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Riot Platforms' Q2 loss widened due to a 340% spike in Bitcoin mining costs, missing analyst expectations.
Unexpected Financial Setbacks
As a result of the ongoing effects of April's halving event, Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms reported its first quarterly loss since 2022, causing the company to fall short of expectations.
Zacks Investment Research predicted a $0.16 per share loss for Riot in Q2, but the company actually lost $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share. This marks the company's first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2022.
A rise in selling, general, and administrative expenses, reaching $61.2 million, a $41.4 million increase from Q2 2023, was a major contributor to the wider loss.
Revenue Decline Amid Operational Struggles
Revenue for the Bitcoin miner dropped 8.75% year-on-year to $70 million, which was somewhat lower than what Zacks had predicted. While revenue from Bitcoin mining increased, it was not enough to fully offset the decline in engineering revenues.
Due in significant part to April's halving event, Riot's Bitcoin mining output dropped 52% to 844 BTC in Q2.
The halving and subsequent 68% increase in the Bitcoin network hash rate caused the company's cost to mine a Bitcoin to skyrocket by 340%, going from $5,734 to $25,327.
Regardless, the price of Bitcoin climbed by about 100% between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024, which contributed to a 12% rise in Riot's Bitcoin mining revenue.
Riot anticipates that its overall self-mining hash rate capability will reach 36 EH/s by the end of 2024, and in Q2 alone, the company's installed hash rate nearly doubled to 22 EH/s.
Expansion and Strategic Acquisitions
Meanwhile, a filing with the US Securities Commission made on July 31 indicated that Riot bought almost 10 million more shares this month, ramping up its acquisition plan against rival Bitfarms.
Midway through June, Riot made a $950 million takeover bid for Bitfarms, but the business ultimately conceded defeat.
"[It’s] clear that engaging with the incumbent Bitfarms Board on a potential combination is just not possible," Riot stated on June 24.
According to data provided by Google Finance, Riot's (RIOT) share price has decreased by 1.18% in after-hours trading following the release of its Q2 report.
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