Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure
The Verdict
Riot Platforms develops, builds, and leases large-scale data center capacity powered by its owned electricity assets. It also builds electrical distribution equipment and operates Bitcoin mining as a cash-flow engine. In the AI buildout, it supplies the scarce physical input — approved, interconnected power — and converts it into long-term data center leases for AI and HPC tenants.
| Market Cap | — |
| Revenue (TTM) | $653M |
| Revenue Growth | +42.4% |
| EBITDA Margin (TTM) | -14.1% |
| Net Debt | $672M |
| Earnings Beats | 3 of 7 |
| P/E (TTM) | — |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | — |
What We Like
- Signed 241 MW of data center leases in seven months — AMD 50 MW and an unnamed frontier AI lab 191 MW at Rockdale.
- Combined contracted data center revenue of ~$9.8B across the two leases.
- Management expects 80–90% NOI margin on the AI lab lease and ~$416M–$462M average annual NOI across both leases at full deployment.
- AMD initial 25 MW was delivered in under five months, on time and on budget, and AMD uses the Rockdale site as its Megalab to test the Helios Rack AI platform.
- Engineering revenue reached $37.3M in Q2, more than triple the year-ago $10.6M, with gross margin over 27%.
What We’re Watching
- Corsicana full-site LOI is nonbinding; management cautions the process can still 'take a number of twists and turns.'
- The unnamed AI lab tenant represents 191 MW and its lease depends on an investment-grade backstop not yet finalized.
- Bitcoin treasury fell from 15,679 BTC at Q1 end to 11,380 BTC at Q2 end as management sells production and inventory.
- Direct cost to mine $49,912/BTC in Q2 sits close to the quarter-end Bitcoin price of $58,527.
The thesis is strengthening on disclosed delivery: 241 MW of signed data center leases, a scaling recurring lease layer at high margins, and project financing moving toward execution. But forward value is concentrated in an unnamed tenant and a nonbinding LOI. The open question is whether Corsicana converts to a signed lease and the AI lab investment-grade backstop closes.
Earnings
Q2 2026 total revenue was $174M, up 14% year over year. The company reported a GAAP net loss of $237M, or $0.68 per diluted share, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $70M. Recurring data center operating lease revenue rose to $4.9M at an 84% lease margin.
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 | Q4 FY2025 | Q1 FY2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $167M | $153M | $161M | +3.6% |
| Gross margin | -39.6% | -36.4% | -7.5% | -3210bps |
| EBITDA | −$45M | −$34M | −$6M | +682.5% |
| EPS | $-1.44 | $-1.86 | $-0.90 | +60.1% |
| Data Center operating lease revenue | $4.9M | $0.9M | n/a | — |
In the last 7 months, Riot has gone from 0 contracted data center revenue to 241 megawatts of executed capacity with 2 of the highest quality counterparties in the AI ecosystem, AMD and now a leading frontier AI lab.— Jason Les, CEO, August 10, 2026
Management tone: Management's tone shifted to a landmark-deal framing, with the CEO describing 2026 as 'the year of execution.' Management chose to disclose the Corsicana LOI after historically not disclosing LOIs, and was candid that the process remains subject to uncertainty. Management declined to name the AI lab tenant, the Corsicana LOI tenant, and the backstop parties.
Management Guidance
Riot gives no formal full-year revenue or EPS guidance. Project guidance covers AMD delivery of 10 MW in Nov 2026 and 15 MW in May 2027, with full 50 MW by May 2027; Corsicana 160 MW core-and-shell by Q2 2027 and 756 MW critical IT capacity at full build-out; AMD annualized operating lease revenue run rate of $37.8M at exit 2026 and $55.6M at exit 2027; Data Center NOI margin of 80%+ once stabilized; AI lab 96 MW delivery and rent commencement in Dec 2027, full 191 MW in Jun 2028, and 80–90% NOI margin; AMD initial 25 MW term loan of ~$180M expected to close before the end of Q3 2026; and a $70M delayed-draw second tranche at 85% loan-to-cost.
Trajectory
Reported revenue has been uneven: $153M in Q2 2025, $180M in Q3 2025, $153M in Q4 2025, $167M in Q1 2026, and $174M in Q2 2026. The code-computed revenue trajectory is decelerating, and gross, operating, and EBITDA margins are compressing. Q2 mix improved toward higher-margin data center lease revenue, but current reported revenue remains majority Bitcoin mining and GAAP results are still burdened by non-cash charges.
The Model
The model's locked projections put FY+1 revenue at $767M with EBITDA of -$98M (-12.8%), and FY+2 revenue at $660.2M with EBITDA of -$130M (-19.7%). The FY+2 projection implies a revenue decline from FY+1 and a wider EBITDA loss.
| Metric | FY2025 | Next FY (E) | Following FY (E) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $647M | $767M | $660M |
| YoY Growth | — | +18.5% | −13.9% |
| EBITDA | −$53M | −$98M | −$130M |
| EBITDA Margin | -8.2% | -12.8% | -19.7% |
Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs.
