The strategic headline is materially better than the prior setup. Riot executed a 20-year, 191-MW Rockdale lease with a leading frontier AI lab, worth approximately $9.1 billion over the base term and potentially $16.1 billion with extensions. Before this filing, the company had an AMD deployment underway and only a non-binding LOI around Corsicana; this converts a major portion of the AI-data-center story into contracted revenue, although deliveries do not begin until December 2027. (191 IT MW Data Center Lease with a Leading Frontier AI Lab at Rockdale)
| Metric | Q2 2026 actual | Comparison / expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $174.2M | $153.0M in Q2 2025; published consensus approximately $155.6M |
| Diluted EPS | $(0.68) | Published consensus approximately $(0.23) |
| Data Center revenue | $23.2M | $4.9M recurring lease revenue; $18.3M tenant fit-out revenue |
| Bitcoin Mining revenue | $113.7M | $140.9M in Q2 2025 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $(69.7)M | $495.3M in Q2 2025 |
| Bitcoin produced | 1,587 | 1,426 in Q2 2025 |
| Cost to mine, excluding depreciation | $49,912/BTC | $48,992/BTC in Q2 2025 |
Revenue beat expectations, but the earnings quality was substantially weaker than the headline suggests. Total revenue exceeded the published consensus by roughly $18.6 million, helped by engineering revenue rising to $37.3 million and the first full quarter of AMD-related data-center activity. But GAAP diluted EPS of $(0.68) was far below the roughly $(0.23) consensus, while Adjusted EBITDA swung to a $69.7 million loss from a $495.3 million profit a year earlier. (Financial Metrics; Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA)
The legacy mining business remains under pressure even as production grows. Riot mined 1,587 bitcoin, up from 1,426, but Bitcoin Mining revenue fell to $113.7 million because the average realized bitcoin value dropped to $71,667 and network competition increased. Cost to mine rose to $49,912 per bitcoin, and fully depreciated mining cost was $90,631 per bitcoin, above the quarter's realized production value. Bitcoin Mining gross margin fell to 30.4% from 50.4% a year earlier. (Second Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Highlights; Cost to Mine; Gross Profit)
The new lease changes the valuation story, but also creates a large execution and funding burden. Riot estimates $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion of construction capital for the frontier-AI project and expects to fund the equity requirement through existing liquidity and project debt, including a $573 million interim facility and a projected $180 million AMD term loan. That reduces near-term equity-issuance risk, but the investment-grade backstop is still being finalized, much of the economics are years away, and the company still needs to execute 191 MW of construction on schedule. (Deal Highlights; Capital Recycling & Redeployment)
Net read: the filing is strategically better than expected, despite a clear quarterly earnings miss. The lease is a major upgrade from an AI pivot built mainly on plans and LOIs, while AMD delivery confirms some execution capability. Against that, near-term profitability deteriorated sharply and the project requires substantial financing. The new contract is the dominant change, but the filing is not a clean earnings beat: it is a major strategic positive paired with a significant operating miss. The published consensus figures cited above were approximately $155.6 million of revenue and $(0.23) of EPS.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