Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms miss estimates with wider Q2 loss

Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms missed estimates after posting its first quarterly loss since 2022, as the miners continues to feel the impact of April’s halving event.

Riot posted a Q2 net loss of $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share, double the $0.16 per share loss  forecasted by investment research firm Zacks. It's the first time the firm has reported a quarterly loss since Q4 2022.

The widened loss was due in a large part to an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses totaling $61.2 million — a $41.4 million increase from Q2 2023.

The Bitcoin miner’s revenue also fell 8.75% year-on-year to $70 million, falling just short of Zacks’ estimates. The fall was due to a dip in engineering revenues, partially offset by an increase in Bitcoin mining revenue.

Riot’s Bitcoin mining production fell 52% to 844 BTC in Q2 — which it largely attributed to April’s halving event.

The firm’s cost to mine a Bitcoin increased a staggering 340% from $5,734 to $25,327 as a result of the halving and a 68% rise in the Bitcoin network hash rate.

Despite this, Riot’s Bitcoin mining revenue increased 12% — which was contributed by a near-100% increase in Bitcoin’s price between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Riot also nearly doubled its installed hash rate to 22 exahashes per second during Q2 and expects its total self-mining hash rate capacity to reach 36 EH/s before the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, Riot intensified its acquisition strategy against rival Bitfarms by purchasing roughly 10 million additional shares this month, according to a July 31 filing with the United States securities regulator.

Riot attempted to acquire Bitfarms with a $950 million buyout offer in mid-June, though the company later admitted defeat.

“[It’s] clear that engaging with the incumbent Bitfarms Board on a potential combination is just not possible,” Riot said in a June 24 statement.

Riot’s (RIOT) share price is down 1.18% in after-hours trading since its Q2 report was released, Google Finance data shows.

Riot is now down nearly 33.8% so far in 2024 — while one of its rivals, CleanSpark (CLSK), has increased 47% and flipped Riot as the second largest Bitcoin miner by market cap.