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.

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.