Riot posts record earnings, but stock sinks with rest of crypto

Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure company Riot Platforms reported surprisingly solid fourth-quarter and full-year financial earnings on February 24, blowing past expectations, thanks primarily to bitcoin mining revenue.

Despite the positive news, the stock fell overnight and continued its slide in early trading, dropping 9% as of 10:55 a.m. ET.  The overall crypto market has been tumbling, with bitcoin down to $87,000 as of writing, the lowest point since November.

The company reported record revenue of $376.7 million for the year, a 34% increase from the $280.7 million for fiscal year 2023. The company said the main driver for the increase was the $132 million in bitcoin mining revenue. Net income increased to $109.4 million in 2024, compared to a net loss of $49.4 million in 2023. Meanwhile, earnings per share were at $0.43 for the fourth quarter, exceeding Zacks’ consensus estimate of a $0.27 loss. This is also a significant change compared to a $0.54 earnings per share loss in the third quarter.

“These results are particularly noteworthy in the context of the bitcoin network’s ‘halving’ in April of 2024, and an increase in global hash rate of 67% over the course of the year,” Riot CEO Jason Les said in the earnings release.

In fiscal year 2024, the company saw an eye-popping 141% increase in bitcoin holdings compared to the end of 2023, with 17,722 bitcoin as of December 31, 2024. At the end of January 2025, its holdings stood at 18,221. This places Riot as the third-largest public company holding bitcoin, behind Strategy and MARA Holdings.

“One of the tenets of Riot strategy has been to maintain a strong balance sheet, underpinned by our growing bitcoin balance since 2018. This has allowed Riot to act opportunistically and grow our portfolio of assets,” Les said on the earnings call.

However, the number of bitcoin produced in 2024 decreased to 4,828, down 27% from the 6,626 produced in 2023. This was due to the skyrocketing mining cost: $32,216 per bitcoin, way up from $3,831 in 2023. The hike was “primarily driven by higher network difficulty and higher average energy costs.”

“Crypto mining really boils down to two costs in the simplest terms: the cost of electricity and the cost of hardware,” Kevin Rusher, founder of RWA lending platform RAAC, said. He added that sourcing cheap electricity, such as with Riot’s Texas-based Corsicana Facility, will allow Riot to outpace smaller competitors.

Looking ahead: AI expansion

Riot said it’s pursuing opportunities in the AI and high-power computing (HPC) sector at its Corsicana Facility in 2025.

“The market has already taken notice of the value of AI/HPC contracts and has rewarded those companies, which have made this pivot with elevated valuation multiples,” Les said, adding that the diversification sets them apart from “the remaining bitcoin mining pure-play players.”

“While revenues from bitcoin mining can exhibit volatility in the near term, AI/HPC contracts offer long-term, predictable cash flows with credible counterparties,” Les said.

Rachel Lin, cofounder and CEO of decentralized derivatives trading platform SynFutures, said Riot’s exploration of AI and high-performance computing suggests a forward-looking approach that could potentially set a new benchmark for the industry.

“Their performance points to a broader trend in which the industry is increasingly favoring well-resourced players, leaving smaller operators at a disadvantage,” Lin said.

Other experts echoed the sentiment, noting that for the broader industry, Riot’s results could indicate what’s to come for other large mining firms.

“If their margins are holding up well despite bitcoin price fluctuations, it suggests that well-capitalized miners will continue to consolidate power while smaller operations struggle with the upcoming halving,” Ermin Sharich, cofounder of stablecoin platform Aegis, said.

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy is a financial journalist who’s written for Dow Jones, The Financial Times Group, and Business Insider.