MARA, Block Leap Double Digits Pre-Market as CoreWeave Dips

MARA Holdings and Block both surged by double digits in pre-market trading on February 27 as earnings season delivered mixed results across crypto miners and fintech names. MARA climbed 16% to $9.80 on an AI data center partnership, while Block soared 20% following deep workforce cuts and an earnings beat. CoreWeave shed 12% despite topping revenue estimates, and bitcoin held flat near $67,000 during Asia and European hours.

MARA Holdings Pivots to AI With Starwood Capital

MARA Holdings rallied 16% to $9.80 after striking a deal with Starwood Capital to convert select bitcoin mining facilities into AI-focused data centers. The partners expect to deliver about 1 gigawatt of capacity near term, with plans to scale beyond 2.5 gigawatts, according to the companies. The move follows Bitfarms and Cipher Digital, which have pursued similar pivots to monetize power access as AI compute demand surges.

TerraWulf traded 3.5% lower at $17 after its Q4 print showed reduced bitcoin production. However, executives emphasized that contracting high-performance computing revenue represents the real story, noting expansion from one site a year ago to five today with roughly 2.9 gigawatts of gross capacity targeted by year end, according to VanEck head of digital assets Matthew Sigel.

Why Did CoreWeave Drop Despite Beating Estimates?

CoreWeave shares fell 12% despite revenue of $1.57 billion that beat the $1.53 billion consensus. The selloff came on weaker-than-expected Q1 revenue guidance plus higher capital expenditure, raising concerns about profitability and cash burn. EPS landed at -$0.89 versus the -$0.68 forecast, a 31% miss that underscored heavy spending on AI infrastructure buildout.

Block Soars on Workforce Cuts and Earnings Beat

Block posted the largest gain, surging 20% after disclosing plans to cut more than 40% of its workforce to roughly 6,000 employees. Management cited AI-driven efficiencies as the catalyst, though investors are also weighing longer-term margin pressure from emerging stablecoin-based payment rails.

On the guidance front, Block projected Q1 operating income of $600 million versus $574 million expected, forecast Q1 gross profit of $2.8 billion versus $2.72 billion consensus, and raised its full-year gross profit outlook, according to Sigel.