CleanSpark, Inc. (CLSK) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure
The Verdict
CleanSpark develops and owns utility-scale power and data center campuses, converting sites it assembled as a bitcoin miner into AI and high-performance computing hosting capacity. It contributes the power, land, substations, and factory-built shells that AI tenants need, while keeping its mining business as the funding engine and its digital asset management arm as a treasury supplement.
| Market Cap | — |
| Revenue (TTM) | $740M |
| Revenue Growth | +37.7% |
| EBITDA Margin (TTM) | 33.0% |
| Net Debt | $856M |
| Earnings Beats | 2 of 7 |
| P/E (TTM) | — |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | — |
What We Like
- Signed 20-year, $6.6 billion triple-net Sandersville lease with a high investment-grade tenant—the first AI/HPC revenue contract in the record.
- Contracted power rose from approximately 1,027 MW at fiscal-year-end 2025 to 1.8 GW by Q2 FY2026, with a >5 GW pipeline described as speculative or potential.
- Fleet efficiency improving: 13.5 J/TH immersion miners deploying across five locations, hashrate trending toward 55 EH/s by end-2026.
- DAM generated $17.2 million fiscal-year-to-date cash returns through Q2 FY2026 with less than 40% of bitcoin/DM strategies activated.
- Liquidity of roughly $1.2 billion at March 31, 2026 includes $260 million cash, 13,561 BTC worth $925 million, and a $400 million bitcoin-backed line undrawn.
What We’re Watching
- Sandersville lease tenant, RFS date, per-MW rent, and commencement remain undisclosed; contract value is not recognized revenue.
- 100% of recognized revenue is still bitcoin mining; Q2 FY2026 revenue fell 25% quarter-on-quarter as bitcoin price dropped to roughly $76,000.
- AI build cost is guided at $9–11M per MW; a 250 MW build implies roughly $2.25–2.75 billion, with no debt/project financing structure committed.
- Tariff risk: changes to U.S. import tariffs or trade restrictions on mining equipment and related components could affect the cost and timing of infrastructure expansion.
The core thesis has strengthened at the commercialization layer: management's promised first AI lease became a signed contract, and contracted power expanded to 1.8 GW. What has weakened is the funding engine—bitcoin mining revenue fell 25% quarter-on-quarter, and reported net losses from bitcoin mark-to-market continued. The open question is whether the company can deliver Sandersville on time and sign additional leases before the mining cash engine is strained.
Earnings
CleanSpark reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $136.4 million, down 25% sequentially, with gross margin of -63.1% and EBITDA of $4.0 million. Net loss was $378.3 million. Bitcoin mined was 1,799—only 22 fewer than the prior quarter—while average bitcoin price fell to roughly $76,000 from roughly $100,000.
| Metric | Q2 FY2026 | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $136M | $181M | $182M | −24.9% |
| Gross margin | -63.1% | 34.1% | 53.0% | -11610bps |
| EBITDA | $4M | −$210M | −$59M | −106.8% |
| EPS | $-1.41 | $-1.33 | $-0.49 | +185.9% |
| Bitcoin mined | 1,799 BTC | ~1,821 BTC | n/a | — |
| DAM cash returns | $4M | $13M | n/a | — |
While Bitcoin and markets broadly experienced elevated volatility and a significant drawdown during the quarter, we were still able to drive net positive cash returns of approximately $4 million.. these numbers are being generated while we are only activating less than 40% for Bitcoin and DM strategies.— Gary Vecchiarelli, President and CFO, May 11, 2026
Management tone: Management shifted from Q1's advanced-diligence language to negotiating commercial contracts, while repeatedly separating noncash bitcoin marks from the operating story.
Management Guidance
CleanSpark does not maintain formal annual revenue or EPS guidance. Its operational guidance includes an AI build cost of $9 million to $11 million per MW, hashrate trending toward 55 EH/s through end-2026, construction delivery of 14–18 months from lease signing, Sealy first energization of roughly 207–209 MW in H1 2027, and Brazoria energization in Q4 2027–Q1 2028 subject to closing.
Trajectory
Revenue has decelerated from $198.6 million in Q3 FY2025 to $136.4 million in Q2 FY2026, while bitcoin mined stayed nearly flat. The decline reflects bitcoin price and difficulty rather than unit collapse, and power cost improved to $0.052/kWh. Reported gross and EBITDA margins have compressed over the same stretch.
The Model
The model projects FY+1 revenue of $611.9 million with EBITDA of $146 million (23.8% margin), and FY+2 revenue of $726.3 million with EBITDA of $242 million (33.3% margin). The near term is anchored by bitcoin mining and the early Sandersville lease conversion; FY+2 is driven by a larger AI/HPC revenue contribution. The five-run dispersion on FY2 revenue is 71%.
| Metric | FY2025 | Next FY (E) | Following FY (E) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $766M | $612M | $726M |
| YoY Growth | — | −20.1% | +18.7% |
| EBITDA | $667M | $146M | $242M |
| EBITDA Margin | 87.1% | 23.8% | 33.3% |
Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs.
