million loss reported in the same period last year. The loss of $1.52 per stock was more than three times analysts’ EPS estimate of a loss of 41 cents.
The firm’s bottom hit was mainly driven by a loss of $224.1 million in non-cash bitcoin fair value, reflecting market volatility.
Quarterly revenue reached $136.4 million, down 25% from $181.7 million year-over-year, the report revealed, missing estimates by $154.3 million.
Despite the decline, CleanSpark expanded its infrastructure and doubled its megawatts (MW) under contract. CEO Matt Schutz said the company is focusing on commercializing “AI/HPC deployable assets,” joining a sector-wide shift toward leasing their computing power as AI data centers.
CFO Gary Vecchiarelly cited the company’s balance sheet as a “competitive advantage, reporting a 14% increase in bitcoin holdings to $925.2 million over last year. Total cash is $260.3 million, while total assets now stand at $2.9 billion with long-term debt of $1.8 billion.
The estimated average cost of mining a bitcoin was $88,000 in mid-March, according to a Checkonchain difficulty regression model report. The current price of bitcoin hovers just over $80,000, meaning bitcoin mining companies across the board are operating at a loss
These economies have forced bitcoin miners to pivot towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. The Bitcoin mining industry had taken on about $70 billion in such contracts by the end of March.
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