$125 Million Losses, Bullish Mining Prospects

In its Q3 2024 shareholder letter, Bitcoin miner MARA disclosed a net loss of $125 Million. Nevertheless, the firm has improved its hash rate and plans to build new mining capabilities.

The bull market after Donald Trump’s re-election has revived MARA’s lagging stock price and inspired confidence in mining-friendly regulations.

MARA’s Q3 Results

Mining firm MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital, released its Q3 2024 shareholder letter. This letter was formatted differently from a traditional earnings report, but it covered necessary data to fulfill disclosure requirements. The firm claimed that its revenues increased, but it nevertheless underperformed expectations.

“We reported a net loss of $125 million, or $0.42 loss per diluted share, in the quarter compared to a net loss of $390,000, or $0.34 loss per diluted share, in the third quarter of last year. This was primarily driven by a $92 million increase in operating loss, the absence of an $83 million net gain from the extinguishment of debt, offset by a $49 million income tax benefit in the current period compared to the prior year period,” the letter claimed.

Although MARA’s stock currently enjoys a performance boost from the post-election crypto bull market, this does not impact Q3 calculations. Still, the firm did boast a number of positive figures: to name a few, it increased its energized hash rate by 93%, got 32% higher block wins from Q2, and holds 26,747 BTC. The firm did not sell any Bitcoin last quarter.

MARA generally avoided the spotlight in Q3 2024, with an August strategy to issue convertible notes largely flopping. Still, it managed to weather a difficult period for crypto miners, as Bitcoin mining difficulty hit a new all-time high in Q3. Despite a series of business setbacks, MARA is in a solid position to move forward.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, MARA CEO Fred Thiel seemed optimistic about the future. While discussing Bitcoin miners’ capacity to relocate operations, Thiel framed his response solely in terms of infrastructure diversification and power requirements. The hosts asked about possible unfriendly regulation, which Thiel dismissed as unlikely.

Since Donald Trump’s re-election to the US Presidency, the industry is awaiting a series of ambitious pro-crypto promises. Specifically, Trump vowed to halt regulatory and legislative efforts to hinder the space, and pass friendlier laws. Miners are a frequent target of punitive tax attempts or outright bans, so Thiel’s relaxed attitude shows real confidence.

Moving forward, the shareholder letter discusses several strategies for the future. In addition to setting new hash rate goals, MARA also mentioned AI as a possible revenue source.

It added one AI expert to the Board of Directors, citing her wealth of knowledge with AI data centers. The letter, however, was clear that MARA would remain a mining company first and foremost.