Riot Platforms Signs $28 Billion AI Data Center Lease as Q3 Revenue Reaches $181.4 Million

Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $181.4 million, up 1% from $180.2 million a year earlier, while announcing a 15-year artificial intelligence data center lease valued at approximately $28 billion.

The agreement covers the company’s entire Corsicana campus in Texas, providing 910 megawatts of critical IT capacity to a leading AI laboratory. Riot expects the lease to generate approximately $1.8 billion in average annual rental revenue over its initial term.

Combined with existing agreements involving AMD and the same AI customer at Rockdale, Riot now has contracts covering 1,151 megawatts and approximately $38 billion in anticipated data center revenue.

Corsicana Agreement Expands AI Infrastructure Business

The Corsicana lease covers a 332-acre site and includes two optional five-year extensions that could increase the total contract value to approximately $54 billion.

Under the triple-net agreement, Riot will provide the land and electrical infrastructure, while the tenant will install and operate its computing equipment and bear substantially all operating expenses.

Riot estimates an operating income margin of approximately 99% under the lease structure, generating average annual net operating income of around $1.8 billion.

The project requires approximately $5.5 billion in capital investment, equivalent to $6 million per IT megawatt. Riot expects to fund its $2 million-per-megawatt infrastructure contribution from existing liquidity, with the remaining investment structured through tenant reimbursements and project financing.

Delivery is scheduled in three phases: 400 megawatts in September 2027, 200 megawatts in January 2028 and 310 megawatts in July 2028.

Chief Executive Officer Jason Les said the agreement represented a significant expansion of Riot’s infrastructure operations.

“Together with our AMD contract and the lease signed with the same Frontier AI Lab at Rockdale earlier this year, Riot has contracted 1,151 megawatts and approximately $38 billion of data center revenue,” Les said.

He added that the company expects the agreements to generate more than $2 billion in average annual net operating income once fully deployed.

Riot currently does not anticipate issuing additional equity to finance its announced projects.

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Declines Despite Higher Production

Riot’s Bitcoin Mining revenue fell to $116.0 million in the third quarter from $160.8 million a year earlier, primarily reflecting lower average bitcoin prices.

The average bitcoin price during the quarter was $70,855, compared with $114,361 in the corresponding 2025 period.

Despite weaker pricing, bitcoin production increased 16% to 1,637 bitcoin from 1,406 a year earlier.

The average cost to mine bitcoin, excluding depreciation, declined to $39,265 from $46,324, supported by lower electricity costs and increased production.

Riot also received $24.7 million in power curtailment credits, equivalent to approximately $15,067 per bitcoin mined.

Data Center and Engineering Revenue Increase

Data Center revenue reached $18.4 million during the quarter, including $7.7 million in base rent, $0.5 million in variable lease revenue and $10.2 million in tenant fit-out reimbursements.

The results reflected the first full quarter of operations from the 25 megawatts of stabilised capacity delivered to AMD.

Engineering revenue increased to $47.0 million from $19.1 million a year earlier, driven by demand for customised electrical equipment from third-party data center operators.

Growth in these businesses offset the decline in Bitcoin Mining revenue, allowing total quarterly revenue to increase slightly year over year.

Liquidity Reaches $950.2 Million

Riot ended September with $950.2 million in combined cash and bitcoin holdings.

This included $748.2 million in cash, of which $79.2 million was restricted, and 2,418 bitcoin valued at approximately $202.0 million using the September 30 market price.

During the first nine months of 2026, Riot sold 20,264 bitcoin for approximately $1.5 billion, primarily to finance data center development.

The company also fully repaid and terminated its $200 million Coinbase credit facility, releasing all previously pledged bitcoin.

Outlook for Riot Platforms

Riot’s third-quarter results highlighted its growing emphasis on large-scale AI data center infrastructure as lower bitcoin prices weighed on mining revenue.

The Corsicana agreement substantially expands the company’s contracted development pipeline, with management projecting more than $2 billion in average annual net operating income from its combined data center agreements at full deployment.

Investors will be monitoring project financing, construction milestones and the scheduled delivery of Corsicana capacity beginning in September 2027.

The company’s ability to execute its infrastructure developments while managing capital requirements will be central to its longer-term financial performance.

Riot Platforms stock price