Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT) Earnings
Riot Platforms, Inc. is expected to report next earnings on October 29, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $-0.31. RIOT has beaten EPS estimates in 5 of its last 12 reported quarters (average surprise +44.1% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 10, 2026 | $-0.30 | $-0.68 | -124.2% | $174M | +12.9% |
| Apr 30, 2026 | $-0.33 | $-1.44 | -336.4% | $167M | +28.1% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | $-0.19 | $0.26 | +236.8% | $180M | +13.0% |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $-0.19 | $0.57 | +400.0% | $153M | -9.0% |
| May 1, 2025 | $-0.25 | $-0.90 | -260.0% | $161M | +0.4% |
| Oct 30, 2024 | $-0.16 | $-0.54 | -237.5% | $85M | -34.1% |
| Jul 31, 2024 | $-0.16 | $-0.32 | -100.0% | $70M | -26.6% |
| May 1, 2024 | $-0.14 | $0.81 | +678.6% | $79M | -16.5% |
| Feb 22, 2024 | $-0.29 | $0.48 | +265.5% | $79M | -6.5% |
| Mar 2, 2023 | $-0.14 | $-0.07 | +50.0% | $60M | +8.4% |
| Aug 15, 2022 | $0.08 | $-0.50 | -725.0% | $73M | -3.4% |
| Mar 16, 2022 | $0.12 | $-0.26 | -316.7% | $91M | +1.7% |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q2 FY2026 · August 10, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
- **Data Center Development Milestones**: * Subsequent to Q2 end, Riot executed a 20-year data center lease for 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at the Rockdale campus with a leading frontier AI lab. Initial total contract revenue is expected to be ~$9.1 billion, with two five-year extension options that would bring total contracted value to ~$16.1 billion. Combined with the existing AMD lease, total contracted data center revenue reaches ~$9.8 billion across 241 megawatts of executed capacity with two high-quality AI ecosystem counterparties. * At Corsicana, Riot has entered into a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with a single tenant for the full 1 gigawatt fully approved utility power site, with advanced commercial and design discussions ongoing. Pre-development work and long-lead procurement continues to de-risk delivery timelines. * Riot completed and delivered the final phase of AMD's initial 25 megawatts of capacity at Rockdale on time and on budget in May 2026. AMD exercised its expansion option, bringing contracted capacity to 50 megawatts, with the 25 megawatt expansion under construction: first phase delivery is expected in late 2026, full delivery scheduled for May 2027. AMD retains expansion options for up to an additional 150 megawatts at Rockdale. - **Financing and Capital Strategy**: * Riot ended Q2 2026 with $1.2 billion in total liquidity: $666 million in Bitcoin holdings and $549 million in cash. Proceeds from monthly Bitcoin production sales and balance sheet inventory sales remain the primary funding source for the equity component of data center capital expenditures, and no new common equity was issued in Q2. * Late-stage financing discussions are ongoing for the delivered initial 25 megawatts of AMD capacity, expected to close before the end of Q3 2026. The term loan is expected to be ~$180 million, nearly doubling Riot's initial equity investment, with a delayed draw portion for AMD's expansion. * A $573 million interim financing facility from Morgan Stanley was secured to cover initial development CapEx for the Frontier AI Lab lease while investment grade takeout financing is finalized. * Proceeds from the AMD financing will be recycled to fund the equity requirement for the Frontier AI Lab project, reducing reliance on external equity financing. - **Competitive Advantages**: * Vertical integration via the in-house engineering segment (ESS Metron and E4A Solutions) de-risks long-lead power equipment supply chains, accelerates delivery timelines, and has generated $23.8 million in cumulative CapEx savings since the 2021 ESS Metron acquisition. In-house capacity is prioritized for Riot's own data center projects.
Guidance
- No formal full-year guidance was updated, but management reaffirmed its 2026 execution priorities: deliver contracted capacity to AMD on schedule, advance the Frontier AI Lab build on time and budget, and convert the Corsicana LOI to a signed lease. - The Frontier AI Lab project is guided to generate an estimated 80% to 90% NOI margin over the initial lease term, with illustrative total capital expenditures of $2.1 to $2.3 billion, and average annual NOI of $365 to $411 million. - Combined with AMD's 50 megawatts, the two Rockdale leases are expected to produce average annual revenue of $520 million and average annual NOI of $416 to $462 million once the Frontier AI Lab reaches full deployment. - Delivery guidance for the Frontier AI Lab project: Phase 1 (96 megawatts) targeted for December 2027, Phase 2 (remaining 95 megawatts) targeted for June 2028. CapEx spending is expected to ramp in H2 2026, peak in H1 2027, and continue into early 2028, with combined peak CapEx with AMD's expansion expected in Q2-Q3 2027.
