MicroStrategy Swings to 4Q Loss After $20.5B Bitcoin Buying Binge

By Katherine HamiltonMicroStrategy swung to a loss that was wider than Wall Street expected after operating expenses surged on its purchase of $20.5 billion of bitcoin.The software company, which describes itself as a bitcoin treasury, posted a fourth quarter loss of $670.8 million, or $3.03 a share, compared with a profit of $89.1 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier.Analysts were expecting a loss of 9 cents in the quarter, according to FactSet.Revenue fell 3% to $120.7 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $122.4 million.The company said its bitcoin yield for 2025 is expected to be 15% compared with about 74% last year. In its third quarter earnings report the company said its yield target was 6% to 10% from 2025 to 2027. It also said that it planned to raise $42 billion in the next three years to buy bitcoin.MicroStrategy has already purchased almost half of that amount, spending $20.5 billion on bitcoin since Oct. 31. The company stopped buying bitcoin last week after 12 consecutive weeks of purchases.That caused operating expenses to soar seven-fold from the previous year. Those expenses included impairment losses on digital assets, which were $1 billion, up from $39 million the year before.Earlier on Wednesday, the company said it would start doing business as Strategy and rebrand its logo to an orange 'B' to signify its strategic focus on buying bitcoin.Write to Katherine Hamilton at [email protected]