MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), the software firm headed by Michael Saylor and known for its significant Bitcoin investments, has lowered its earnings expectations for 2025 and set aside a $1.44 billion cash reserve to help weather unpredictable market conditions. This move comes as Bitcoin prices experience a notable decline, raising concerns among shareholders.
The company now anticipates a broad range for its diluted earnings per share, estimating results anywhere from a $17 per share loss to a $19 per share profit. This wide forecast reflects MicroStrategy’s increased vulnerability to Bitcoin’s price movements. The updated guidance is based on an assumed year-end Bitcoin price between $85,000 and $110,000, a significant reduction from the previous $150,000 projection.
MicroStrategy’s revised outlook highlights the difficulties of sustaining profitability with a business model heavily reliant on cryptocurrency. The company’s operating income could fluctuate dramatically, with projections ranging from a $7 billion loss to a $9.5 billion gain. Net income estimates are similarly volatile, spanning from a $5.5 billion deficit to a $6.3 billion profit. These swings are largely attributed to a new U.S. accounting rule that requires crypto assets to be marked to market, making the company’s financial results even more sensitive to Bitcoin’s price changes.
To strengthen its financial stability, MicroStrategy has created a substantial U.S. dollar reserve, funded by selling Class A shares through its at-the-market offering program. This reserve is designed to cover at least a year’s worth of preferred stock dividends and interest payments on outstanding debt, with the goal of eventually covering two years. Saylor described this initiative as a strategic shift aimed at helping the company better manage short-term market turbulence while pursuing its ambition to become a leading issuer of digital credit.
The company’s Bitcoin portfolio has expanded to 650,000 coins, representing a total investment of $48.38 billion at an average cost of $74,436 per Bitcoin. Despite recent declines in Bitcoin’s value, Saylor has remained optimistic, recently acquiring an additional 130 Bitcoins at $89,960 each to reinforce the company’s holdings. Nevertheless, MicroStrategy’s stock price has struggled, falling 4.5% in pre-market trading to $169.15 as Bitcoin dipped below $90,000.
Market analysts have offered mixed responses to these developments. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced its price target for MicroStrategy to $560 from $697, while Cowen and Citigroup maintained their “buy” recommendations, with an average price target of $485.80. Meanwhile, institutional investors such as VestGen Advisors LLC and E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. have increased their positions in the company, with VestGen boosting its stake by 54.9% to 6,785 shares, now valued at $2.74 million.
MicroStrategy’s updated Bitcoin-related performance indicators include an anticipated yield of 22% to 26% and potential dollar gains between $8.4 billion and $12.8 billion, assuming successful capital raising efforts. The company continues to champion the use of Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset, with Saylor promoting its adoption as both an inflation hedge and a means of generating returns.
As these changes unfold, investors remain split. While Saylor’s bold Bitcoin strategy has made MicroStrategy a prominent example of corporate cryptocurrency adoption, the company’s increasingly uncertain financial outlook and stock price swings underscore the risks of relying so heavily on a single digital asset.