LM Funding (LMFA) Q3 2024 earnings call highlighted operational moves in Bitcoin mining, deployment plans for additional rigs, and the company’s pivot toward lower-cost, vertically integrated mining sites after the April halving. Management reviewed quarter metrics, mining yield, and capital allocation priorities while answering analyst questions about power, site capacity, and potential acquisitions.
Ted Ayvas: Good morning, and thanks to everyone for joining LM Funding America’s 2024 third quarter financial results and business update conference call. Management opened by noting the quarter-end figures and the filing of the company’s results, and they reminded listeners that forward-looking comments were subject to typical risks and SEC disclosures. The company also referenced non-GAAP measures and pointed investors to reconciliations contained in related filings.
The operational snapshot was straightforward: LM Funding reported roughly 3,700 miners actively mining across hosting sites and another 2,200 machines staged at a third-party warehouse, giving about 5,900 total miners and roughly 639 petahash of capacity. In Q3 the company mined 18.5 bitcoins, producing about $1.1 million in mining revenue based on an average bitcoin price near $61,000, and it held 142.3 bitcoins as of the reporting date. Management valued that inventory at approximately $12.4 million using an $87,000 per bitcoin reference price.
Top-line revenue for the quarter was about $1.3 million, a decline year-over-year driven by the April halving and repositioning of machines between sites. Operating expenses fell to $5.6 million from $6.6 million a year earlier, helped by a $2.0 million reduction in digital mining costs but partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization. Core EBITDA swung to a $1.6 million loss for Q3, though the company reported positive core EBITDA of $0.6 million for the first nine months of 2024 as mining activity expanded.
Ryan Duran: Following the Bitcoin mining halving earlier this year, there has been a strategic shift in our mining approach to more cost-effective operations. Management explained that several high-cost hosting contracts expired around the halving, giving LM Funding an opening to move machines into cheaper facilities and to rethink its hosting strategy. The firm is now prioritizing sites with low-priced power, expansion room, and the ability to integrate more of the infrastructure stack internally.
Operations detail filled in the picture: a substantial fleet sits in Oklahoma where power is roughly $0.04 per kilowatt hour, with another cohort in Kentucky at nearer $0.07 per kilowatt hour. The Oklahoma site has 15 megawatts of capacity, of which about 10 megawatts were in use during the quarter, and the company plans to deploy more containerized miners there to reach full capacity. Management reiterated a target to place many of the idle machines by year-end or in early January if logistics allow.
On expansion and purchasing, executives said they evaluate new rig buys by payback period and vendor availability, typically working with large suppliers for favorable allocations. A potential Texas site remains under review pending power validation and confirmation of larger expansion capabilities, with a decision likely by year-end on whether to proceed. The team also flagged that they have discussed possible M&A or acquisitions of private miners but nothing concrete had been executed during the quarter.
Richard Russell: Thank you. We are thrilled to see Bitcoin recently reach an all-time high above $92,000, a milestone that we believe strongly validates our long-term strategy of mining and holding Bitcoin. This recent surge reinforces our confidence in Bitcoin’s upward trajectory as we anticipate the price moving toward our projected target of over $100,000 in 2025. Management closed by emphasizing reinvestment of mining revenue into capacity expansion, continued site development, and technology upgrades to boost hash rate and reduce unit costs.
