New York, Jan 26, 2026, 12:44 ET — Regular session
- Applied Digital shares climbed roughly 1% to $38.05, bouncing back from a volatile session earlier in the day
- Attention stays fixed on the company’s Delta Forge 1 “AI Factory” rollout and ongoing hyperscaler discussions
- Traders await the promised site disclosure in February, along with any signed customer leases.
Applied Digital Corp (APLD) shares climbed roughly 1% to $38.05 by midday Monday, bouncing between a high of $41.59 and a low of $36.78. The stock’s volatility reflects growing investor interest in data-center companies linked to AI infrastructure.
These shifts are crucial since power has become the bottleneck for AI expansion. Firms that lock in electricity access and ink long-term leases can secure steady revenue streams, but mistiming these moves often leads to swift penalties.
Applied Digital has turned into a leveraged play on that trend. The company leases capacity for “AI factories” — sprawling data centers designed for intense computing tasks — and the stock has reacted sharply to updates on new locations and client discussions.
Last week, the company announced it had broken ground on Delta Forge 1, a 430-megawatt campus planned for a southern U.S. market. The facility aims to convert utility power into “critical IT load,” meaning the energy that actually reaches the servers. “AI Factories succeed or fail based on how effectively power, cooling and operations are integrated,” said chairman and CEO Wes Cummins. (Applied Digital Corporation)
Applied Digital hasn’t revealed where Delta Forge 1 is set up or who the customer is. Cummins told The Register the decision was to shield the host community from too much attention. “We’re not trying to hide anything,” he said, noting the location should be announced in February. (The Register)
Needham analyst John Todaro stuck with a buy rating and a $41 price target, citing strong execution and growth potential from the company’s hyperscale pipeline, TipRanks reported. The term “hyperscaler” refers to major cloud providers that purchase data-center capacity in large volumes. (TipRanks)
Earlier this month, Applied Digital revealed it had inked leases with AI cloud provider CoreWeave for 400 MW at Polaris Forge 1, plus a 200 MW deal with an unnamed investment-grade hyperscaler at Polaris Forge 2. Together, these deals represent about $16 billion in potential lease revenue. Cummins told investors the company is “in advanced discussions with another investment-grade hyperscaler,” but added there’s “no assurance of future contracts.” (Applied Digital Corporation)
Trading volume surged past 32 million shares on Monday as the stock swung sharply near the open before settling down.
The setup works both ways. Power hookups, permits, and local resistance can drag out big campus projects, while Delta Forge 1 still hasn’t secured a tenant. Any hiccup in contracts or construction risks hitting a stock that’s already priced for future expansions.
Investors are zeroing in on the promised February update on the Delta Forge 1 site, hoping for progress that moves “discussions” into a sealed lease. Traders will also keep an eye on any financing news and project timelines in the company’s upcoming filings.
