Applied Digital's Stock Soars on Strong Q1 Results and Massive AI Data Center Expansion

Applied Digital stock jumps 28% after strong Q1 results and 150-megawatt AI data center expansion

Applied Digital stock jumped after strong first-quarter results and new data center deals. Revenue grew fast, losses were smaller than expected, and Polaris Forge 1 is fully leased. The company started Polaris Forge 2, which will expand capacity in 2026-2027. Analysts raised price targets, showing confidence in Applied Digital's growth and future in data centers and AI infrastructure. Applied Digital (APLD) shares went up about 28% on Friday morning. The company did better than expected in the first quarter and said it will make its data centers much bigger. Its revenue grew 84% from last year to $64.2 million, more than Wall Street's guess of $54.6 million. Applied Digital reported a non-GAAP loss of $0.03 per share, which was smaller than analysts had predicted, as stated in the report by GuruFocus.The company's adjusted EBITDA was $537,000, and the operating margin improved to negative 34.7% from negative 24.2% a year earlier. GuruFocus noted 8 warning signs for Applied Digital, signaling possible risks for investors. Applied Digital got a new 150-megawatt lease for its Polaris Forge 1 campus. Now, the total contracted IT load with CoreWeave (CRVW) is 400 MW. This new lease could bring about $11 billion in revenue over 15 years. Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins said this growth shows Applied Digital is an important partner for infrastructure, especially with around $350 billion being spent on AI this year. Barrons reported that Applied Digital's stock soared after the company finalized the lease with CoreWeave and posted a strong first-quarter performance. For the quarter ending August 31, Applied Digital reported an adjusted loss of 3 cents per share, much smaller than the 16 cents per share loss analysts had expected. Revenue of $64.2 million exceeded Wall Street's forecast of $50 million, showing strong growth. The Polaris Forge 1 facility in North Dakota is now fully leased, and construction is on schedule. Applied Digital expects to generate about $11 billion in contracted lease revenue from Polaris Forge 1. The company drew an initial $112.5 million from its $5 billion preferred equity facility with Macquarie Asset Management to fund the completion of Polaris Forge 1. Applied Digital has started construction on Polaris Forge 2, with an initial 200 MW expected to be operational in 2026 and full capacity by 2027. For Polaris Forge 2, the company secured $50 million from Macquarie Equipment Capital and raised an additional $200 million through an expanded Series G preferred stock offering. Needham raised its price target for Applied Digital to $41 from $21 and kept a Buy rating, citing confidence in the company's growth and potential, as mentioned in the report by Investing.com. Applied Digital is now valued at $8.02 billion, and its stock has risen about 283% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500. Analysts believe Polaris Forge 1 and 2 could each scale to 1 GW, with up to 4 GW potential capacity long-term, including 300 MW in South Dakota. Needham expects a new lease with a top-rated cloud company at Polaris Forge 2, which will start with 25 MW in late 2026 and gradually increase to 200 MW IT load. Applied Digital's fiscal first-quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations, with adjusted EPS of -$0.03 versus the forecasted -$0.14, and revenue of $64.2 million versus the expected $50.97 million. Q1. Why did Applied Digital stock rise today? Applied Digital shares rose after strong first-quarter results and a new 150 MW Polaris Forge 1 lease with CoreWeave. Q2. What is Polaris Forge 2 and when will it start? Polaris Forge 2 is Applied Digital's new data center, expected to start with 200 MW in 2026 and reach full capacity in 2027.

