NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 20:18 ET — Market closed
- Applied Digital (APLD) closed down 2.9% at $24.08 on Tuesday.
- The company outlined a non-binding term sheet to combine Applied Digital Cloud with Ekso Bionics and launch a new company called ChronoScale, targeting a first-half 2026 close.
- The next scheduled catalyst is Applied Digital’s Jan. 7, 2026 earnings report, expected after the closing bell.
Applied Digital shares fell 2.9% to $24.08 on Tuesday, retreating from early gains as investors weighed the company’s plan to spin out its cloud computing business into a proposed tie-up with Ekso Bionics. The Nasdaq-listed stock traded between $24.03 and $26.33, with about 25.5 million shares changing hands.
The proposal matters because Applied Digital has become a high-volatility bet on the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. GPU clouds—built around graphics processing units that do much of the heavy lifting for AI training—demand large upfront spending and steady access to capital.
A spinout can change how investors value the business, separating steady data-center contracts from the more cyclical market for rented compute. It also puts a spotlight on whether Applied Digital can fund growth without diluting shareholders.
Applied Digital said it entered into a non-binding term sheet—an outline that is not a final agreement—to combine its Applied Digital Cloud unit with Nasdaq-listed Ekso and launch a new company called ChronoScale. A Form 8-K filing said the company issued a press release on the proposal.
Applied Digital chairman and CEO Wes Cummins said ChronoScale is intended to “deliver accelerated compute at scale for the most demanding AI workloads.” Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc.
Applied Digital said its cloud business generated about $75.2 million in revenue for the 12 months ended Aug. 31, 2025, and described the unit as an early large-scale deployer of Nvidia’s H100 chips in 2023. The company framed the separation as a way to speed deployment of dense GPU capacity while letting its data-center development arm pursue its own financing path.
Tuesday’s pullback followed a 3.16% rise on Monday, when the stock snapped a four-day losing streak. Traders drove the shares above $26 early Tuesday before the rally faded into the close.
Applied Digital has leaned on long-term leasing to support its buildout. In October, it signed a 15-year lease worth $5 billion with a U.S.-based hyperscaler for 200 megawatts of capacity at its Polaris Forge 2 campus in North Dakota, Reuters reported, following an earlier capacity deal with Nvidia-backed CoreWeave.
Investors will now watch for any updated deal terms and how the proposed ChronoScale entity would fund additional GPU purchases, which are capital-intensive. They will also look for clarity on the approval process and timing, given the term sheet is not binding and terms can change.
Before Wednesday’s session, traders will monitor year-end liquidity and a light U.S. data slate that includes weekly initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET and the S&P Case-Shiller home price index at 9 a.m. ET, while bond markets are set to close early at 2 p.m. ET.
Markets also absorbed Federal Reserve minutes released Tuesday that showed officials deeply split over December’s quarter-point rate cut, highlighting uncertainty about the pace of easing in 2026. Rate expectations often steer sentiment in AI-linked growth stocks, where valuations are sensitive to discount rates.
Applied Digital’s next company catalyst is its fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings call on Jan. 7, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET, when management is expected to address strategy and outlook. With shares ending near $24, traders are likely to treat that level as near-term support, with the $26 area a first test on any rebound.
