Applied Digital Corporation

Applied Digital Corporation's shares have risen 8.4% since its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, outperforming the S&P 500. The company reported a loss of 39 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of an 18-cent loss, but revenues surged 407% year over year to $258.7 million, beating estimates. The HPC Hosting Business contributed $203 million in revenues, including $152.4 million from tenant fit-out services, while the Data Center Hosting Business generated $37.3 million. The company completed the separation of its Cloud Services Business into ChronoScale Holdings, retaining about 96% ownership. Management expects to hit its $1 billion annual net operating income target roughly three years ahead of schedule, with quarterly capex guided at approximately $600 million. However, the consensus estimate has shifted down 27.5% in the past month, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

AI infrastructure stocks surged on Wednesday after blowout results from AI server hardware maker Supermicro and neocloud providers CoreWeave and Nebius Group. Nebius stock surged after quarterly revenue topped analyst expectations, while Supermicro reported fourth quarter results that beat analyst estimates on earnings and issued an upbeat forecast that sent shares higher by more than 6%. AI hosting peers Applied Digital and IREN also moved higher after CoreWeave posted quarterly results highlighting accelerating demand and a surging backlog. Lumentum shares gained after the maker of optical and photonic products for data centers posted fiscal fourth quarter revenue that more than doubled to $1.01 billion, and peers Coherent and Ciena both jumped. The memory and storage complex also rose, with the Roundhill Memory ETF up 4%, SanDisk up 4%, and Micron and SK Hynix each up 4%.

Applied Digital Corp reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $258.7 million, a 407% increase year over year that topped estimates of $94.8 million, as its pivot from crypto-mining hosting to AI infrastructure accelerates. Full-year revenue rose 167% to $611.3 million, and adjusted earnings per share reached $0.04 versus expectations of a $0.22 loss. The company has secured approximately 1.4 gigawatts in contracted critical IT capacity and $36 billion of base-term lease revenues across five AI factory campuses, including a $7.5 billion deal at its Delta Forge 1 campus and a roughly $7 billion, 15-year lease with CoreWeave at Polaris Forge. Despite the growth, risks remain around financing large-scale projects, customer concentration, and a high short interest of 27.02% of float, while the stock trades at a trailing price-to-sales multiple of about 15 times, above the sector average of 3.5 times.

Applied Digital's contracted lease revenue pipeline of $36 billion, with potential to reach $86 billion if renewal options are exercised, positions the company for explosive growth amid the historic AI infrastructure build-out. The company designs, builds, and operates dedicated AI data centers, and its revenue surged 167% in fiscal 2026 to $611 million, with fourth-quarter revenue jumping fivefold year over year to $259 million. Analysts expect revenue to reach $2.7 billion by fiscal 2029, which could push its market cap to nearly $23.5 billion, roughly triple its current level, assuming a price-to-sales ratio of 8.7. Applied Digital is currently constructing 1.4 gigawatts of data center capacity and is marketing an additional 1.7 gigawatts, signaling further pipeline expansion. Goldman Sachs estimates that $7.6 trillion could be spent on AI data centers, computing hardware, and electricity between 2026 and 2031, underlining the massive tailwind for Applied Digital.

Applied Digital Corporation used its fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings call to highlight 1.41 gigawatts of contracted critical IT load across five campuses, supporting approximately $36 billion of base-term lease revenues. Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins said three recent leases with a single high investment-grade hyperscaler cover 810 megawatts and roughly $20 billion of that total, reflecting a shift toward durable agreements with financially stronger customers. The company is also marketing another 1.7 gigawatts and negotiating expansions with two existing customers that could add 250 megawatts and more than $6 billion in contracted revenue. CFO Saidal Mohmand detailed financing progress, including $2.15 billion of 6.75% senior secured notes and $1.59 billion of 7% senior secured notes, the latter pricing 225 basis points below the company's first project bond placement. Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted revenues were $240.4 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $99.3 million, while the loss of 39 cents per share was wider than the expected loss of 18 cents. Management expects to reach a $1 billion annual net operating income run rate within one year, three years ahead of its original target.

