Key Points
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Profit surged despite weaker revenue: Q3 revenue fell to $164.2 million from $252.4 million as lower Bitcoin prices weighed on mining revenue, while net income rose to $632.1 million, largely due to $885.3 million in unrealized digital-asset gains.
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MARA is expanding into power and computing infrastructure: It aims to sign two data-center leases, expects to close the Long Ridge acquisition, and says its potential power capacity could exceed 4 gigawatts if key projects proceed. Subsidiary Exaion also signed a four-year, $79 million GPU-as-a-service contract.
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Bitcoin sales strengthened the balance sheet: After quarter-end, MARA sold 13,597 Bitcoin for more than $1.1 billion, repaid $750 million of Bitcoin-backed debt, and reduced the share of its holdings loaned or pledged to under 5%; its board also authorized up to $500 million in share repurchases.
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Profit surged despite weaker revenue: Q3 revenue fell to $164.2 million from $252.4 million as lower Bitcoin prices weighed on mining revenue, while net income rose to $632.1 million, largely due to $885.3 million in unrealized digital-asset gains.
MARA is expanding into power and computing infrastructure: It aims to sign two data-center leases, expects to close the Long Ridge acquisition, and says its potential power capacity could exceed 4 gigawatts if key projects proceed. Subsidiary Exaion also signed a four-year, $79 million GPU-as-a-service contract.
Bitcoin sales strengthened the balance sheet: After quarter-end, MARA sold 13,597 Bitcoin for more than $1.1 billion, repaid $750 million of Bitcoin-backed debt, and reduced the share of its holdings loaned or pledged to under 5%; its board also authorized up to $500 million in share repurchases.
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MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) reported a sharp rise in third-quarter profit despite lower revenue, as gains in the value of its Bitcoin holdings boosted results. The company also outlined plans to expand its power portfolio and convert sites into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure.
Revenue fell to $164.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 from $252.4 million a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Salman Khan said lower Bitcoin mining revenue accounted for $83.1 million of the decline, as a 37% drop in the average Bitcoin price more than offset the benefit of higher production.
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Net income rose to $632.1 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, from $123.1 million, or $0.27 per share. Results included approximately $885.3 million in unrealized, noncash fair-value gains on digital assets. Adjusted EBITDA, which also included that gain, increased to $857.7 million from $395.6 million.
Power expansion and lease discussions
Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said MARA is continuing to target two data center lease signings before year-end, although he cautioned that timing could move into next year. Prospective tenants have visited nearly all of the company's sites, he said.
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Asked about the Kearney project, Thiel said remaining issues were on the customer's side and that the lease could move forward once those matters were finalized. He said he believes the site will be among the first in MARA's portfolio to be contracted.
MARA expects to close its Long Ridge acquisition in the next few weeks, subject to customary conditions, after receiving Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval. The natural gas plant is authorized to sell 485 megawatts, with capacity expected to reach its 505-megawatt nameplate level in the first half of 2027.
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Khan said approximately 70% of Long Ridge's output is hedged under long-term contracts and that the plant historically has recognized more than $140 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA. Thiel said the property, together with MARA's existing operations at the site, could support roughly 1 gigawatt of total potential capacity.
The company also holds rights to develop more than 1,200 acres in Matagorda County, Texas, with access to up to 2 gigawatts of grid-connected capacity. The load has been classified as study load under the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' Batch Zero process. Thiel said MARA has no real obligations under the agreement until Batch Zero is fully approved.
MARA currently operates approximately 1 gigawatt across U.S. and international markets. Thiel said the portfolio could exceed 4 gigawatts, subject to the Long Ridge closing and energization of Matagorda.
Exaion signs cloud contract
MARA's majority-owned Exaion subsidiary signed a four-year, $79 million GPU-as-a-service agreement with a U.S. customer under 100% take-or-pay terms. Thiel said the customer's computing capacity will be hosted in France.
Exaion has a pipeline exceeding $3 billion in total contract value, including approximately $1 billion targeted for delivery by the end of 2027. MARA cautioned that those opportunities indicate demand and are not yet contracted or committed.
Thiel said the initial contract uses NVIDIA B300 GPUs that have been ordered, with deliveries expected to begin in November and continue into early December. He expects a portion of the contracted capacity to be running before year-end. Exaion's expansion plan relies on capacity in Europe and Canada rather than MARA developing U.S. sites for it, he said.
Bitcoin sales and capital allocation
After quarter-end, MARA sold 13,597 Bitcoin at an average price of approximately $81,039, generating more than $1.1 billion, Khan said. The company used proceeds to repay $750 million in Bitcoin-backed debt, releasing 18,750 Bitcoin that had been pledged as collateral. Khan estimated a $170 million net benefit from the financing and subsequent sale.
MARA ended the quarter with $946.5 million in cash and 34,012 Bitcoin. About 57% of its Bitcoin was loaned or pledged at quarter-end; following the loan repayment, that proportion fell to less than 5% of holdings, Khan said. The company also reduced total debt by $1.4 billion, or 37%, since the beginning of the year.
After quarter-end, the board authorized a discretionary share repurchase program of up to $500 million. Khan said the company would consider repurchases alongside debt repayment and investment in projects when deciding how best to allocate capital.
Mining operations
MARA mined 2,247 Bitcoin during the quarter, about 103 more than a year earlier. Energized hashrate rose 18% to 71.2 exahashes per second, primarily through improvements in miner efficiency.
Khan said MARA's largest third-party hosting arrangements, representing approximately 29% of total energy capacity, begin expiring in the third quarter of 2027 and are expected to conclude by the first quarter of 2028. Thiel said upgrades at other sites are expected to replace much of that capacity and help maintain hashrate.
About MARA (NASDAQ:MARA)
MARA Holdings, Inc, formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, is a digital energy and infrastructure company focused primarily on Bitcoin mining. It develops and operates data-center infrastructure and specialized computing systems used to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network and earn bitcoin rewards.
The company also works on energy-related strategies to support its computing operations, including using energy sources and infrastructure that can help power data centers. Its operations are concentrated in the United States, with expansion into international markets.
Marathon Patent Group, the company's predecessor, was founded in 2010 and later shifted its focus to digital assets and Bitcoin mining.
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The article "MARA Q3 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.
