CleanSpark, Inc. (CLSK) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure
The Verdict
CleanSpark is a data center developer that owns its sites and the power contracts behind them and leases space to tenants who need powered capacity for AI and high-performance computing. It grew up as a bitcoin miner and is converting those mining sites into AI campuses rather than building from nothing. That puts it in the physical layer of the buildout — land, grid interconnections, substations and shells — where the binding constraint is power rather than chips. Regulators, utilities and neighbors all have a say in whether a site converts, and management says not every site will become AI.
| Market Cap | — |
| Revenue (TTM) | $679M |
| Revenue Growth | +7.5% |
| EBITDA Margin (TTM) | -14.4% |
| Net Debt | $988M |
| Earnings Beats | 2 of 7 |
| P/E (TTM) | — |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | — |
What We Like
- Contracted power rose from roughly 1,027 MW at September 30, 2025 to 1.8 GW, with more than 5 GW of additional pipeline that management labels 'speculative or potential.'
- The first AI lease is signed: 20 years, $6.6 billion, triple-net, at Sandersville, with a high investment-grade tenant that has not been named.
- Sandersville's long-lead items are ordered and pre-paid, and management says the anticipated equity portion of the project is fully funded.
- Mining still funds the platform: 1,799 BTC mined in Q2 FY2026, roughly flat sequentially, with power cost down to $0.052/kWh from $0.056 in Q1.
- Capital discipline: roughly 20% of shares outstanding repurchased since December 2024, no equity issued on the ATM, and the $400 million bitcoin-backed credit line undrawn.
What We’re Watching
- Sandersville's tenant, rent, commencement date and the undefined 'RFS date' are all undisclosed; lease economics are the biggest gap in the record.
- Delivery: management guides 14-18 months from lease signing, and the first tenant AI data halls have not been built yet.
- No second AI lease is signed. Management says tenants engage 'on a portfolio basis,' but that interest is not contracted.
- Bitcoin price still drives 100% of reported revenue; the Q2 FY2026 sequential revenue decline was attributed entirely to price.
The thesis strengthened when the Sandersville lease was signed: a promised lead tenant became a 20-year contract, long-lead equipment was ordered, and the equity portion is described as funded. The mining business that pays the bills is still exposed to bitcoin price and produced a large reported net loss, and no AI revenue is recognized yet. The open question is whether one signed lease becomes a lease book, and whether the build delivers on time and on budget.
Earnings
CleanSpark reported $138 million of revenue in its fiscal Q3 2026, essentially flat against the $136 million of the prior quarter. Gross margin was negative 62.5%. The standout was commercial rather than operational: the company announced a signed 20-year, $6.6 billion triple-net lease at Sandersville with a high investment-grade tenant, its first contracted AI/HPC revenue stream, with long-lead items ordered and pre-paid.
| Metric | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $138M | $136M | $199M | −30.5% |
| Gross margin | -62.5% | -63.1% | 46.4% | -10890bps |
| EBITDA | −$1M | $4M | $341M | −100.2% |
| EPS | $-0.89 | $-1.41 | $0.79 | −213.0% |
| Sandersville AI lease | $6.6B, 20-year triple-net | n/a | n/a | — |
Mining funds the platform, AI monetizes it.— Gary Vecchiarelli, CFO, 2026-05-11
Management tone: The most recent quarter was reported by press release rather than an earnings call; the most recent call was Q2 FY2026. There, management's tone stayed deliberate and business-like. It reaffirmed mining as the funding engine, said its capital strategy had not changed, and declined to give capex per megawatt at Sandersville, answering instead on delivery timeline and total cost of ownership. After the lease was signed, the framing shifted from pre-lease spending restraint to execution, with long-lead items ordered and pre-paid.
Management Guidance
CleanSpark issues no revenue or earnings guidance. Its operational guides: AI data center capex of $9 million to $11 million per megawatt; Sealy's first roughly 207-209 MW energizing in the first half of 2027, with about 40 MW in 2028 and 40 MW in 2029; Brazoria energization targeted between Q4 2027 and Q1 2028; data center delivery of 14-18 months from lease signing; and hashrate trending to 55 by the end of the year. Management also said the anticipated equity portion of the Sandersville project is fully funded and that all long-lead items are ordered and pre-paid.
Trajectory
The reported numbers move with bitcoin. Revenue climbed through fiscal 2025 to $224 million in the September 2025 quarter, then fell 19% to $181 million in Q1 FY2026 and 25% to $136 million in Q2 FY2026 as the average bitcoin price dropped from about $100,000 to about $76,000. Production barely budged — 1,799 BTC mined in Q2 against roughly 1,821 in Q1 — so the swing is price, not volume. Q3 FY2026 revenue came in at $138 million, flat against Q2. The code-computed signals show revenue decelerating and gross margin compressing, with Q3 gross margin at -62.5% against 46.4% a year earlier. Reported losses also carry large noncash bitcoin mark-to-market swings.
The Model
The model projects FY+1 revenue of $630.0 million and EBITDA of $50 million, a 7.9% margin, then FY+2 revenue of $850 million and EBITDA of $328 million, a 38.6% margin. FY+1 revenue sits below the $679.3 million of trailing twelve-month revenue, so the first year does not assume a large AI revenue step. The step up in FY+2 depends on the Sandersville build converting contract value into recognized lease revenue. Across the five model runs, FY+1 revenue ranged from $590 million to $700 million and FY+2 from $800 million to $900 million.
| Metric | FY2025 | Next FY (E) | Following FY (E) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $766M | $630M | $850M |
| YoY Growth | — | −17.8% | +34.9% |
| EBITDA | $667M | $50M | $328M |
| EBITDA Margin | 87.1% | 7.9% | 38.6% |
Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs.
