MicroStrategy Q4 earnings reflect higher impairment losses on bitcoin holdings

Bitcoin "hodler" MicroStrategy's (NASDAQ:MSTR) fourth-quarter earnings were highlighted by higher impairment losses on the company's digital asset holdings. Q4 loss per share of $8.43 missed the $1.49 EPS estimate and falls substantially from a gain of $0.28 per share in Q4 a year ago. Additionally, Q4 operating expenses were $247.98M, up from just $110.14M in Q4 2020; this included impairment losses on the company's digital assets, which were $146.6M in Q4, compared with just $26.5M in the year-ago quarter. Q4 digital assets on its balance sheet were $2.85B, up from $1.05B in Q4 2020. And despite continued digital asset price volatility, Saylor added that the company will "continue to evaluate opportunities to raise additional capital to execute on our bitcoin acquisition strategy.” On the other hand, Q4 revenues of $134.52M topped the $133.2M consensus and gained from $131.32M in the year-ago period. "Our software business returned to positive revenue growth for the first time since