Core Scientific Rides Bitcoin Wave to $580M Q1 Profit—But Wall Street Wanted More
Mining giant Core Scientific just posted a staggering $580 million profit for Q1 2024—yet somehow managed to disappoint analysts who expected even juicier revenue numbers. Talk about first-world crypto problems.
The numbers don’t lie: While Bitcoin’s rally padded their balance sheet, Wall Street’s insatiable appetite for growth left them craving more. Classic finance bros—never satisfied unless the Lambo dealership runs out of inventory.
Behind the headline figure? A textbook case of mining economics in action. When BTC prices surge, even operational hiccups get drowned out by the sound of ASICs printing money. But try explaining that to spreadsheet warriors who think hash rate should scale linearly with their profit projections.
One thing’s certain: In an industry where most miners are still licking their bear market wounds, posting nine figures in black ink is one hell of a flex. Even if it did come with a side of ’meh’ from the suits.
Core Scientific’s Q1 Revenue Dominated by Self-Mining at $67.2M
The bulk of its earnings came from $67.2 million in self-mining revenue, while hosted mining and colocation contributed $3.8 million and $8.6 million, respectively.
The revenue shortfall follows the April 2024 Bitcoin halving, which cut block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, effectively reducing mining income.
Core Scientific also cited its ongoing operational transition toward high-performance computing (HPC) hosting—especially for artificial intelligence applications—as a contributing factor to the revenue dip.
Still, some losses were mitigated by favorable market conditions. Bitcoin’s average price rose 74% during the quarter, and the firm benefited from a 33% reduction in power costs due to lower energy rates and improved efficiency.
A key part of Core Scientific’s future growth strategy is its pivot to AI-focused infrastructure.
In February, the company secured a $1.2 billion agreement with AI firm CoreWeave to expand data center capacity. This move is expected to significantly bolster colocation revenue, with projections pointing to an annualized figure of $360 million by 2026.
Core Scientific has announced its First Quarter 2025 Results!
– On track to deliver 250MW of billable capacity to CoreWeave by the end of this year and anticipate entering 2026 with annualized colocation revenue of approximately $360 million.
– First tranche of 8MW of billable… pic.twitter.com/cHt5xSA74Y
CEO Adam Sullivan called Q1 an “inflection point” for the company, emphasizing its strategic positioning within the rapidly growing demand for high-performance data services.
“We’re at the center of one of the most important shifts in modern computing,” Sullivan said in a statement.
Shares in Core Scientific (CORZ) closed down 1% at $8.90 on May 7 but ROSE to $9.24 in after-hours trading.
The shift to HPC is gaining momentum across the crypto mining sector. Companies like Hive Digital, Hut 8, Iris Energy, and TeraWulf have all begun reallocating mining resources toward AI infrastructure, signaling a broader trend reshaping the future of digital asset operations.
Bitcoin Mining’s Sustainable Energy Usage Rises to 52%
A recent study from Cambridge University shows that sustainable energy now powers 52.4% of Bitcoin mining, a significant increase from 37.6% reported in 2022.
According to the report, 42.6% of Bitcoin mining’s sustainable energy comes from renewables like wind and hydropower, while 9.8% is sourced from nuclear energy.
Natural gas has now overtaken coal as the largest energy contributor to Bitcoin mining, with usage rising to 38.2%, compared to 25% in 2022.
Coal’s share, meanwhile, has fallen sharply to 8.9% from 36.6%.
The United States became a global leader in Bitcoin mining following China’s 2021 crackdown on the crypto industry.
With cheap electricity and strong capital markets, American mining firms quickly gained dominance, and the election of pro-crypto President Donald Trump initially fueled Optimism for continued growth.
