Cipher Digital (CIFR) reported fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines, as the company pushed forward with a major strategic shift away from bitcoin mining.
Revenue came in at $59.71 million for the quarter, well below analyst estimates of around $84–86 million. The adjusted loss per share was $0.14, wider than the forecast loss of $0.06 to $0.12 depending on the estimate source.
The adjusted net loss for the quarter was $55 million. The company posted a negative net margin of 34.16% and a negative return on equity of 9.57%.
The stock dropped roughly 5% in premarket trading following the release. It later recovered, opening at $15.22 and trading up about 3.9% on the day.
The company also formally rebranded from Cipher Mining to Cipher Digital during the quarter, a move that signals the direction management is taking the business.
The pivot is toward high-performance computing infrastructure, specifically large-scale data centers. Management called 2025 a transformative year as the company moves away from bitcoin production.
During the quarter, Cipher secured 600 megawatts of contracted data center capacity. That includes a 15-year, 300 MW lease with Amazon Web Services and a 10-year, 300 MW lease with Fluidstack and Google.
To fund the buildout, Cipher raised $3.73 billion through three senior secured bond offerings. The capital is earmarked for construction at its Barber Lake and Black Pearl data center projects, both of which are said to be on schedule.
The company also divested its 49% stakes in three bitcoin mining joint ventures for approximately $40 million in stock, cutting ties with its legacy operations as it repositions the business.
Despite the earnings miss, analyst sentiment remains largely positive. Fourteen analysts rate the stock a Buy, one has a Hold, and one has a Sell. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $25.11.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target from $13.00 to $22.00 in late January, assigning a “moderate buy” rating. Needham & Company raised their target to $26.00 with a Buy rating in November.
Weiss Ratings is the lone dissenter, reiterating a “sell” rating in late December.
On the insider front, company directors sold a combined 182,825 units of stock over the last quarter, totaling roughly $3.08 million. Insiders now hold about 2.63% of the company.
Institutional ownership stands at 12.26%. Several funds added to their positions recently, including Prudential Financial, which more than doubled its stake in Q2.
CIFR has a 52-week range of $1.86 to $25.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average sits at $16.36, while the 200-day moving average is $15.00.
The company’s debt-to-equity ratio is 1.31, with a current ratio of 2.49 and a market cap of approximately $6.01 billion.
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