Metaplanet Q1 operating profit up; $728M Bitcoin loss

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet reported strong operating profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, while booking a large ordinary loss after marking down its Bitcoin holdings. The company posted operating income of ¥2.27 billion (about $14.4 million) on net sales of approximately $19.5 million for the quarter, according to its earnings filing.

Revenue rose from about $5.5 million a year earlier to roughly $19.5 million for the quarter, driven primarily by the company’s Bitcoin Income Generation business. Option premiums and derivative valuation gains provided the bulk of sales, lifting the operating margin to 73.6%. Hotel operations remained a small, steady contributor to consolidated sales.

Metaplanet recorded an ordinary loss of about $728 million. That loss reflected largely non-cash valuation declines after Bitcoin’s price fell about 24% during the quarter, from near $87,000 on Jan. 1 to roughly $66,000 on March 31, the filing shows. The company marked its growing Bitcoin holdings lower, which pushed ordinary results into a substantial loss despite operating profitability. In April, the company ranked No. 3 among public Bitcoin treasuries.

The company increased its Bitcoin holdings to 40,177 BTC at March 31 from 35,102 at Dec. 31, adding about 5,075 BTC in the quarter. Metaplanet reported Bitcoin holdings per share rose on a fully diluted basis from 0.0240486 BTC to 0.0247319 BTC and presented a first-quarter BTC yield of 2.8%, defined as Bitcoin per-share growth after dilution.

Total net assets declined from ¥2.96 billion at Dec. 31 to about ¥2.60 billion at March 31. Metaplanet attributed the drop to Bitcoin-related valuation losses that exceeded equity raised during the quarter. Short-term borrowings increased as the company drew more on a $500 million Bitcoin-collateralized credit facility; the filing shows $302 million outstanding under that facility as of May 13, 2026.

Per-share figures reflected the valuation impact: Metaplanet posted a basic loss of about $0.63 per share for the quarter, wider than a loss of roughly $0.078 per share a year earlier. The company left its full-year fiscal 2026 guidance unchanged for net sales at about $101 million and operating profit near $72 million, while withholding ordinary profit and net income guidance because those figures are sensitive to Bitcoin price movements.

Metaplanet’s shares traded lower in Tokyo after the results were released, changing hands around ¥327 (about $2.07), down roughly 3.8% from the prior close. The company’s financials show a gap between operating results driven by options and derivatives tied to Bitcoin and the accounting impact of market price swings on its crypto holdings.