Applied Digital Sales Rise Amid AI Data Center Demand

'We've seen a big acceleration in our business. I think some of that is the market, and some of that is progress that we've made over the past few months,' Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins told investors during the company's first-quarter earnings call. Data center provider Applied Digital saw year-over-year revenue surge 84 percent in its first fiscal quarter to $64.2 million, CEO Wes Cummins said during the company's earnings call Thursday. "Looking ahead, we believe Applied Digital is poised to capitalize on a generational opportunity," Cummins (pictured) told investors. "With a multi-gigawatt pipeline, active and increasing hyperscaler interest and long-term contracted visibility, we are positioned to scale rapidly at a moment when demand for advanced infrastructure is reaching unprecedented levels worldwide." The company -- which is in the midst of building multiple sites in North Dakota -- reported a net income loss of $27.8 million for the quarter compared with $15.8 million in net income the prior year. Earnings per share were a loss of 11 cents. Applied Digital has no active capacity at the moment but plans to turn on its first 100 megawatts this quarter. It has another 700 megawatts under construction. On top of that, it is planning to bring 3 gigawatts of power online in the coming years. "We're getting into a place where I think we're going to constantly be in negotiations with new customers or existing customers for expansion at new and existing locations," Cummins told analysts during the earnings call. "We've seen a big acceleration in our business. I think some of that is the market, and some of that is progress that we've made over the past few months." Applied Digital stock surged 18 percent on the Nasdaq following earnings to $34.62 in Friday trading. Meanwhile ,the company's value on Wall Street has rocketed 345 percent year to date from $7.80 on Jan. 2. [RELATED: Applied Digital Pouring $3 Billion Into North Dakota Data Center Campus] AI hyperscaler CoreWeave has now leased 400 megawatts of Applied Digital's under-construction Polaris 1 campus as part of a deal that has swelled from a $7 billion, 15-year lease to one that is now worth $11 billion, the company said. Applied Digital said construction of its initial 100 megawatts in capacity at Polaris Forge 1 is on time and on budget, and the tenant fit-out for CoreWeave's infrastructure is underway. "We believe this campus has the potential to expand significantly, with additional power allocations expected to push capacity beyond 1 gigawatt starting in 2028 to 2030," Cummins said. Applied Digital also broke ground on its second North Dakota campus, named Polaris Forge 2 near the city of Harwood, despite reportedly significant community pushback. That data center will initially have two 150-megawatt buildings, but the company said it could ultimately scale to 1 gigawatt if pending future power agreements are successful. Construction of the facility is funded with $50 million from Maquarie Asset Management. An initial 200 megawatts in capacity is expected to come online in 2026, and Polaris 2 could reach full capacity by 2027, Applied Digital stated. Applied Digital said it is already in advanced discussions with an "investment-grade hyperscaler" and has ironed out key lease terms with it for Polaris 2. Should the lease be executed, the customer would hold first right of refusal on the full 1 gigawatt of capacity, contingent on securing the additional power, Applied Digital said.

Applied Digital's CoreWeave Deal Is An $11 Billion AI Power Play - CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD)

Applied Digital Corp (NASDAQ:APLD) has inked one of the biggest capacity expansions yet in the AI data center race. Chief Executive Wes Cummins confirmed during Applied's latest earnings call that the company expanded its long-term lease with CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV) to 400 megawatts, bringing the total contract value to approximately $11 billion. Track APLD stock here. 700 Megawatts Under Construction Applied Digital currently has "700 megawatts under construction," Cummins told investors. The company has also shortened its construction cycle dramatically. "We've been able to shorten our construction timeline to twelve to fourteen months from twenty-four months, which was an important step," he added, noting that the speed advantage is helping Applied capture opportunities faster than traditional developers. The expansion includes additional capacity at the company's flagship Polaris Forge campus. The next phase -- Polaris Forge Two -- is already under development, with the first building expected online in late 2026 and full scale reached by 2027. Read Also: Applied Digital (APLD) Stock Is Surging Friday: What's Going On? Flooded With Power Opportunities Cummins said the company is "getting flooded with power opportunities." In recent weeks, Applied has seen over 50 different sites in what Cummins calls a "big grab for power and for land." The CoreWeave deal is expected to add a stable base of recurring revenue as the company builds out additional projects. These leases, along with what's under construction, should support roughly half a billion dollars in annual net operating income. Applied expects to reach its stated goal of $1 billion of NOI run rate within five years, Cummins added. Read Next: Why This Applied Digital Analyst Doubles Price Target Image: Shutterstock APLDApplied Digital Corp$34.8519.0%OverviewCRWVCoreWeave Inc$143.700.43%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Applied Digital beats revenue estimates as AI demand fuels data center growth

Applied Digital Corporation is a designer, developer, and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure across North America. It provides digital infrastructure solutions and cloud services for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI). Its segments include Blockchain data center hosting (the Datacenter Hosting Business), cloud services, through a wholly owned subsidiary (the Cloud Services Business) and HPC data center hosting (the HPC Hosting Business). The Datacenter hosting segment operates datacenters to provide energized space to crypto-mining customers. The Cloud services segment operates through its Sai Computing brand and provides cloud services for customers, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning developers, to develop their advanced products. The HPC hosting segment designs, builds, and operates datacenters, which are designed to support high-computer applications using advanced infrastructures to provide services to customers.