Bakkt’s Q4 earnings dragged down by goodwill impairment charge of $272 million

Bakkt reported an increase in revenue and expenses in the fourth quarter, driven by another large impairment charge.

Revenue came in at $15.6 million, below FactSet estimates of $16 million, but still an increase of 14% year-over-year. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization came in worse than expected at negative $30.5 million, or 30.3% higher than last year. Estimates had anticipated a figure of negative $28 million.

Operating expenses rose to $341 million from $86 million, or an increase of almost 300% from the fourth quarter of 2022. Expenses were driven by non-cash goodwill and intangible assets impairment charges of around $272 million. 

Bakkt reported a net loss of $1.5 billion for the third quarter, driven mainly by its previously announced goodwill impairment charge.

The firm revealed plans to invest in custody to meet its goals in 2023. It will also look to complete its acquisition of Apex Crypto and expedite the integration. Another goal is driving utility through earning, reward and pay features, including utilizing Layer 2 protocols like Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.

Bakkt recently announced plans to nix its consumer app to focus on its business-to-business technology solutions. “The discontinuation of the app ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers,” CEO Gavin Michael said. “We are focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”

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