Bitcoin price increase boosts miner Marathon Digital's Q4 performance above expectations.

After the US stock market closed on Wednesday, bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA.US) announced its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal year 2023. The financial report shows that Marathon Digital Q4 revenue was $157 million, an increase of 452% year-on-year, better than the analyst average expectation of $144 million; net profit was $152 million, compared to a net loss of $392 million in the same period last year; diluted earnings per share attributable to common stockholders were $0.66, better than the market's expected earnings per share of $0.04, a loss of $3.13 per share in the same period last year. Full year 2023 revenue was $388 million, an increase of 229% year-on-year. In addition to the increase in bitcoin production, revenue growth also includes the rise in the average price of bitcoin. Net profit was $261 million, compared to a net loss of $694 million in the same period last year; diluted earnings per share attributable to common stockholders were $1.06, compared to a loss of $6.12 per share in the same period last year. Marathon Digital produced 4,242 bitcoins in Q4, an increase of 172% year-on-year; the company produced 12,852 bitcoins for the full year, an increase of 210%, reaching a new high. The company sold 74% of the bitcoins it produced in 2023 to fund operating costs. As of the end of 2023, the company's balance sheet had 15,126 bitcoins. Marathon Digital's active hash rate in 2023 was 24.7 EH/s, an increase of 253% year-on-year. CEO Fred Thiel stated, "2023 was a record-breaking year for the company, during which we achieved our main goal of powering the mining equipment we had previously purchased and optimizing our performance." Looking ahead, Marathon Digital plans to increase its hash rate to between 35 and 37 EH/s in 2024, and to 50 EH/s by 2025. Fred Thiel said, "Today, Marathon Digital is one of the largest bitcoin miners in North America. Whether in financial, operational, or technical aspects, we believe we are setting the pace for this industry." It is worth mentioning that prior to Marathon Digital's financial report, investment bank Jefferies had forecasted that due to the rise in bitcoin prices in the fourth quarter of last year, Marathon Digital's financial report would be strong. Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen stated that the recent rebound in bitcoin and the increase in transaction fees may significantly boost the company's performance in the fourth quarter. Analysts also focus on the company's plans to shift its business towards self-mining and acquiring more bitcoin mining machines.