Blockchain
Marathon (MARA) stock tumbles after missing first-quarter sales expectations amid operational challenges
Marathon Digital (MARA), one of the largest bitcoin miners, missed consensus first-quarter revenue expectations due to operational challenges faced during the quarter.
The company mined just 2,811 bitcoins during the first three months of the year, down 34% from the previous quarter.
“Bitcoin production, and therefore revenue, generated during the quarter was negatively impacted by unexpected equipment failures, transmission line maintenance, and higher-than-expected weather-related declines at Garden City and other sites during the quarter ,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Marathon reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.26, topping Wall Street estimates of $0.02 at first glance, but falling short of forecasts as the company adopted newly approved FASB fair value accounting rules . The mark-to-market adjustment has been very favorable given the large bull run in bitcoin prices.
The miner is sticking to its 2024 guidance of scaling up to 50 exahash per second (EH/s) and expects further growth in 2025.
Marathon shares fell about 1.5% in after-market trading Thursday. Shares are down 26% this year, while platform Riot (RIOT) has seen its share price drop 40%.