MARA vs RIOT: MARA Holdings vs Riot Platforms Bitcoin Mining Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
MARA and RIOT are two of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the US, both racing to grow hash rate and reduce energy costs as the Bitcoin halving compresses margins. MARA has a larger total hash rate and a Bitcoin treasury strategy; RIOT's Corsicana facility and power curtailment approach to managing energy costs in Texas is its primary competitive differentiation.
Use this MARA vs RIOT comparison to choose between two leveraged Bitcoin mining plays. Both are high-beta exposures to Bitcoin prices — when Bitcoin rises, both can outperform dramatically; when it falls, both face margin and cash burn risk. The operational differences (treasury strategy vs power management) are secondary to the underlying Bitcoin price.
RIOT holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. RIOT has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+18.11% vs -30.79%), though MARA has the better forward P/E setup (-9.83x vs -19.93x for RIOT). RIOT leads on both revenue growth (13.90%) and operating margin (-122.33%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for RIOT (+73.88%) than for MARA (+59.09%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by hash rate with a diversified facility base
- Value MARA's Bitcoin treasury strategy as an additional price appreciation lever
- Are comfortable with aggressive expansion financed partly through equity issuance
- Seek maximum leveraged Bitcoin exposure through a leading mining operation
- Want Bitcoin mining exposure anchored by one of North America's largest single-site mining facilities
- Value Riot's power curtailment revenue in Texas as a cost management differentiator
- Prefer operational concentration in a world-class facility over a more geographically distributed approach
- Believe Corsicana's scale advantages will compound as the facility reaches full capacity
| Metric | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 24.3 | 49.4 |
| AI ranki | #3324 | #575 |
| Latest closei | $11.24 | $19.70 |
| 1M returni | +22.17% | +3.60% |
| 6M returni | +21.65% | +34.20% |
| 1Y returni | -30.79% | +18.11% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $6.92K (-30.8%) started 2025-09-15 | $11.81K (+18.1%) started 2025-09-15 |
| 5Y ago | $3.03K (-69.7%) started 2021-09-15 | $6.5K (-35.0%) started 2021-09-15 |
| 10Y ago | $2.44K (-75.6%) started 2016-09-15 | $59.15K (+491.5%) started 2016-09-15 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $4.37B | $6.99B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | -9.83 | -19.93 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 8.10 | 10.50 |
| Analyst targeti | $17.99 | $32.40 |
| Target upsidei | +59.09% | +73.88% |
| Metric | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -26.70% | 13.90% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | -145.25% | -106.57% |
| Operating margini | -265.21% | -122.33% |
| Profit margini | 0.00% | -196.28% |
| ROIC proxyi | -105.57% | -48.24% |
| Return on equityi | -105.57% | -48.24% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 5.34 | 3.85 |
| Debt/equityi | 140.16 | 40.03 |
| Current ratioi | 0.89 | 1.58 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.76 | 1.17 |
Over the past year, MARA and RIOT have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.77), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -30.79% | +18.11% |
| CAGRi | -30.81% | +18.12% | |
| Volatilityi | 86.77% | 88.52% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.05 | 0.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.07 | 0.88 | |
| Max drawdowni | 70.53% | 48.57% | |
| Current drawdowni | 50.79% | 31.33% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 45.06% | 23.20% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 48.41% | 27.16% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.72% | 14.71% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 31.74% | 28.93% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -69.66% | -35.05% |
| CAGRi | -21.23% | -8.27% | |
| Volatilityi | 106.08% | 94.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.25 | 0.33 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.39 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdowni | 95.86% | 92.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 85.23% | 55.42% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 77.21% | 69.06% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 79.02% | 71.25% | |
| Max daily dropi | 27.03% | 19.18% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 43.81% | 40.88% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | -75.61% | +427.23% |
| CAGRi | -13.16% | +18.09% | |
| Volatilityi | 144.95% | 112.65% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.49 | 0.65 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.94 | 1.07 | |
| Max drawdowni | 99.13% | 98.32% | |
| Current drawdowni | 85.23% | 74.71% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 77.80% | 74.13% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 80.55% | 78.28% | |
| Max daily dropi | 40.86% | 33.90% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 52.63% | 43.31% |
| Category | MARA | RIOT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | MARA Holdings, Inc. | Riot Platforms, Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Capital Markets |
| Core business | One of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners by hash rate. Operates mining facilities across multiple US states. Has expanded beyond pure-play mining into Bitcoin treasury holdings and energy business development. Recently rebranded from Marathon Digital Holdings. | US-based Bitcoin miner with its primary facility in Rockdale, Texas (Corsicana) — one of the largest Bitcoin mining sites in North America. Expanding capacity at Corsicana with a massive new facility. Also generates power credit revenue by selling power back to the grid during peak demand. |
| Investor focus | Bitcoin production rate, hash rate growth, energy cost per Bitcoin mined, operational uptime, and Bitcoin treasury strategy as a financial asset. | Corsicana facility build-out and hash rate ramp, power curtailment revenue from selling electricity back to ERCOT, self-mining vs hosting mix, and energy cost per Bitcoin. |
- Among the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners by installed hash rate capacity
- Bitcoin treasury strategy amplifies exposure to Bitcoin price appreciation beyond mining revenue alone
- Diversified facility locations reduce single-site risk and operational concentration
- Corsicana facility in Texas is among the largest and most strategically located Bitcoin mining operations in North America
- Power curtailment strategy — selling electricity back to the Texas ERCOT grid at peak rates — reduces effective energy cost
- Largest single-site Bitcoin mining operation in the US gives Riot significant operational scale and efficiency
- Bitcoin halvings permanently reduce block rewards — miners need Bitcoin price appreciation or efficiency gains to maintain margins
- High operational cost base requires sustained Bitcoin prices well above production cost to remain profitable
- Equity dilution risk — miners frequently issue shares to fund capacity expansion and operating costs
- Texas power grid dynamics — ERCOT curtailment revenue is valuable but depends on grid pricing conditions
- Construction execution risk at the expanded Corsicana campus — timelines and costs have varied
- Bitcoin price sensitivity is extreme — both revenue and profitability hinge almost entirely on BTC prices
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