Bitfarms stock jumps 22% after Q2 loss beats expectations
Bitfarms, a Canadian Bitcoin mining company, saw its stock surge nearly 22% following its second-quarter earnings report, which exceeded expectations. On August 8, the company announced a loss of 7 cents per share, compared to the 11 cents per share loss predicted by Zacks Investment Research.
In a post on social media platform X, Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon highlighted the company’s growth and exploration of new opportunities beyond Bitcoin mining. “We continue to dramatically alter our operating profile via our ongoing fleet upgrades and geographic expansion,” Gagnon stated. “We are evaluating several opportunities to expand beyond Bitcoin mining, including HPC/AI.”
Despite a 16% drop in total revenue to $42 million compared to the first quarter, which fell short of analyst estimates, Bitfarms attributes the decline to reduced block rewards following the Bitcoin halving on April 19. This event, part of the BTC protocol, cuts mining rewards by half every 210,000 blocks, reducing them from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.
Bitfarms reported operating losses of $23.6 million, including $46 million in accelerated depreciation on older mining equipment. During Q2, the company mined 614 BTC, valued at approximately $37 million at current market prices. However, the total cash cost of production rose to $47,300 per BTC, up from $27,900 in the first quarter of 2024.
In April, Bitfarms announced plans to invest around $240 million to upgrade its mining equipment and add 88,000 more miners. The company reported a 34% increase in Bitcoin earnings in July, mining 243 BTC ($14 million), compared to 189 BTC ($11 million) in June.
Bitfarms’ hashrate, a measure of processing and computing power, increased to 11.1 EH/s from 6.5 EH/s. Gagnon noted that their new site in Sharon, PA, along with new megawatts in South America, positions Bitfarms to achieve over 35 EH/s by 2025, representing a 67% growth from their year-end target of 21 EH/s.
“Over the next few years, we will continue executing our growth strategy with a sharp focus on U.S. expansion and diversification beyond Bitcoin mining,” Gagnon said.
