Bullish Stock Sinks as Q1 Results Disappoint Amid Higher-Than-Expected Operating Expenses

Trading Random05-14

Bullish stock dropped 7.3% in Thursday premarket trading after Q1 earnings and revenue fell short of Wall Street consensus estimates as its operating expenses rose. The company also highlighted its upcoming $4.2B acquisition of Equiniti, which will unify a regulated transfer agent with end-to-end tokenization infrastructure.

The investing platform reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for subscription, services & other revenue (non-IFRS) of $220.0M-$250.0M, adjusted operating expenses (non-IFRS) of $210.0M-$230.0M, and finance expense of $52.0M-$60.0M.

Combined with Equiniti, the company projects 2026 combined revenue of ~$1.3B, adjusted EBITDA less capex of ~$500M, and adjusted net income of ~$280M.

On the bottom line, its loss per share continued to widen. Q1 GAAP EPS of -$3.85, vs. the average analyst estimate of -$2.23, compared with -$3.73 in Q4 2025 and -$3.04 in last year’s Q1.

Q1 adjusted net income of $20.3M, vs. the Visible Alpha consensus of $24.5M, decreased from $28.9M in the previous quarter and jumped from $2.1M in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted revenue of $92.8M, trailing the $94.2M consensus, increased from $92.5M in Q4 and $62.4M in Q1 2025.

Bullish’s (BLSH) total trading volume was $197B, exceeding the $188.5B Visible Alpha estimate and falling from $222B in the prior quarter. The Q1 2026 total included $176B in spot trading and $12B in options trading.

Adjusted transaction revenue of $38M, topping the $36M Visible Alpha estimate, was flat with Q4 and declined from $42M in last year’s Q1.

Adjusted operating expenses of $57.7M, higher than the Visible Alpha consensus of $56.3M, increased from $48.1M in the previous quarter and $49.2M a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $35.1M from $44.5M in Q4 and surged from $13.2M in Q1 2025. The latest quarter missed the $38.5M Visible Alpha consensus.

Digital asset balances as of March 31, 2026, totaled $2.97B, including $1.58B of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and $30M of ethereum.

Since the end of the quarter, total trading volume fell to $46.9B in April from $50.4B in March.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap
Leave a comment