You know that feeling when your friend keeps bragging about their crypto gains? Well, Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) shareholders are living that dream right now – except their gains are actually real and documented.
This AI data center play just rocketed another 14% on Friday, pushing its year-to-date performance to an absolutely bonkers 255%. That’s the kind of return that makes your boring S&P 500 index fund look like it’s stuck in traffic.
What’s got everyone excited this time? Cold, hard cash – specifically a $100 million loan facility from Macquarie Group. Think of it as Applied Digital’s new corporate credit line, except instead of buying office supplies, they’re building the digital infrastructure that powers our AI-obsessed future.
The timing couldn’t be better. While everyone’s arguing about whether AI is overhyped, somebody still needs to build the actual data centers where all this artificial intelligence magic happens. Applied Digital is basically the landlord to the AI revolution – and business is booming.
Here’s the play: They’re using this fresh capital to fund “pre-lease development costs” for new data center projects. Translation? They’re building before they even have tenants lined up, betting that demand will keep outpacing supply. It’s a bold move, but given the AI frenzy, probably a smart one.
The company already has two operational campuses in North Dakota (because apparently that’s where the future lives), with one leased to CoreWeave and another getting a mystery “major hyperscaler” tenant early next year. When tech companies are this secretive about partnerships, you know the numbers are probably huge.
The analyst community is basically throwing a party. All 12 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy, with price targets suggesting another 49% upside from here. Because apparently tripling your money in one year isn’t enough – they want more.
Sure, Applied Digital is still burning cash (welcome to growth mode), but their revenue jumped 84% year-over-year last quarter. More importantly, they’re sitting on billions in contracted revenue that should start flowing as these data centers come online.
The bigger picture? As AI continues eating the world, the infrastructure supporting it becomes increasingly valuable. Applied Digital is positioning itself as the picks-and-shovels play in this digital gold rush – except instead of selling tools to miners, they’re renting server space to tech giants.
Of course, what goes up 255% can also come down just as fast. But for now, Applied Digital is riding the perfect storm of AI demand, infrastructure scarcity, and investor enthusiasm. Not a bad place to be in 2026.
Just remember: past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, but it sure makes for great cocktail party conversation.