Needham maintained its Buy rating and $83 price target for Applied Digital, implying roughly 215% upside from the bank's $26.38 reference price on July 27. The target reflects Needham's view that Applied Digital can execute across its expanding AI data-center portfolio, with fiscal fourth-quarter results showing operating progress and advanced discussions for another 250 MW that could extend contracted capacity if signed. Applied Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $258.7 million and adjusted EBITDA of $42.4 million, though the headline revenue was heavily influenced by $152.4 million of low-margin tenant fit-out services described as one-time work. Excluding those services, HPC base-rent revenue reached $44.1 million, close to Needham's $44.3 million estimate, and HPC net operating income carried a 91% margin, exceeding management's guidance in the mid-80% range. Needham bases its $83 target on a 21× enterprise-value-to-EBITDA multiple applied to its discounted fiscal 2029 adjusted-EBITDA estimate of $2.33 billion, down from a previous $2.37 billion estimate.

Applied Digital reported fourth-quarter revenue of $258.7 million, up 407% from a year earlier, as it accelerates its shift into a pure-play AI infrastructure developer. The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, beating analyst estimates of a loss of $0.22 per share. It is building five multibillion-dollar AI Factory campuses for two hyperscalers and CoreWeave, and has secured roughly $20 billion in newly contracted hyperscaler leases, including an $11 billion lease with CoreWeave for Polaris Forge 1 and a $5 billion hyperscaler lease for Polaris Forge 2. Adjusted EBITDA was $42.4 million, while the bulk of quarterly revenue, $152.4 million, came from one-time tenant fit-out services. GAAP net loss nearly doubled to $110.6 million, driven in part by a $127.8 million stock-based compensation charge. Shares rose 3.4% in premarket trading.

Applied Digital, Celestica, and OPKO Health were among Tuesday's biggest stock gainers after each reported quarterly results that beat expectations and raised their forward guidance. Applied Digital shares rose 4% as the AI infrastructure company posted a 407% year-over-year revenue surge to $258.7 million and adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, driven by the on-time deployment of 175 megawatts of AI capacity at its Polaris Forge campus. Celestica gained 4% after revenue jumped 62% to $4.7 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.54 topped estimates, prompting the electronics manufacturer to lift its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to $20.5 billion and adjusted EPS outlook to $11.30, with management citing strong AI infrastructure demand and expecting 2027 revenue growth to accelerate further. OPKO Health climbed 9% as the company beat second-quarter revenue and earnings estimates, raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $560 million to $585 million, and narrowed its net loss to $0.01 per share, supported by a roughly 60% increase in pharmaceutical revenue that included $33.6 million in royalties and milestone payments. On the losing side, Aehr Test Systems fell 5% after filing a mixed shelf registration that investors viewed as a potential source of future dilution, while Universal Health Services slipped 4% after cutting its full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to a range of $22.28 to $23.65 and reporting second-quarter earnings below expectations amid a 9% rise in operating expenses to $4.1 billion.

Seeking Alpha analysts offered contrasting views on the best neocloud stock play following the recent subsector sell-off. The Curious Analyst favors Applied Digital, citing its $36 billion in base-term contracted revenue from 1.4 gigawatts of critical IT capacity across five AI factory campuses, with 70% backed by U.S. hyperscalers, and also highlights Nebius as a more aggressive growth pick with 574% year-over-year AI cloud revenue growth to $399 million, $9.3 billion in cash, and a 9.3% stake from Nvidia. Rational Techne argues the sell-off is the beginning of a correction of previous excesses, calling most neocloud businesses fundamentally flawed and recommending none of them.

Applied Digital holds $16 billion in aggregate prospective lease revenue from signed hyperscaler contracts, and analysts unanimously rate the stock a buy with a $76.70 price target implying 155% upside from $30.08. The company posted Q3 FY2026 revenue of $126.64 million, up 139.3% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $44.14 million from $6.26 million a year earlier. Its 400 MW Polaris Forge 1 facility is fully contracted to CoreWeave for roughly $11 billion, and the 200 MW Polaris Forge 2 is leased to a U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler for approximately $5 billion. Management targets $1 billion in net operating income within five years, supported by a pipeline of about 1 GW across four sites. The company has $1.73 billion in cash and recently priced a $2.15 billion senior secured notes offering at 6.750% to fund Polaris Forge 2.