Segment performance
1. **Data Center Segment**: Generated $23.2 million in total revenue in Q2 2026, accounting for ~13.3% of total consolidated revenue. The segment produced $6.5 million in gross profit, with 84% operating lease gross margin. Recurring operating lease revenue was $4.9 million (up 400% from Q1 2026) delivering $4.1 million in gross profit, while tenant fit-up services revenue was $18.3 million (down from $32.2 million in Q1 2026) generating $2.4 million in gross profit. At quarter end, 25 megawatts of critical IT capacity was online, with contracted capacity for AMD increased to 50 megawatts. 2. **Bitcoin Mining Segment**: Generated $113.7 million in total revenue in Q2 2026, representing ~65.3% of total consolidated revenue. Riot produced 1,587 Bitcoin (17.4 Bitcoin per day) with a deployed hash rate of 44.4 exahash per second (≈4.6% of the global Bitcoin network). Hash rate utilization averaged 87%, impacted by minor downtime in Kentucky in May. The segment earned $10 million in power curtailment credits, bringing net power cost to 3.6 cents per kilowatt hour, with a direct mining cost of $49,912 per Bitcoin. 3. **Engineering Segment**: Generated $37.3 million in total revenue in Q2 2026, accounting for ~21.4% of total consolidated revenue. Revenue more than tripled year-over-year from $10.6 million, and gross margin expanded from 7% to over 27%. 90% of the segment's $177.1 million backlog comes from the data center sector.
Risks & headwinds
- Conversion of the Corsicana non-binding LOI to a definitive lease remains subject to uncertainty, and requires completion of extensive technical, commercial, legal, and design due diligence and negotiations. - Actual results may differ materially from forward-looking statements due to unforeseen changes in credit markets, supply chains, regulatory approvals for new power capacity, and counterparty decisions to exercise expansion options. - The Texas ERCOT interconnection batch process creates uncertainty for future new power development, though Riot's existing Rockdale and Corsicana sites are not subject to this process. - General construction and development risks, including potential cost overruns and delays, even with contingency reserves factored into current CapEx guidance.
Analyst Q&A
Q: How did Riot arrive at its capital expenditure guidance range for the new 191 megawatt Frontier AI Lab lease, and is the Morgan Stanley interim facility sufficient to cover near-term build costs? /
A: Management confirmed the CapEx range is based on completed design work with the tenant, advanced procurement visibility for long-lead components, and cost input from the project's general contractor who has prior experience working for the tenant, plus a healthy contingency reserve. The $573 million interim facility is secured by the tenant's credit from day one to cover all immediate development and procurement costs, and management expects to finalize investment grade takeout financing in the near term with multiple viable paths to attractive long-term financing terms. (329 characters)
Q: Can you provide additional detail on the full-site Corsicana LOI, and what are the main gating items to convert it to a signed lease? /
A: Riot only began full marketing of the fully assembled Corsicana site to prospective tenants in early 2026 after completing all required land acquisitions, and ultimately narrowed negotiations to a single tenant for the full one gigawatt site. Key remaining steps include finalizing design specifications aligned with the tenant's required delivery timelines and completing all commercial and legal negotiations, which are more extensive for the large-scale deal than for prior Rockdale leases. (332 characters)
Q: How much unleased capacity remains at Rockdale, do existing tenants have preference for that capacity, and is further expansion possible? /
A: After the two signed leases, Rockdale still has remaining capacity that is currently monetized via Bitcoin mining until suitable leases are secured. Riot does not prioritize existing tenants inherently; it will lease to any creditworthy counterparty that offers the best economic terms for shareholders. Rockdale has 200 buildable acres, and Riot is actively pursuing regulatory approval to expand total power capacity past the current 700 megawatt limit if possible. (320 characters)
Q: Can management explain the process of moving from the interim bridge financing for the AI lab deal to a permanent investment grade backstop, and why are you confident it will succeed? /
A: The interim facility is specifically structured to fund immediate procurement and development costs while protecting Riot's balance sheet liquidity during the permanent financing process. Diligence for the investment grade backstop is already well advanced, and management has pre-negotiated contractual protections to ensure attractive financing economics regardless of the final outcome, with negotiations expected to conclude quickly. (301 characters)