TLDR
- American Bitcoin (ABTC) stock closed Thursday down about 15% at $5.31.
- Q3 net income was $126 million, but a $197.3 million noncash bitcoin gain drove it.
- Revenue of $63.4 million missed the roughly $74 million analyst estimate.
- Mining costs rose to $42,100 per bitcoin, and gross margin fell to 41%.
- The miner held 8,427 BTC while rivals spent on AI data centers.
American Bitcoin (ABTC) stock closed Thursday down about 15% at $5.31. The Trump-linked miner reported third-quarter results Wednesday after the close.
The headline number looked great. Net income reached $126 million, up from a $57.2 million loss in the second quarter.
The details tell a different story. A $197.3 million noncash gain on bitcoin holdings did most of the lifting.
Strip that out and the company would have posted an operating loss of about $5.5 million. It also booked a separate $64.3 million loss on derivatives.
Earnings per share came in at $1.73, far above the 26 cents analysts expected. Revenue went the other way.
Sales fell to $63.4 million from $67 million in the prior quarter. Analysts had looked for about $74 million.
The stock slipped 5.6% Wednesday to close at $6.24. It was up about 1.75% in pre-market trading Thursday before the selloff.
Where the Mining Math Slipped
The company mined 891 bitcoin, down from 932 in the second quarter. Each coin also cost more to produce.
Mining costs rose to $42,100 per bitcoin from $36,500. The company pointed to higher summer electricity prices.
Gross profit fell to $25.8 million from $33 million. Gross margin dropped to 41% from 49%.
Year over year, revenue was almost flat at $63.4 million versus $64.2 million. Reported profit jumped from $3.5 million to $126 million.
CEO Mike Ho said the firm kept mining “at a structural discount to spot” despite seasonal power pressure. He added that the miner grew its reserve.
Stacking Coins While Rivals Chase AI
American Bitcoin held 8,427 BTC at the end of September, up from 8,002 three months earlier. It bought no bitcoin during the quarter.
It also issued no stock through its at-the-market program. About 3,090 of the coins are pledged for miner purchases.
Majority-owned by Hut 8, the company ran about 89,242 machines at 28.1 exahashes per second. Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings and Core Scientific are putting money into AI instead.
Core Scientific has already moved much of its business to AI data centers. American Bitcoin keeps mining and holding.
Enigma Holdings founder David Gamble told Cointelegraph that mining below market price “doesn’t automatically mean you’re creating shareholder value.” He called the accumulation plan not flawed but questioned its long-term sustainability.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $220.8 million, versus a $45 million loss last quarter. Bitcoin traded near $76,119 Thursday evening, down 5% over 24 hours.
