Bernstein has released a new report card for the bitcoin mining sector, rating Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, IREN, and Core Scientific as “outperform” while assigning a “market perform” rating to Marathon Digital. The ratings are based on key performance metrics that include production output, operational efficiency, energy costs, and artificial intelligence (AI) strategies.
An “outperform” rating signals that analysts expect these stocks to exceed average market performance, while a “market perform” rating indicates expected average returns.
The report highlights Marathon, Core Scientific, and CleanSpark as the top bitcoin producers, with Core Scientific and CleanSpark leading in realized hash rates. However, Riot has trailed behind in production and efficiency, though the company has offset these challenges through power credits and improved efficiency last month.
In terms of energy efficiency and uptime, CleanSpark and IREN stand out, with Bernstein describing them as being in the “sweet spot” of the metrics. Marathon is also showing improvements by transitioning toward a self-mining model.
Riot and Core Scientific lead in operational power capacity, although IREN is projected to close the gap with the development of two large mining sites in Texas.
Regarding hash costs— the expense associated with mining bitcoin—Core Scientific stands as the leader due to low power costs and high uptime, followed by Riot and CleanSpark. Marathon, meanwhile, is still working on optimizing its hash costs.
On the AI front, Core Scientific is positioned as the clear leader, having invested heavily in data centers. Bernstein also considers IREN a promising contender, given its plans for AI hyper-scaler partnerships at its upcoming Texas facilities and the appointment of Morgan Stanley to explore AI deals.
The report positions Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and IREN as companies to watch in the evolving bitcoin mining landscape, with particular attention to their AI integration and operational strategies.
