Semler Scientific, a medical device firm that’s recently made headlines for its aggressive pivot into Bitcoin, experienced a modest after-hours drop in its stock price following the release of its first-quarter 2024 earnings. While the company saw a slight gain during regular trading hours on May 13, shares slipped nearly 2% after hours as investors digested a sharp decline in revenue and a deepening net loss.
According to the earnings report published Monday, Semler’s total revenue for Q1 came in at $8.8 million, representing a steep 44% decline compared to the same period last year. The plunge in revenue came alongside a dramatic swing in profitability — the company reported a net loss of $64.7 million, a significant downturn from the $6.1 million in net income it posted in the first quarter of 2023.
Despite closing the day up over 5%, Semler Scientific’s stock price fell to $36 in after-hours trading. The company’s share price has struggled throughout 2024, already down more than 32% year to date, according to data from Google Finance.
Bitcoin Bets Continue Amid Financial Strain
Though its core medical technology business is clearly under pressure, Semler has not slowed down on its bold Bitcoin accumulation strategy. In the first quarter alone, the company acquired 894 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 3,192 BTC by the end of March. These holdings were valued at approximately $263.5 million at that time, though the firm reported a $16.9 million decrease in fair market value compared to previous estimates.
Not stopping there, Semler purchased an additional 616 BTC between March 31 and May 12, spending about $59.6 million in that timeframe. As of May 12, the company now holds 3,808 BTC, valued at approximately $387.9 million — with a total acquisition cost of $340 million.
The firm reported unrealized gains of $41.6 million on its Bitcoin holdings for Q1, and by mid-May, those paper profits had grown to around $52 million. Based on the company’s internal Bitcoin dashboard, Semler’s debt-to-Bitcoin net asset value ratio stands at 25.3%, highlighting a substantial reliance on Bitcoin to support its financial positioning.
To fuel its crypto-focused strategy, Semler has turned to equity markets. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, the company announced plans to raise up to $500 million through a stock offering — with a portion of the proceeds earmarked for further Bitcoin acquisitions.
A Broader Trend Among Public Companies
Semler isn’t alone in making aggressive moves into Bitcoin. According to River, a Bitcoin investment firm, corporations and institutions have become the largest net buyers of Bitcoin in 2024, outpacing both retail investors and ETF managers. Public companies now collectively hold around 787,000 BTC, based on data from Bitcointreasuries.net.
MicroStrategy — now known simply as Strategy — continues to lead the pack with more than 568,000 BTC in its reserves. That’s nearly 2.7% of Bitcoin’s entire supply, underscoring how deeply entrenched corporate entities have become in the digital asset space.
Meanwhile, stablecoin giant Tether made headlines on the same day as Semler’s earnings report by acquiring $459 million worth of Bitcoin for Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin investment company it backs. That firm, which is in the process of merging with Cantor Equity Partners, now ranks as the third-largest corporate holder of BTC, behind Strategy and MARA Holdings.
Institutional Momentum and Market Outlook
With institutional appetite for Bitcoin showing no signs of slowing, some analysts are predicting a transformational phase for the crypto economy. Blockstream CEO Adam Back recently remarked that growing institutional demand could eventually drive the Bitcoin market cap to a staggering $200 trillion — a scenario he describes as “hyperbitcoinization.”
Whether Semler’s Bitcoin-first approach will pay off in the long term remains to be seen. For now, the company is navigating a critical inflection point, balancing its struggling core business against a bold — and increasingly popular — digital asset strategy.