CleanSpark issues no revenue or earnings guidance. Its operational guides: AI data center capex of $9 million to $11 million per megawatt; Sealy's first roughly 207-209 MW energizing in the first half of 2027, with about 40 MW in 2028 and 40 MW in 2029; Brazoria energization targeted between Q4 2027 and Q1 2028; data center delivery of 14-18 months from lease signing; and hashrate trending to 55 by the end of the year. Management also said the anticipated equity portion of the Sandersville project is fully funded and that all long-lead items are ordered and pre-paid.
What Could Go Right — and Wrong
- Additional long-duration leases are signed at Sealy, Brazoria, Washington, Jackson or Cheyenne, turning one contract into a lease book.
- Sandersville delivers inside the 14-18 month guide, giving the company a construction track record in a business where it has none.
- Disclosure of the tenant's identity and rent confirms a direct high-grade counterparty rather than a wrapped neocloud structure.
- Project financing is raised at constructive terms — management cites recent sector deals priced slightly over 6% — without dilution.
- Bitcoin recovers, restoring the mining cash flow that funds the AI build.
- Bitcoin price stays low or network difficulty rises, weakening the mining cash engine exactly when the AI build consumes capital.
- The Sandersville build slips past the 14-18 month window or costs more than the $9-11 million per megawatt assumption.
- No second lease follows, leaving the AI story resting on a single unnamed tenant.
- Concentration at every layer: Foundry Digital is the sole mining pool and customer at 100% of revenue, and Coinbase is the sole custodian of mined bitcoin.
Looking Ahead
Over the next 12 months the questions are delivery and financing. Sandersville's long-lead items are ordered and pre-paid and management guides 14-18 months from lease signing to delivery; the first AI data halls are the proof point. Sealy's first roughly 207-209 MW is guided to energize in the first half of 2027, with Brazoria targeted for Q4 2027-Q1 2028. The proposed $2.227 billion senior secured notes offering, announced 2026-09-17, will show how the AI build is financed. Whether a second lease is signed is the other thing to watch.
- 2026-09-17Notes offering — Proposed $2.227 billion senior secured notes due 2031.
- End of calendar 2026Mining fleet deployment — 19,000 immersion units guided; hashrate to 55 by year-end.
- H1 2027Sealy first energization — Roughly 207-209 MW energize; substation construction underway.
- 14-18 months from leaseSandersville AI delivery — First data halls test the guided delivery window.
- Q4 2027-Q1 2028Brazoria energization — Targeted energization, subject to closing conditions.
Financials
Annual Summary
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $379M | $766M | $679M | +102.2% |
| Gross Margin | 39.4% | 44.1% | -5.3% | +470bps |
| EBITDA | $6M | $667M | −$98M | +11816.1% |
| EBITDA Margin | 1.5% | 87.1% | -14.4% | +8,560bps |
| Net Income | −$146M | $364M | −$998M | +350.0% |
| Free Cash Flow | −$1.0B | −$1.0B | −$1.1B | — |
| Net Cash | — | — | — | — |
Key Ratios (Trailing)
- P/E TTM—
- EV/EBITDA TTM—
- EV/Revenue TTM—
- Price/FCF TTM—
- Gross Margin (TTM)-5.3%
- EBITDA Margin (TTM)-14.4%
- Net Margin (TTM)-146.9%
- ROIC-24.4%
- SBC / Revenue14.4%
The Company
CleanSpark builds, owns and operates data centers and the power infrastructure that feeds them. It began as a bitcoin miner and has been converting parts of that portfolio into space for AI and high-performance-computing tenants. Tenants need powered, grid-connected sites; CleanSpark owns land, substations and shells at locations in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Wyoming and Texas. The FY2025 10-K describes the company as 'a data center developer, until recently focused exclusively on bitcoin mining.'
It operates as an owner rather than a landlord with no stake in the power. The company owns or leases its sites and holds contracted power — approximately 1,027 megawatts at September 30, 2025, rising to about 1.8 gigawatts by the Q2 FY2026 call. Named sites include Sandersville, Georgia (about 250 MW live), Sealy and Brazoria in Texas, Washington, Georgia, Jackson, Tennessee, Cheyenne, Wyoming, a Metro Atlanta expansion and a small South Dakota site. Data centers are built with factory-made mechanical, electrical and plumbing components, which management says can cut on-site labor by up to 70%. Mining remains the cash engine; the 10-K names Foundry Digital as its sole mining pool and customer and Coinbase as custodian of mined bitcoin.
Business Segments
Competitive Landscape
CleanSpark competes on two fronts. In bitcoin mining, the 10-K names MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, Bitfarms, IREN Limited, Cipher Mining and TeraWulf. In AI and HPC data centers, it names Equinix, Digital Realty Trust and CoreWeave. Management frames the company's position around scarce power rather than scale: 'Our assets are being pulled into the AI market not pushed.'
- MARA HoldingsNamed in filings; not discussed.
- Riot PlatformsNamed in filings; not discussed.
- Core ScientificNamed in filings; not discussed.
- Cipher MiningNamed in filings; not discussed.
- CoreWeaveNamed in filings; not discussed.
Supply Chain
CleanSpark buys miners, holds its mined bitcoin through a custodian and sends all mining output to one pool. On the AI side it is a landlord — tenants buy powered data center space, not hardware. Most supplier relationships are disclosed in filings.