MARA Stock Slides After Bitcoin Sale and Weak Q1 Earnings

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) saw its stock price tumble nearly 5% during intraday trading on May 12 after the Bitcoin mining company reported disappointing first-quarter 2026 earnings and revealed a massive Bitcoin sale. The decline reflects growing investor concerns over the firm’s profitability, debt strategy, and transition away from traditional crypto mining.

During Q1 2026, MARA liquidated 20,880 BTC valued at nearly $1.5 billion. A large portion of the sale was tied to balance sheet restructuring efforts, including the repurchase of convertible notes. Between March 4 and March 25 alone, the company sold 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion. MARA used around $1 billion from the proceeds to reduce its convertible debt from $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion, generating a $71 million gain tied to debt extinguishment transactions.

The company also reported a net loss of $1.26 billion for the quarter, more than double the $533 million loss recorded a year earlier. Revenue fell 18% year-over-year to $175 million as weaker Bitcoin prices weighed heavily on operations.

Despite the earnings miss, MARA is aggressively expanding its infrastructure footprint. The company recently acquired Long Ridge Energy from FTAI Infrastructure in a deal worth nearly $1.5 billion, including assumed debt. The Ohio-based asset includes a 505-megawatt gas power plant and over 1,600 acres of land. MARA expects the acquisition to contribute roughly $144 million in annualized EBITDA.

As part of its strategic shift, MARA is moving toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. The company stated that 90% of its non-hosted mining capacity can be repurposed for AI and IT deployments. MARA also plans to reduce operating costs by cutting 15% of its workforce and slowing large-scale ASIC mining hardware purchases.

Although MARA reduced its Bitcoin holdings, the company still owns 35,303 BTC worth approximately $2.84 billion, making it one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally. MARA stock traded around $12.65 following the earnings release, though shares remain up more than 30% over the past month.