MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin conviction 'strong' as it returns to profit in Q1: CEO

Business intelligence platform MicroStrategy has reiterated its commitment to its Bitcoin (BTC) investment strategy after turning its first quarterly profit since 2020. 

The Michael Saylor-founded firm went back into the green in the first quarter of 2023 with a profit of $94 million, which was largely attributed to a one-time income tax benefit of $453.2 million.

Phong Lee, the firm’s chief executive officer explained in the May 1 statement that MicroStrategy’s “conviction” in its Bitcoin (BTC) investment strategy is as “strong” as ever:

“The conviction in our bitcoin strategy remains strong as the digital asset environment continues to mature.”

In addition to the tax benefit, the firm cashed in $121.9 million in revenue, up 2.2% from the same time last year.

Please join the @MicroStrategy management team at 5pm ET as we discuss our Q1 2023 $MSTR financial results and answer questions about our business and outlook for #BusinessIntelligence and #Bitcoin.https://t.co/pHrjKvWsDU

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) May 1, 2023

Andrew Kang, the firm’s chief financial officer said the firm also managed to reduce its leverage by repaying its $161 million Bitcoin-backed loan from the now-collapsed Silverage Bank:

“In Q1, we strengthened our capital structure by reducing leverage by fully repaying our bitcoin-backed loan.”

As per previous SEC filings, the business intelligence firm bought 7,500 BTC in Q1 across two purchases on March 23 and April 5 for a total of $179 million.

The firm now holds 140,000 BTC, which were collectively purchased at an average cost of about $29,803.

The firm’s turn to profit comes as BTC managed to rise 72% over the first quarter to about $28,300.

Related: MicroStrategy’s stock price more than doubles in 2023 in lockstep with Bitcoin

With the price of BTC at $28,100 currently, MicroStrategy is down around 5.7% on its Bitcoin investment.

The firm was however in the “green” for a period of time last month when BTC skyrocketed to its most recent high of $30,980 on April 15.

Since @MicroStrategy adopted a #Bitcoin Strategy: pic.twitter.com/rrYTbvOkUS

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) May 1, 2023

The software analytics firm began investing its cash reserves into BTC on March 5, 2021 when it bought 91,064 BTC — 65% of its total holdings today.

Saylor recently revealed that MicroStrategy integrated Bitcoin Lightning into his corporate email address.

The Bitcoin-savvy firm is also in the process of developing a Bitcoin layer-2 Lightning Network-based Software as a Service tool for corporations.

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