New York, Jan 23, 2026, 15:36 EST — Regular session.
- Shares of Applied Digital jumped roughly 9% Friday afternoon following the announcement of a new AI data center campus groundbreaking
- The company said the Delta Forge 1 site is built to deliver 430 megawatts of utility power
- A Roth note anticipates securing a tenant lease within the next few months and identified the site in Louisiana.
Shares of Applied Digital jumped roughly 9% to $37.90 in Friday afternoon trading, boosting the Nasdaq-listed data center developer following the launch of construction on a new AI-focused campus.
This shift is crucial as investors rapidly reassess assets linked to “AI infrastructure,” particularly those that lock down power and land. Constraints like electricity access and construction timelines are now front and center, not afterthoughts.
For Applied Digital, breaking ground marks a concrete milestone in a sector where clients typically demand signed leases before committing large sums. It also refocuses scrutiny on the company’s ability to convert announcements into actual contracted capacity.
Applied Digital has broken ground on Delta Forge 1, an “AI Factory” campus located in a southern U.S. state, designed to handle 430 megawatts (MW) of utility power — a measure of the site’s electricity capacity. The company plans the campus to support up to 300 MW of critical IT load, split between two 150-MW facilities sprawling over more than 500 acres. Initial operations are aimed for mid-2027. CEO Wes Cummins said the company is “uniquely positioned to meet this demand” as it scales beyond its Polaris Forge campuses. 1
On Thursday, a Roth note flagged another hyperscaler lease as “imminent,” pinpointing the Delta Forge site in Louisiana. The firm anticipates a formal lease signing “in the coming months” with a new customer. Roth maintained its Buy rating and $58 price target, per TipRanks. 2
Hyperscaler is Wall Street shorthand for the largest cloud and internet companies that lease or buy data center capacity on a massive scale. Securing one of these clients can mean locking in lengthy contracts and smoothing out financing, though such deals often take time to close.
Still, the risks are clear. In its latest quarterly filing, Applied Digital flagged potential setbacks from construction delays, challenges in securing leases with major customers, a tougher financing environment, as well as permitting issues, utility delays, and power outages. 3
Investors are focused less on the ceremonial kickoff and more on tangible progress: a signed Delta Forge lease, the financing backing it, and any clues that shift the timeline from “planned” to “funded and contracted.”
