Zoom Should Embrace Bitcoin as Treasury Asset, Eric Semler Says

Nasdaq-listed Zoom Communications (ZM), a stock market high-flyer during the pandemic boom that’s faced tougher times since, should embrace a bitcoin (BTC) strategy to shake up sluggish stock performace and provide value to shareholders, said Eric Semler, chairman of medical technology firm Semler Scientific (SMLR).

“Once a pandemic darling, Zoom is now stuck in a highly competitive, slow-growth market,” Semler said in an X post Thursday. “By leveraging its $7.7 billion cash pile, $2 billion in annualized free cash flow, and ready access to low-cost debt, Zoom could rapidly become one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin,”

Zoom shares are down about 85% from their 2020 peak even as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have continued to push to new record highs.

Semler’s comments came from experience as his company adopted a BTC treasury strategy last year after studying the example of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, on how to provide value for the company’s shareholders. Semler since has converted most of its cash holdings to bitcoin and tapped capital markets for more cash with which to acquire tokens. As of the most recent update, it’s accumulated 3,192 BTC, worth $305 million at current prices.

Even as SMLR shares have struggled in recent weeks alongside bitcoin’s poor price performance, the stock price has still more than doubled since the company disclosed its first bitcoin purchases in mid-2024.

Zoom Communications, said Semler, is “Zombie Zone” company number one, and he promises more such picks in the future.