Remember Applied Digital (APLD)? Yeah, the company that used to mine crypto back when everyone thought Bitcoin was going to replace actual money. Well, plot twist: they pivoted to AI and now they’re absolutely crushing it.
We’re talking 587% gains in six months. That’s not a typo – that’s the kind of return that makes your neighbor’s Tesla stock gains look cute.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (Unlike Your Dating Profile)
APLD just dropped their Q1 2026 earnings and basically said “hold my energy drink” to Wall Street expectations. Revenue jumped 84% year-over-year to $64.2 million. Analysts were expecting $50 million, so that’s like showing up to a potluck with homemade lasagna when everyone expected you to bring store-bought cookies.
Even better? They only lost 3 cents per share when the smart money crowd was bracing for a 13-cent loss. In the world of growth stocks, that’s basically printing money.
The AI Gold Rush is Real
Here’s where it gets spicy: Applied Digital secured full capacity for their Polaris Forge 1 data center. Think of it as prime real estate, but instead of location being everything, it’s all about processing power for AI workloads.
They also expanded their deal with CoreWeave (the cloud computing darling) by another 150 MW. For context, that’s enough power to run a small city – or train the next ChatGPT that’ll probably write better articles than this one.
The kicker? Their prospective lease revenue is sitting at $11 billion. That’s billion with a ‘B,’ folks. And they’re planning to potentially expand Polaris Forge 1 to 1 GW by 2030. At this rate, they might need their own nuclear power plant.
So, $100 Per Share? Let’s Talk
APLD hit $39 back in 2004 (ancient history in tech years) and is currently trading around $34.60. The company is targeting a $1 billion net operating income run rate within five years, but honestly? They might hit that sooner if they keep landing these mega-deals.
Could it double in 12 months? If management keeps executing like they have been, we might be looking at a stock that makes early Tesla investors feel nostalgic.
The AI infrastructure play is just getting started, and Applied Digital went from crypto mining also-ran to AI infrastructure heavyweight faster than you can say “pivot.” Sometimes the best investments are the ones that completely reinvent themselves when the world changes.
Just remember: past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, but when a company beats expectations this hard while riding the biggest tech wave since the internet… well, that’s worth paying attention to.