CleanSpark does not maintain formal annual revenue or EPS guidance. Its operational guidance includes an AI build cost of $9 million to $11 million per MW, hashrate trending toward 55 EH/s through end-2026, construction delivery of 14–18 months from lease signing, Sealy first energization of roughly 207–209 MW in H1 2027, and Brazoria energization in Q4 2027–Q1 2028 subject to closing.
What Could Go Right — and Wrong
- Additional signed AI/HPC leases beyond Sandersville, especially with the same high-credit tenant across the portfolio.
- Sandersville delivery within the 14–18 month window and on budget against the $9–11M/MW build-cost assumption.
- Sealy first ~207–209 MW energizes in H1 2027 and Brazoria in Q4 2027–Q1 2028 as guided.
- Bitcoin price recovers, restoring the mining revenue that funds AI construction.
- DAM activation rises above 40% of bitcoin balances and returns broaden beyond the current $17.2 million fiscal-year-to-date.
- AI/HPC revenue recognition is further delayed if the Sandersville RFS date slips or lease commencement terms stretch past calendar 2027.
- Bitcoin prices stay low or difficulty rises, cutting the mining cash engine exactly as AI build spending ramps.
- No debt/project financing is committed; a warrant-heavy or equity raise could dilute shareholders.
- Delivery of the first tenant-specific AI data center fails; the company has built mining centers, not AI data centers.
- Grid-connection and regulatory approval risk in the ERCOT large-load process could delay project energization.
Looking Ahead
The next 12 months are framed by Sandersville build execution against an undisclosed RFS and the 14–18 month delivery window, plus Sealy's first roughly 207–209 MW energization in H1 2027. Also in view are Brazoria's Q4 2027–Q1 2028 target, hashrate trending to 55 EH/s by end-2026, and the full Q3 FY2026 financial statements.
- End-2026Hashrate trend to 55 EH/s — Tests deployment of 13.5 J/TH immersion miners.
- End-202619,000-unit miner deployment — Completion of S21X/immersion fleet rollout.
- H1 2027Sealy first energization — First ~207–209 MW in Austin County, TX.
- 14–18 months from lease signingSandersville delivery — Tests factory-built AI data center delivery on time.
- Q4 2027–Q1 2028Brazoria energization — Target window for 300 MW ERCOT-approved campus.
Financials
Annual Summary
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $379M | $766M | $740M | +102.2% |
| Gross Margin | 39.4% | 44.1% | 19.2% | +470bps |
| EBITDA | $6M | $667M | −$619M | +11816.1% |
| EBITDA Margin | 1.5% | 87.1% | 33.0% | +8,560bps |
| Net Income | −$146M | $364M | −$500M | +350.0% |
| Free Cash Flow | −$1.0B | −$1.0B | −$3.0B | — |
| Net Cash | — | — | — | — |
Key Ratios (Trailing)
- P/E TTM—
- EV/EBITDA TTM—
- EV/Revenue TTM—
- Price/FCF TTM—
- Gross Margin (TTM)19.2%
- EBITDA Margin (TTM)33.0%
- Net Margin (TTM)-67.6%
- ROIC-7.8%
- FCF Conversion-439.4%
- SBC / Revenue8.6%
The Company
CleanSpark is a data center developer that owns, leases, and operates data centers and power assets across Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Wyoming, with approximately 1,027 MW of contracted power at its September 30, 2025 balance-sheet date. It earns from bitcoin mining today and is converting sites into AI/HPC hosting and leasing capacity under long-duration tenant contracts.
The company operates with owned power and construction capabilities: it holds contracted power, builds substations, uses factory-built modular MEP for 60–70% of construction, and targets delivery in 14–18 months from lease signing. Its Texas footprint includes Sealy and Brazoria, and its first AI lease is the 20-year Sandersville campus.
Business Segments
Competitive Landscape
CleanSpark's 10-K names bitcoin mining competitors—MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, Bitfarms, IREN, Cipher Mining, and TeraWulf—and AI/HPC data center competitors Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and CoreWeave. Management frames its edge as scarce, contracted utility-grade power and portfolio-based tenant demand, and the source's cross-stack themes place it in a bitcoin-to-AI-colocation cohort targeting 10+ GW.
- MARA Holdings, Inc.Named in 10-K as a bitcoin mining competitor; not discussed.
- Riot Platforms, Inc.Named in 10-K as a bitcoin mining competitor; not discussed.
- Named in 10-K as a bitcoin mining competitor; not discussed.
- Named in 10-K as an AI/HPC data center competitor; not discussed.
- Named in 10-K as an AI/HPC data center competitor; not discussed.
Supply Chain
CleanSpark sits between power grids and compute tenants: it contracts grid-connected power, builds substations and modular shells, and signs long-term leases for AI tenants. Its mining side depends on one pool customer and a limited number of miner suppliers.