So you know how everyone’s been talking about AI being the next big thing? Well, Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) just decided to show off and absolutely crushed it on Friday, jumping 28% like it was doing parkour in the stock market.
Here’s the tea: This company basically builds the digital equivalent of really expensive parking garages for AI – except instead of cars, they’re parking massive computer brains that need to crunch numbers 24/7. And apparently, business is booming.
The Numbers That Made Wall Street Do a Double-Take
Applied Digital just dropped their earnings report, and it was the kind of beat-down that makes analysts reach for their calculators twice:
- Revenue: $64.2 million (up 84% year-over-year) – they were expecting $50 million, so this was like ordering a medium coffee and getting a venti
- Loss per share: 11 cents (analysts thought it’d be 13 cents) – still losing money, but hey, losing less money is progress in startup land
The real kicker? They just signed a lease deal with CoreWeave for 150 megawatts at their North Dakota campus. For context, that’s enough power to run a small city, except instead of powering streetlights, it’s powering the AI that might eventually replace us all. Fun!
Building the AI Empire, One Data Center at a Time
Here’s where it gets interesting. Applied Digital isn’t just sitting around counting their money (well, they’re still losing money, but you get it). They’re going full expansion mode:
Their Polaris Forge 1 campus in North Dakota is now completely booked with $11 billion in anticipated lease revenue. That’s “buy a small country” money. They’re already building more capacity because apparently, everyone and their grandmother wants to rent space for their AI projects.
CEO Wes Cummins dropped this gem: “We believe we are in a prime position to serve as the modern-day picks and shovels of the intelligence era.” Translation: While everyone else is digging for AI gold, Applied Digital is selling the shovels – and business is good.
Wall Street Gets Excited (And Raises Price Targets)
When a stock jumps 28% in one day, analysts start paying attention. Roth Capital got so excited they bumped their price target by $13 to $56 per share. That’s a 55% upside from current levels – basically saying “this party is just getting started.”
The stock is now up a ridiculous 372% year-to-date. If you bought $1,000 worth at the beginning of the year, you’d be sitting on almost $5,000 right now. Not bad for a company most people have never heard of.
The Bottom Line
Applied Digital is basically betting that AI is going to need a lot more digital real estate, and so far, they’re winning that bet big time. With hyperscalers expected to throw around $350 billion at AI infrastructure this year, being the landlord in this space isn’t the worst place to be.
Just remember: what goes up 372% in a year can also come down just as fast. But for now, Applied Digital is riding the AI wave like a pro surfer in perfect conditions.