MicroStrategy Q1 Operating Loss of $53.1M After Bitcoin Holdings Impairment Charge of $191.6M

MicroStrategy (MSTR) reported a net operating loss of $53.1 million, or $3.09 per share, in the first quarter after taking a digital asset impairment charge of $191.6 million, according to a Monday afternoon press release.

While some had expected the company might adopt the new digital asset fair value accounting standard, and thus report a sizable profit thanks to bitcoin’s (BTC) first quarter rally, the company elected not to do so. By the old standard, MicroStrategy at quarter’s end valued its bitcoin holdings at a price of $23,680 each, or $5.1 billion, rather than March’s closing price of $71,028, or $15.2 billion.

The company also announced a small April addition of 122 tokens to its bitcoin stack, bringing total holdings to 214,400. That would be valued at $13.5 billion at bitcoin’s current price of about $63,000.

For all of 2024 so far, MSTR has acquired 25,250 bitcoins for $1.65 billion, or an average price of $65,232 each.

Shares are lower by 3.3% in after hours trading.

Speaking on the earnings call, CFO Andrew Kang said the company fully plans to adopt the new digital asset fair value accounting rule and is currently evaluating the best time to do so. The Financial Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has mandated that the new rule be implemented by Jan. 1, 2025, but early adoption is allowed.

Read more: MicroStrategy Could Merit S&P 500 Inclusion If It Adopts New Accounting Rules: Benchmark

Update (April 29, 22:31 UTC): Added comments from the CFO.