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RIOT — Riot Platforms: 241 MW of AI leases on a bitcoin-mining base
Riot has turned Texas power into signed AI data-center leases faster than most miners — but the rent does not start in scale until 2028, and the P&L is still driven by bitcoin.
01The 30-second read
Fast read
Riot is the cleanest example of a bitcoin miner converting real power into contracted AI data-center leases. In just over six months it signed 241 MW of critical-IT capacity with two tenants at its Rockdale, Texas campus: AMD (50 MW) and a 191 MW, 20-year lease with a “leading frontier AI lab” — reported to be Anthropic — worth roughly $9.1B over the initial term (~$16.1B with extensions). Total contracted revenue is about $9.8B.
But the revenue mix tells the honest story. Q2 2026 revenue was $174.2M (+14% YoY), of which $113.7M (~65%) was still bitcoin mining and only $23.2M was data-center. The quarter produced a $237.2M net loss and −$69.7M adjusted EBITDA, and the big lease payments do not arrive until the 191 MW is delivered between December 2027 and June 2028.
So Riot is a hybrid: a smaller, weaker bitcoin miner than MARA on revenue-per-dollar, but with actual signed AI contracts and a delivery record (initial 25 MW to AMD, on time and on budget). The pivot is further along than MARA’s — and still years from showing up in the numbers.
02The bull case, briefly
Real signed tenants, real power
- Two AI leases at Rockdale: AMD (50 MW contracted) and a 191 MW, 20-year lease with a leading frontier AI lab — ~$9.1B of initial contract revenue (~$16.1B if both five-year extensions are exercised), with estimated NOI of $365–$411M a year.
- ~$9.8B contracted across 241 MW with two of the most important names in AI.
- Delivery track record: the initial 25 MW to AMD was delivered on time and on budget (May 2026); Phase 3 (10 MW) is due Nov 2026 and Phase 4 (15 MW) May 2027.
- Power is already approved and energized: ~1 GW ERCOT-approved at Corsicana plus a 700 MW interconnection at Rockdale, now owned fee simple — scarce, hard-to-replicate infrastructure.
03The bear case, briefly
The AI money is small today and arrives in 2028
- It is still mostly a bitcoin miner. Of $174.2M Q2 revenue, $113.7M was bitcoin mining (down from $140.9M a year earlier) and only $23.2M was data-center.
- Mining economics are underwater on a fully-loaded basis: cost to mine was $49,912/BTC excluding depreciation but ~$90,631/BTC including it, against ~$71,667 of production value.
- Losses and cash drag: Q2 net loss $237.2M; adjusted EBITDA −$69.7M; Riot sold ~9,665 BTC in H1 2026 to fund the AI build.
- Execution and financing risk: the 191 MW lease is build-to-suit with initial 96 MW due December 2027, funded in part by a $573M interim Morgan Stanley facility pending an investment-grade credit backstop.
04Key numbers
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 revenue | $174.2M | +14% YoY (vs $153.0M) |
| Bitcoin Mining revenue | $113.7M | ~65% of total; vs $140.9M a year earlier |
| Data Center revenue | $23.2M | Second quarter of segment revenue |
| Engineering revenue | $37.3M | vs $10.6M a year earlier |
| Q2 net loss | −$237.2M | Adjusted EBITDA −$69.7M |
| Bitcoin produced | 1,587 BTC | vs 1,426 in Q2 2025 |
| Cost to mine | $49,912/BTC | Excl. depreciation |
| Deployed hashrate | 44.4 EH/s | Self-mining |
| AI capacity leased | 241 MW | AMD 50 MW + AI lab 191 MW |
| Contracted lease revenue | ~$9.8B | ~$9.1B from the 191 MW lease |
| Liquidity (Jun 30) | >$1.2B | 11,380 BTC (~$666M) + $548.9M cash |
| Consensus | Strong Buy | 20 analysts; avg target ~$29.50 |
Sources & method
- Riot Platforms Q2 2026 results, press release (Aug 10, 2026): total revenue $174.2M (+14%), Data Center revenue $23.2M, Bitcoin Mining revenue $113.7M, Engineering revenue $37.3M, net loss $237.2M, adjusted EBITDA −$69.7M, 1,587 BTC produced, cost to mine $49,912/BTC, liquidity >$1.2B (11,380 BTC + $548.9M cash)
- Riot Platforms Q2 2026 earnings release — 20-year, 191 MW data-center lease with a leading frontier AI lab at Rockdale: ~$9.1B initial contract revenue (~$16.1B with both five-year extensions), estimated cumulative NOI $7.3–8.2B ($365–$411M/yr), initial 96 IT MW due Dec 2027 / full 191 MW by Jun 2028, $573M interim Morgan Stanley financing
- Riot–AMD lease at Rockdale announced Jan 16, 2026; initial 25 MW delivered on time and on budget in Q2 2026; total AMD capacity 50 MW with Phase 3 (10 MW, Nov 2026) and Phase 4 (15 MW, May 2027); 200-acre Rockdale site acquired fee simple for $96M (company release; SEC EX-99.1; Investing.com)
- Corsicana: ~1 GW of ERCOT-approved capacity, ~400 MW used for bitcoin mining with the remaining ~600 MW under AI/HPC evaluation (company release; SEC filing)
- Bitcoin sales: ~9,665 BTC sold in H1 2026 to fund AI infrastructure (KuCoin; news.bitcoin.com); deployed hashrate 42.5 EH/s at Q1-end and 44.4 EH/s per the Q2 10-Q (TradingView; Yahoo Finance)
- Activist campaign: Starboard Value pressed Riot to accelerate AI data-center deals (Reuters, Feb 18, 2026); Terrestrial Energy nuclear-powered data-center collaboration (company release)
- Reported, unverified: Bloomberg and CNBC identified the unnamed “leading frontier AI lab” as Anthropic (24/7 Wall St.; CNBC Television)
- Analyst consensus: 20 analysts via S&P Global — Strong Buy, average target ~$29.50 (stockanalysis.com); Benzinga shows a lower ~$24.50 consensus across 22 analysts
- Market data: price $23.75 (Sep 18, 2026), market cap ~$8.9B, 52-week range $11.50–$30.32 (Robinhood; Macrotrends ~$8.21B as of Sep 17)
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