Riot gives no formal full-year revenue or EPS guidance. Project guidance covers AMD delivery of 10 MW in Nov 2026 and 15 MW in May 2027, with full 50 MW by May 2027; Corsicana 160 MW core-and-shell by Q2 2027 and 756 MW critical IT capacity at full build-out; AMD annualized operating lease revenue run rate of $37.8M at exit 2026 and $55.6M at exit 2027; Data Center NOI margin of 80%+ once stabilized; AI lab 96 MW delivery and rent commencement in Dec 2027, full 191 MW in Jun 2028, and 80–90% NOI margin; AMD initial 25 MW term loan of ~$180M expected to close before the end of Q3 2026; and a $70M delayed-draw second tranche at 85% loan-to-cost.
What Could Go Right — and Wrong
- Corsicana LOI converts to a signed full-site lease at ~756 MW, adding in excess of $1B in annual rent at full deployment.
- AMD exercises additional options, extending the Rockdale build-out from 50 MW toward 200 MW.
- AI lab investment-grade backstop closes, derisking the largest lease and permanent financing.
- AI lab Phase 1 delivers 96 MW on schedule in December 2027, with rent commencement.
- New power assets or partnerships extend the model beyond Rockdale and Corsicana.
- Corsicana LOI fails to convert, removing the >$1B annual rent opportunity.
- AI lab investment-grade backstop slips or fails, delaying permanent financing for the 191 MW build-out.
- AI lab construction slips beyond Dec 2027 or Jun 2028, changing contracted economics.
- Bitcoin price decline or higher network difficulty weakens the internal funding engine while direct mining cost sits near $49,912/BTC.
- Competing developers sign hyperscaler tenants faster, diluting Riot's power advantage.
Looking Ahead
The next twelve months are execution signposts. AMD financing is expected to close before end Q3 2026, followed by 10 MW of AMD expansion in Nov 2026, 15 MW of AMD expansion in May 2027, and 160 MW of Corsicana core-and-shell by Q2 2027. A Corsicana LOI update remains undated. The AI lab backstop is described as near-term, while AI lab Phase 1 delivery and rent commencement sit further out in Dec 2027.
- Before end Q3 2026AMD term loan close — Tests the lease-finance-recycle model with ~$180M on initial 25 MW.
- Timing not disclosedCorsicana LOI update — Tests conversion of full-site ~756 MW opportunity into signed lease.
- Nov 2026AMD Phase 3 delivery — 10 MW expansion revenue step at Rockdale.
- May 2027AMD Phase 4 delivery — Final 15 MW of AMD 50 MW contracted capacity.
- Q2 2027Corsicana core and shell — 160 MW completion confirms gigawatt campus construction.
- Dec 2027AI lab Phase 1 delivery — 96 MW rent commencement; largest execution milestone.
Financials
Annual Summary
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $377M | $647M | $653M | +71.9% |
| Gross Margin | 28.9% | -16.1% | -23.8% | 4,502bps |
| EBITDA | $366M | −$53M | −$7.5B | -114.6% |
| EBITDA Margin | 97.1% | -8.2% | -14.1% | 10,531bps |
| Net Income | $109M | −$663M | −$867M | -706.1% |
| Free Cash Flow | −$1.5B | −$880M | −$4.1B | — |
| Net Cash | — | — | — | — |
Key Ratios (Trailing)
- P/E TTM—
- EV/EBITDA TTM—
- EV/Revenue TTM—
- Price/FCF TTM—
- Gross Margin (TTM)-23.8%
- EBITDA Margin (TTM)-14.1%
- Net Margin (TTM)-132.8%
- ROIC-11.8%
- SBC / Revenue20.7%
The Company
Riot Platforms is a vertically integrated digital infrastructure company organized around large-scale power assets. Its FY2025 10-K describes the business as developing and optimizing large-scale power assets across two platforms: Bitcoin Mining and scalable data center solutions designed to support non-mining workloads. For the AI buildout, it provides physical data center capacity, not software or models: powered, cooled, high-density buildings leased to AI/HPC tenants, supported by its own electrical-equipment manufacturing.
It operates through Bitcoin Mining, Data Center, and Engineering segments. The company owns and develops three facilities: Rockdale in Texas with 700 MW of developed capacity, Corsicana in Navarro County, Texas with 400 MW today and roughly 1 GW expected upon completion, and Kentucky with about 137 MW targeting roughly 232 MW through the remainder of 2026. It owns Rockdale fee-simple, has assembled about 900 acres at Corsicana, and manufactures switchgear, power distribution units, substations, and power skids through wholly owned ESS Metron / E4A.
Business Segments
Competitive Landscape
Riot operates in Bitcoin mining and data center hosting. The only competitor explicitly identified in the provided source material is Bitmain Technologies, which is named as a competitor/co-deployed hardware maker.
- Bitmain TechnologiesCompetitor/co-deployed hardware; Riot deploys Bitmain Antminer miners alongside MicroBT WhatsMiner.
Supply Chain
Riot sits between approved Texas power and AI/HPC demand: it owns or controls large-scale, interconnected sites and builds data center capacity for signed tenants AMD and an unnamed frontier AI lab.
More on RIOT: Earnings recap