Bakkt Holdings fell sharply after posting third-quarter results that showed widening losses, weak operating margins and an uncertain path to profitability despite headline revenue growth.
Bakkt Shares Slide as Earnings Reveal Heavy Losses, Thin Margins
11 November 2025 - 10:39 CET
By Stu Clelland
Headline growth hides weak operating picture
The digital asset platform reported a net loss of $23.2mn, reversing a small profit in the same quarter last year, driven mainly by a $37.2mn non-cash loss from the revaluation of warrant liabilities. That accounting swing, linked to prior financing rounds, erased most of the benefit from cost cuts and restructuring.
While Bakkt reported $402mn in total revenue, that figure reflects the gross value of crypto transactions processed through its platform, recorded on a gross basis under GAAP because Bakkt acts as principal in those trades. Almost all of it is offset by equivalent trading, clearing and brokerage costs, leaving little net revenue or margin growth behind the headline number. Investors often discount this type of reported growth because it does not reflect underlying business expansion.
Operating losses were little changed from a year earlier, and cash reserves fell to $64.4mn. With negative operating cash flow and an expanded share count, the prospect of additional fundraising or dilution weighed on sentiment.
Adjusted gains fail to impress investors
Bakkt reported adjusted EBITDA of $28.7mn, claiming a swing to profitability on that measure, but the adjustment list was long, removing share-based pay, restructuring costs, and one-off items. The stock’s decline suggests investors may have viewed the adjusted figure as cosmetic, with limited evidence of core improvement.
Management described the company as “nearing the completion of its transformation” and previewed plans to expand internationally in 2026, yet offered no short-term guidance on revenue or margins. That gap between ambition and evidence left markets cold.
Bakkt’s reliance on DTR, a related-party technology provider controlled by CEO Gavin Michael, may have added to investor caution, given the governance and continuity risks disclosed in the filings. The firm’s filings note that Bakkt does not control DTR and cannot guarantee continued access to its platform, raising governance and continuity concerns.
Shares opened at $25.00 on Monday and closed at $20.96, a 16.2% drop on the day. The stock is down about 17.0% year-to-date and remains a far cry from its $1,270 peak in November 2020.
