Cipher Mining shares down 17% as 2024 losses mount

US crypto mining firm Cipher Mining Inc finished Feb. 25 trading down nearly 17.5% after its full-year 2024 results reported its operating losses more than doubled from a year earlier.

In its Feb. 25 fourth quarter and full-year results for 2024, Cipher said while its full-year revenues were up nearly 19% year-on-year to $151 million, its operating losses had mounted to $43.7 million, more than doubling its 2023 operating losses of $20.1 million.

The firm recorded heavy expenses, having increased its total self-mining hashrate to around 13.5 exahashes per second (EH/s) through upgrades of its site in Odessa, Texas, acquiring another data center site in Texas with 100 megawatts capacity, and buying an additional 337 acres adjacent to its site near Barber Lake in Texas.

“We had an extremely productive fourth quarter at Cipher, as we continued the on-time execution of our growth and expansion plans,” Cipher CEO Tyler Page said in a statement.

He added that the firm is also nearing the completion of the first phase for a site called “Black Pearl,” which was “on track to energize in the second quarter of this year.”

The expansion plans weren’t enough to please shareholders, with Cipher (CIFR) closing trading on Feb. 25 down 17.4% to $4.10,  according to Google Finance. 

CIFR saw a slight 2.2% bump in after-hours trading to $4.19. The stock is at its lowest level so far this year but remains up around 20% over the past 12 months. 

Related: Bitcoin miner Cipher receives takeover offer, considers sale: Report

For the fourth quarter, Cipher said it made $42 million in revenue, up 75% from the previous quarter, while it turned a $17 million profit, up from its $91.4 million operating loss from Q3 2024.

Mining and data center firms Marathon Digital (MARA) and Core Scientific (CORZ) are due to report earnings on Feb. 26. 

Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle