Core Scientific (CORZ), the largest publicly traded bitcoin miner by hashrate, reported first-quarter revenue of $192.5 million, falling short of analysts' consensus estimate of $200.3 million, according to FactSet.
- First-quarter revenue increased 255% from the year-ago quarter, largely due to an increase in digital asset mining and hosting revenue, but partially offset by a decline in equipment sales, the company said in a statement.
- Core Scientific lowered its 2022 hashrate forecast to 30-32 EH/s from its previous forecast of 40-42 EH/s, and now sees total output of about 1 gigawatt, down from its previous forecast of 1.2 to 1.3 gigawatts.
- "We have worked to de-risk our 2022 growth to 30-32 exahash, which is fully supported by our existing capital structure," said CEO Mike Levitt. "We retain the flexibility to expand beyond our plan should capital market conditions improve."
- The mining company also reported adjusted EBITDA of $93 million, up 644% from the year-ago quarter but below the consensus estimate of $111 million.
- The mining company said its mining segment's gross margin was 48% in the first quarter of 2022, down from 83% in the year-ago period. The decline was caused by higher miner depreciation, higher power costs and a lower average price per bitcoin mined.
- Despite cutting its forecast and missing estimates, shares of the miner rose 1.3% in after-hours trading, while bitcoin fell about 2% in the past 24 hours to around $28,000. The stock is down 65% this year, roughly on par with shares of rivals Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT).