MARA Reports $1.26 Billion Q1 Loss as Bitcoin Miner Pivots to Artificial Intelligence

Bitcoin Miner MARA Sells $1.5 Billion in BTC, Reports $1.26 Billion Q1 Loss - Decrypt

Mara reported a $1.26 billion net loss for Q1, more than doubling its Q1 2025 net loss. MARA Holdings, the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining firm, sold 20,880 Bitcoin for $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026 as part of a strategic pivot from large-scale mining toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. The Bitcoin liquidation comes as MARA posted a $1.26 billion net loss in Q1 2026, more than double its $533 million loss a year earlier, according to earnings data. Revenue fell 18% year-over-year to $175 million amid lower Bitcoin prices. Between March 4 and March 25, MARA sold 15,133 Bitcoin for approximately $1.1 billion specifically to fund convertible note repurchases, as previously reported. The company used $1 billion from these sales to reduce its outstanding convertible debt by 30%, from roughly $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion, recording a $71 million gain on extinguishment. The proceeds are also funding MARA's largest acquisition to date. The company has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Long Ridge Energy from FTAI Infrastructure for nearly $1.5 billion, including assumption of at least $785 million of debt. Long Ridge operates a 505-megawatt combined-cycle gas power plant in Ohio with over 1,600 contiguous acres, and is expected to generate $144 million in annualized EBITDA. Beyond the financial restructuring, MARA is fundamentally reshaping its operations. The company is cutting 15% of its workforce to achieve $12 million in annualized cost savings while halting large-scale mining equipment purchases. "Going forward, we do not expect to pursue large-scale ASIC purchases. Our approach will remain selective, targeted, and grounded in clear economic return," the firm wrote in its Q1 shareholder letter. The company has positioned 90% of its non-hosted mining capacity to be convertible into AI and IT infrastructure, and management outlined a dual-use strategy. "Our strategy centers on co-locating new infrastructure with existing Bitcoin mining operations, allowing us to monetize power assets immediately while leveraging the operational discipline and infrastructure expertise that mining provides," they wrote. "This approach creates flexibility: we can generate revenue today through Bitcoin mining while preserving the option to redirect power toward AI and critical IT loads as those opportunities mature on the same sites." Despite the liquidation, MARA remains the fourth largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 35,303 BTC worth $2.84 billion. MARA shares are down Tuesday following the earnings report, down more than 5% on the day at a recent price of $12.65 after dipping as low as $11.74 earlier in the day. Even with the daily fall, MARA shares have jumped 32% over the last month.

MARA Shares Fall on $1.3B Q1 Loss, Revenue Miss

MARA Holdings says Bitcoin mining remains the company's "operational foundation" while it moves to expand into AI. Shares in MARA Holdings fell after the bell on Monday as the Bitcoin miner's first-quarter losses deepened from a year ago and its revenues missed analyst estimates. MARA's earnings released on Monday reported its revenues for the quarter ending March 31 dropped 18% year-on-year to to $174.6 million, missing Wall Street expectations of $192.7 million. The company reported a loss of $1.3 billion for the quarter, widening from its $533.4 million loss from the year-ago quarter. Its earnings per share were a loss of $3.31, compared to estimates of a loss of $2.20. Shares in MARA Holdings (MARA) fell 3.44% in after-hours trading on Monday to $12.93, erasing gains over the trading day, which ended at a gain of 3.48% to $13.39. MARA Holdings erased gains after the bell on Monday after the company's earnings missed expectations. Source: Google Finance MARA stock has fallen 16% over the last 12 months, but has begun to mount a return this year as it has focused on pivoting to build artificial intelligence data centers. The company reported its first-quarter losses were largely attributed to unrealized losses in its 38,689 Bitcoin treasury as the cryptocurrency fell 23% during the quarter. MARA said it sold more than 15,100 Bitcoin worth $1.1 billion in the final week of March. MARA said that Bitcoin mining remains the company's "operational foundation," even as it continues expanding into AI and high-performance computing to pursue additional revenue streams. MARA is one of several US-based Bitcoin miners that have seen profits turn into losses as challenging mining conditions continue to weigh on the sector. Bitcoin is trading more than 35% below its all-time high of $126,080, significantly reducing miner revenues per block, while mining difficulty, a measure of how computationally difficult it is to mine a block, has risen nearly 30% over the past year. MARA has also lost ground to competitors, falling from the largest Bitcoin miner by market cap to seventh place as rivals have more aggressively expanded into AI. Related: Saylor signals another Bitcoin buy after hinting at selling in Q1 earnings call MARA's current AI strategy centers on its partnership with Starwood Capital, aimed at converting Bitcoin mining sites into AI and HPC data centers, and Long Ridge Energy & Power, a gas-fired power plant and data center that it acquired for $1.5 billion in late April. "Our strategy centers on co-locating new infrastructure with existing Bitcoin mining operations," MARA said. "This approach creates flexibility: we can generate revenue today through Bitcoin mining while preserving the option to redirect power toward AI and critical IT loads as those opportunities mature on the same sites." MARA added that the Long Ridge Energy & Power acquisition could eventually support 600 megawatts of AI computing capacity and that around 90% of its non-hosted mining capacity could be redeployed for AI and IT compute. The company said it does not have any future plans to purchase additional Bitcoin mining hardware.