Bitcoin miner Bitfarms' stock surges 20% on narrower-than-expected Q2 loss

Bitfarms, which has been at the center of a hostile takeover pursuit from rival Riot Platforms, is seeing its stock surge Thusady following the release of second-quarter earnings.

The company reported a net loss of $27 million or a 7-cent loss per basic and diluted share. This was better than the 11-cent per-share loss analysts expected, according to MarketWatch estimates. This compares to a net loss of $6 million in the prior year's quarter.

For comparison, Riot booked a net loss of $84.4 million in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $27.4 million in the same period last year.

Revenue of $42 million was down 16% from the first quarter due to the decrease in block rewards following the Bitcoin halving event on April 19. The miner reported an operating loss of $24 million (the same as the year-ago period), which included $46 million accelerated depreciation on older miners.

Bitfarms said it earned 614 bitcoin at an average direct cost of production per BTC of $30,600, compared to $18,400 in the year-ago period. The firm averaged 6.7 BTC per day in daily production during the quarter. Bitfarms' current hashrate of 11.1 EH/s is up from 6.5 EH/s in the first quarter.

"During the quarter, we made significant strides to position Bitfarms for accelerated growth and efficiency gains in the second half of the year and into 2025," said CEO Ben Gagnon, who assumed the role last month. "We also continued to expand and diversify the business through new site agreements. Our new site in Sharon, PA represents Bitfarms' first foray into the PJM region, which we believe is the most attractive energy market in the U.S., and one in which we hope to further grow our footprint."

Gagnon said this positions Bitfarms to reach over 35 EH/s in 2025, representing 67% growth from its year-endof 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," Ganong said in the press release.

The miner added 111 BTC to its treasury in July for a total of 1,016 BTC held in treasury, representing a total value of $67 million based on a $66,100 BTC price on July 31. 

Bitfarms raised $136 million in net proceeds in the second quarter and $240 million through Aug. 7 through the company's 2024 at-the-market equity offering program.

The company's stock (ticker: BITF) was trading more than 20% higher to $2.29 per share at publication time.