Marathon (MARA) Shares Fall After Missing 1Q Sales Expectation On Operational Challenges

Marathon Digital (MARA), one of the largest bitcoin miners, missed consensus first-quarter revenue expectations due to operational challenges it faced during the quarter.

The company mined just 2,811 bitcoin during the year’s first three months, down 34% from the previous quarter.

“Bitcoin production, and therefore revenues, generated during the quarter was negatively impacted by unexpected equipment failures, transmission line maintenance, and higher than anticipated weather-related curtailments at Garden City and other sites during the quarter,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Marathon reported first quarter earnings per share of $1.26, at first glance easily topping Wall Street estimates of $0.02, but not comparable to forecasts as the company adopted newly-approved FASB fair value accounting rules. The mark-to-market adjustment was a very favorable one given the big run higher in bitcoin prices.

The miner is sticking to its 2024 guidance of ramping up to 50 exahash per second (EH/s) and sees additional growth in 2025.

Marathon’s stock fell roughly 1.5% in post-market trading on Thursday. Shares have declined 26% this year while peer Riot Platforms (RIOT) has seen its stock price fall 40%.