MicroStrategy net loss improves in Q3 as bitcoin impairment 'minimal' on muted prices

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) stock drifted up 3% in Tuesday after-hours trading after the company turned in another adjusted net loss that improved from a year ago as its bitcoin (BTC-USD) impairment charge eased during the third quarter in a move that resulted in less operating expenses. "We incurred a minimal bitcoin impairment charge as bitcoin prices were stable during the third quarter, and were encouraged by FASB’s recent announcement of its support for fair value accounting for bitcoin," said CFO Andrew Kang. Q3 adjusted loss per share of $0.96 may not be comparable to the $1.02 consensus, rising from -$2.84 at Sept. 30, 2021. Revenue of $125.4M fell slightly short of the average analyst estimate of $125.8M and edged down from $128M in the year-ago quarter. Subscription services sales of $16.4M rose from $10.9M in Q3 2021, offsetting declines in other segments such as product licenses. Operating expenses were $93.92M in Q3, down from $155.34M in Q3 of last year. That figure included impairment losses on the company's digital assets, standing at $0.7M vs. $65.2M in Q3 2021. Gross profit slid to $99.98M from $105.68M a year before. Digital assets held on its balance sheet totaled $1.99B compared with $2.85B at Dec. 31, 2021. "We are continuing to see the global adoption of our cloud platform by both domestic and international customers, and to benefit from the longstanding durability of our enterprise analytics business, w...