NEW YORK, July 15, 2026, 11:09 EDT
CleanSpark, Inc. NASDAQ:CLSK shares surrendered most of an early 10.5% gain on Wednesday as investors weighed a 20-year data-center lease carrying $6.6 billion of expected contract revenue against a construction bill that could reach $2.1 billion. The stock was up 1.4% at $13.64 after touching $14.86.
The agreement, announced Tuesday, covers 175 megawatts of critical IT load, the power available to computing hardware, at CleanSpark’s Sandersville, Georgia, campus. An unnamed high-investment-grade technology company will take the capacity under a triple-net lease, which shifts most property costs to the tenant. The first data hall is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the rest due in the first quarter of 2028.
CleanSpark estimates average annual net operating income, or NOI, of about $330 million, with NOI meaning rent after property operating costs. Chief Executive Matt Schultz called the agreement a “transformational moment.” Yet the headline contract value, about 2.1 times CleanSpark’s $3.1 billion market capitalization, is spread across two decades. The estimated build cost equals roughly 56% to 68% of the company’s current equity value. The rent is long-dated; the funding need arrives first. CleanSpark Investors
| Sandersville financing sensitivity | $10 million/MW case | $12 million/MW case |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated landlord project cost | $1.75 billion | $2.10 billion |
| Cost as percentage of market value | 56% | 68% |
| Debt at 90% loan-to-cost | $1.58 billion | $1.89 billion |
| Equity contribution at 10% | $175 million | $210 million |
| Annual interest at 6% | $95 million | $113 million |
| Average NOI-to-interest coverage | 3.5 times | 2.9 times |
The sensitivity uses CleanSpark’s cost and average-NOI estimates and BTIG’s assumptions of roughly 90% loan-to-cost financing at a 6% rate. It excludes fees, principal repayments, construction timing and the phased rent ramp.
Chief Financial Officer Gary Vecchiarelli said CleanSpark expects to fund “the overwhelming majority” of construction through project-level debt. He also said “our stock is our highest cost of capital currently,” signaling that management will try to limit new shares. At June 30, CleanSpark reported about $200 million of cash, nearly 14,000 bitcoin valued at roughly $900 million and an undrawn $400 million bitcoin-backed revolving facility. StockAnalysis
On rent density, Sandersville sits almost level with Hut 8 Corp. NASDAQ:HUT’s River Bend agreement but below TeraWulf Inc. NASDAQ:WULF’s recently announced Anthropic lease. Dividing base contract value by term and critical IT load removes some of the headline effect and shows what tenants are paying for scarce powered capacity.
| Company and project | Base term | Critical IT load | Base contract value | Average revenue per MW per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CleanSpark, Sandersville | 20 years | 175 MW | $6.6 billion | $1.89 million |
| Hut 8, River Bend | 15 years | 245 MW | $7.0 billion | $1.90 million |
| TeraWulf, Justified Data | 20 years | 401 MW | $19.0 billion | $2.37 million |
The figures are simple averages. Escalators, lease structure, tenant support and construction obligations differ between projects.
Needham raised its CleanSpark price target to $23 from $18 after the deal and lifted its 2028 estimates to include Sandersville and assumed Texas contributions. It judged the Sandersville economics per megawatt modestly below some recent peer leases. BTIG kept a $26 target and calculated pricing of about $1.9 million per megawatt per year, a slight premium to the $1.7 million-to-$1.8 million range in its comparison set. The contrast reflects different peer groups and commercial structures.
Bitcoin mining will still carry CleanSpark’s income statement until the data center opens. Fiscal second-quarter revenue fell 24.9% from a year earlier to $136.4 million. The company produced 614 bitcoin in June and ended the month with 13,924, including 1,719 posted as collateral or recorded as receivable. The lease would add a long-duration income stream outside bitcoin prices and network mining competition, but not before late 2027.
The same tenant has signed a letter of intent and exclusivity arrangement covering up to 885 megawatts across CleanSpark’s Texas portfolio, more than five times the Sandersville IT load. No Texas lease price has been disclosed. Schultz said exclusivity windows in the sector can run from 30 to 120 days but declined to give the period agreed with this tenant. For now, Texas is an option, not contracted revenue.
But execution risk is substantial. CleanSpark’s regulatory filing said missed financing, construction or delivery milestones could trigger rent abatements or termination. The tenant remains confidential, and the $330 million NOI figure is an average across a lease with annual escalators, so early cash receipts may be below that level. The Texas discussions could also end without a binding agreement.
For investors, the next test is a project-financing package that approaches BTIG’s debt assumptions without heavy dilution, followed by a binding lease for at least one Texas site. Until then, the $6.6 billion figure is a long-term contract value, not cash on CleanSpark’s balance sheet.
