Bitcoin Volatility And Regulations Will Cut ASIC Demand Yet Stabilize

Key Takeaways

• High regulatory uncertainty, volatile crypto markets, and dependence on mining hardware expose Canaan to unpredictable revenue, margin pressure, and competitive threats.
  
• Limited diversification and industry vulnerability to technology shifts away from energy-intensive mining may constrain long-term earnings stability and stock performance.
  
• Heavy reliance on Bitcoin mining and regulatory-impacted markets, combined with rising competition and reduced diversification, threatens revenue stability and long-term growth potential.

Catalysts

Engages in the research and development, design, and sale of integrated circuits (IC), and lease of final mining equipment by integrating IC products for bitcoin mining and related components in the People’s Republic of China.

• Although increasing global adoption of cryptocurrencies and digitalization could expand Canaan's addressable market for blockchain hardware, the company faces mounting regulatory challenges in key regions like the US, where shifting tariff and policy environments continue to create uncertainty and may inhibit revenue growth and market access over the long term.
  
• Despite Canaan's ongoing investments in R&D for next-generation mining devices and vertical integration that should support earnings quality, the entire crypto hardware sector is highly vulnerable to a technological pivot away from proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, which would sharply diminish demand for ASIC hardware and potentially result in stranded assets, erosion of margins, and impaired revenue streams.
  
• While Canaan's expansion into the home-use mining segment and geographic diversification outside of China provide some opportunities for broader revenue generation, its heavy exposure to the cyclical and volatile Bitcoin industry leaves net profits highly dependent on external crypto price fluctuations, exposing the firm to continued quarterly earnings volatility.
  
• Although the company is establishing manufacturing capacity in regions like the US and Malaysia to counter supply chain and tariff issues, Canaan still operates in an environment of intense competition, with larger and better-capitalized rivals driving pricing pressure and commoditization in the ASIC mining hardware market, likely compressing gross margins in future hardware cycles.
  
• While Canaan's growing Bitcoin treasury and efforts to generate yield from Bitcoin holdings may offer some upside in rising markets, the company's limited progress in diversifying away from mining hardware and sensitivity to crypto regulatory and ESG headwinds could overhang both earnings stability and stock valuation, as any industry-wide shifts against energy-intensive mining would undermine both future revenue and long-term earnings potential.

Canaan Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• This narrative explores a more pessimistic perspective on Canaan compared to the consensus, based on a Fair Value that aligns with the bearish cohort of analysts.
• The bearish analysts are assuming Canaan's revenue will grow by 39.3% annually over the next 3 years.
• The bearish analysts are not forecasting that Canaan will become profitable in next 3 years. To represent the Analyst Price Target as a Future PE Valuation we will estimate Canaan's profit margin will increase from -77.0% to the average US Tech industry of 6.2% in 3 years.
• If Canaan's profit margin were to converge on the industry average, you could expect earnings to reach $58.1 million (and earnings per share of $0.1) by about August 2028, up from $-266.0 million today. The analysts are largely in agreement about this estimate.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the price target of the more bearish analyst cohort, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 19.9x on those 2028 earnings, up from -1.4x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Tech industry at 21.5x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 7.0% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.09%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Canaan Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• The company's revenue and profitability remain heavily dependent on Bitcoin prices and the cyclical nature of the Bitcoin mining industry, making earnings highly volatile and vulnerable to sustained declines if the Bitcoin price weakens for a prolonged period, which could sharply impact both revenue and gross margins.
  
• Tariff policy fluctuations and regulatory uncertainty in the United States, Canaan's largest market, have already disrupted demand, forced discounts to clear excess inventory internationally, and led to higher operating costs as production is shifted and supply chains are adjusted, all of which could pressure future revenues and net margins.
  
• There is increasing competition and pricing pressure in the ASIC mining hardware market, with products sometimes sold at discounted prices due to oversupply; this risk is heightened by the fact that Canaan's product differentiation relies on maintaining clear performance advantages and could erode gross margins in future cycles.
  
• Strategic exit from the AI business, while expected to lower operating expenses, reduces long-term diversification and exposes the company more acutely to the risks of remaining concentrated in crypto mining, limiting new avenues for revenue and profit growth in the future.
  
• Growing trend among large mining customers to redeploy resources toward AI and high performance computing infrastructure could weaken demand for Bitcoin mining hardware, directly curtailing Canaan's core product sales and therefore its revenue over the long term.

Valuation

• The assumed bearish price target for Canaan is $1.5, which represents the lowest price target estimate amongst analysts. This valuation is based on what can be assumed as the expectations of Canaan's future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors from analysts on the more bearish end of the spectrum.
  
• However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $4.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $1.5.
  
• In order for you to agree with the bearish analysts, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $933.9 million, earnings will come to $58.1 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 19.9x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.1%.
  
• Given the current share price of $0.75, the bearish analyst price target of $1.5 is 49.8% higher.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.