Core Scientific lost 56% on Bitcoin mining but $80M in profit from its pivot to AI hosting

Core Scientific, a longtime Bitcoin miner now converting sites for AI computing, reported a negative 56% self-mining gross margin in the second quarter as its colocation business generated sharply higher profit.The company’s Q2 results show self-mining generated $21.5 million of revenue against $33.7 million of cost of revenue. That left a $12.2 million segment gross loss for the three months ended June 30.High-density colocation, which provides powered data-center capacity for AI customers, moved in the opposite direction. The segment produced $136.7 million of revenue and $80.0 million of gross profit at a 59% margin. That gross profit exceeded Core Scientific’s $70.0 million consolidated total because mining and other segment losses pulled the companywide figure lower.The mining result is not a disclosed spot-Bitcoin breakeven or a cash-production-cost estimate. Cost of revenue included $17.9 million of power fees, $9.9 million of depreciation and other operating expenses, so the margin cannot be reduced to the price at which the machines cover electricity alone.Core Scientific says it is repurposing its remaining mining facilities for high-density colocation “as circumstances a...