Wall Street analysts are advising investors to buy the dip on Applied Digital. Northland raised its price target on the stock to $82 from $56 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing strong execution by management and the development team. Craig Hallum also lifted its target to $79 from $75 with a Buy rating, pointing to a new lease with a US-based high-investment-grade hyperscaler that brings the company's total to five leases and 1.4 gigawatts of contracted capacity.

Applied Digital Corporation carries a consensus Buy rating with a 12-month median price target of $74.50, implying a potential upside of 90.25% from the current stock price. On June 9, Craig-Hallum raised its price target on the company from $75 to $79 and maintained a Buy rating after Applied Digital announced a new lease with a US-based high investment-grade hyperscaler. The research firm believes the new site is in Alabama and noted the company has now secured five leases, bringing total contracted capacity to 1.4 gigawatts. The latest agreement covers 210 megawatts of critical IT load under a 15-year take-or-pay structure with renewal options, expected to generate about $5.2 billion in base-term contracted revenue, or approximately $12.7 billion if all renewal options are exercised over 30 years.

Applied Digital has achieved Ready for Service for Phase 1 of Building 2 at its Polaris Forge 1 campus, delivering 75 MW of operational AI capacity on schedule and bringing total live capacity at the campus to 175 MW. The delivery marks the next major milestone in the buildout of the fully leased AI Factory Campus, which is contracted to deliver 400 MW of critical IT load at full build out under long-term lease agreements. Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins said the on-time delivery underscores the strength of the company's execution model and demonstrates the repeatable framework it is scaling across its AI Factory footprint. This latest achievement follows the earlier on-time completion of the first 100 MW building at the campus. Polaris Forge 1 is located in Ellendale, North Dakota, where Applied Digital has operated since 2021.

Applied Digital Corporation reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $126.6 million, a 139% increase year over year, driven by accelerating demand for high-performance computing hosting. The HPC Hosting segment became the largest revenue contributor at $71 million, while adjusted EBITDA reached $44.1 million. The company holds a $2.15 billion financing and a $2.7 billion debt stack, offset by $2.1 billion in cash, supporting an aggressive buildout strategy that includes a signed 200 MW lease with hyperscaler clients. Applied Digital's early deployment of 100 MW liquid cooling infrastructure provides a structural advantage in the GPU-dense data center market, though leverage remains elevated with interest coverage near 1.2x. Scaling utilization at the Polaris Forge 2 and Delta Forge 1 campuses could materially expand EBITDA and improve coverage ratios in the coming quarters.

The 20 IT services and other tech stocks tracked in this roundup reported a strong first quarter, with aggregate revenues beating analysts' consensus estimates by 6.8% and next-quarter revenue guidance coming in 5.6% above expectations. Cisco posted revenue of $15.84 billion, up 12% year-on-year and exceeding estimates by 1.9%, while Applied Digital delivered the biggest beat among peers with revenue of $126.6 million, up 139% year-on-year and surpassing expectations by 67.3%. IonQ recorded the fastest revenue growth, with revenue of $64.67 million, up 755% year-on-year and beating estimates by 30%. NetApp reported revenue of $1.95 billion, up 12.5% year-on-year and beating estimates by 4.1%. Everforth was the weakest performer, with flat revenue of $968.3 million and next-quarter guidance that missed expectations, sending its stock down 57.8% since the results.

MDU Resources announced that its Montana-Dakota Utilities subsidiary has entered into an electric service agreement with Applied Digital to provide power for the planned Polaris Forge 3 AI factory in North Dakota. The facility would require 430 megawatts of electricity at full capacity and is expected to expand Applied Digital's footprint in the state, where it is developing campuses for high-density artificial intelligence workloads. MDU already serves Applied Digital at the Polaris Forge 1 AI Factory, also in North Dakota.

Applied Digital shares could triple by 2030, driven by its specialization in building data centers for artificial intelligence processing, though the stock carries significant risks. The company reported fiscal third-quarter revenue up 139% year over year and a net loss of $101 million, while projecting at least $36 billion in lifetime lease revenue from existing contracts, potentially reaching $86 billion. However, its price-to-sales ratio recently hit 31, and it has been taking on substantial debt without yet turning a profit. Goldman Sachs projects U.S. data center energy demand will double by next year, which could benefit Applied Digital if it continues signing new contracts.