RIOT Q2 Earnings Call Centers on AI Leasing and Funding

Riot Platforms, Inc. RIOT used its Q2 earnings call to frame 2026 around data center execution, led by a new 191-megawatt Rockdale lease with a leading frontier AI lab and a full-site Corsicana letter of intent.

Financially, RIOT posted a loss of 68 cents per share compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 39 cents, a -74.40% surprise. Revenues of $174.20 million beat the $148.70 million consensus by 17.20%.

Riot Platforms, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Riot Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Riot Platforms, Inc. Quote

RIOT Locks in a 191 MW AI Lease

Chief executive officer Jason Les said the Rockdale lease carries a 20-year initial term and about $9.1 billion of contract revenues. Two five-year extensions would raise potential contract revenues to $16.1 billion.

According to CEO Jason Les, the first 96 MW is targeted for December 2027, with the remaining 95 MW due in June 2028. Management expects an 80% to 90% NOI margin.

CEO Jason Les said illustrative capital spending is $11 million to $12 million per IT MW, or $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion for the project.

Riot Keeps AMD Expansion on Schedule

CEO Jason Les said Riot delivered AMD’s initial 25 MW in May on schedule and on budget, bringing recurring operating lease revenues onto the platform.

According to CEO Jason Les, construction is underway on AMD’s second 25 MW. The first 10 MW is expected in November 2026, with the remaining 15 MW scheduled for May 2027.

CEO Jason Les said ESS Metron and E4A remain embedded in project execution, providing internal engineering, switchgear and power-distribution capabilities.

RIOT Leans on Project Debt and Capital Recycling

Chief financial officer Jason Chung said a $573 million Morgan Stanley interim facility is funding long-lead equipment and initial development for the frontier AI lab project while an investment-grade backstop is finalized.

CFO Jason Chung said Riot expects an approximately $180 million term loan against AMD’s first 25 MW and a delayed-draw facility for the next deployment. He expects the first loan to close before the end of Q3.

In Q&A, an ATB Cormark analyst asked about spending cadence. CFO Jason Chung said project CapEx should ramp in the second half of 2026 and peak across the AI lab and AMD builds around Q2 to Q3 2027.

Riot Advances a Full-Site Corsicana LOI

CEO Jason Les said Corsicana’s full site is under a nonbinding LOI with one tenant. The campus has one GW of approved utility power and supports a potential 756 MW of critical IT capacity.

A Needham analyst asked how discussions had progressed. CEO Jason Les said a full-site lease could exceed $1 billion in annual rent at full deployment, but the process requires extensive design, legal and commercial work.

CEO Jason Les also said Riot is continuing horizontal development and long-lead procurement without locking itself into tenant-specific choices before final terms are set.

RIOT Shows Early Data Center Margin Progress

CFO Jason Chung said Data Center revenues were $23.2 million, including $4.9 million of recurring operating lease revenues. Operating lease gross margin was 84%.

CFO Jason Chung said Engineering revenues reached $37.3 million and gross margin was 27.5%. The data center sector represented about 90% of the segment’s $177.1 million backlog.

CFO Jason Chung also said Riot ended Q2 with $1.2 billion of liquidity, including $666 million in Bitcoin and $549 million in cash, as Bitcoin sales continued to fund data center equity needs.

Riot Prioritizes Delivery, Leasing and Financing

CEO Jason Les said priorities for the rest of 2026 are to deliver AMD capacity, advance the frontier AI lab build, convert the Corsicana LOI into a lease and close lower-cost project financing.

CEO Jason Les also said Riot is evaluating additional power assets while maintaining a preference for sites that can meet hyperscaler and enterprise diligence requirements.

CEO Jason Les described the operating model as leasing to creditworthy tenants, financing projects efficiently, building with discipline and recycling capital into additional development.

RIOT’s Zacks Signals Remain Weak Overall

RIOT currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

 You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Its Value, Growth and VGM Score are all F, while its Momentum Score is B. Under the Zacks framework, the favorable momentum reading does not override a weak Rank, which reflects unfavorable earnings-estimate revision trends.

The Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates after the just-reported results. The current mix is a point-in-time signal, with post-earnings estimate revisions determining whether the Rank strengthens or weakens.

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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