CASTLE ROCK, Colorado, May 18, 2026, 03:02 (MDT)
Riot Platforms is trying to shift from bitcoin mining to being an AI data-center landlord, but now it has to show that its power deals, land, and nuclear project can actually bring in tenants. Shares most recently traded at $23.49 ahead of the Nasdaq open, putting the company’s market cap near $8.2 billion.
Wall Street is now looking at power as the pressure point for the AI buildout. Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen and his team said “one of the largest bottlenecks is interconnected power.” That’s brought old bitcoin miners back onto investors’ radar, and it’s also put a brighter spotlight on execution. Investopedia
Riot called the first quarter a “definitive inflection point” after reporting $167.2 million in revenue. Data-center revenue was $33.2 million, the company’s first such result. AMD picked up an option for 25 more megawatts at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas site, bringing the total contracted capacity there to 50 megawatts. A megawatt in this context measures how much computing equipment a data center can run. Riot Platforms
AMD’s contract stays central here. Riot signed a January lease for 25 megawatts over 10 years, with contract revenue pegged at about $311 million. If extensions go ahead, the deal could reach $1 billion. AMD CIO Hasmukh Ranjan said the firm looked for partners able to “match our pace and scale.” GlobeNewswire
Power supply is taking center stage now. This month, Riot and Terrestrial Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to look into data centers set up next to Terrestrial’s small modular reactors. Those are smaller nuclear plants built in repeatable units. The companies say the plan could include several 390-megawatt Integral Molten Salt Reactor, or IMSR, plants. The total could reach 4 gigawatts of nuclear capacity.
Riot CEO Jason Les said its data centers require “reliable and predictable energy” to serve big cloud and AI clients. Terrestrial’s Simon Irish said both sides saw a “clear path” to putting IMSR nuclear power into AI and high-performance computing, with their heavy power use. Riot Platforms
Valuation is in focus. Riot is facing new questions after its move into AI and nuclear, according to a HarianBasis report Monday. Simply Wall St, in a separate weekend note, said the nuclear plan doesn’t change the near-term job for Riot: fill up existing Texas data centers and stop leaving capacity unused.
Jefferies started coverage of Riot at hold, setting a $24 price target, MarketScreener reported. The average analyst target is $24.92 and most analysts still rate the stock buy. That narrows the upside tied to optionality.
Peers are adding pressure here. Jefferies handed out buy ratings to Cipher Digital, TeraWulf, and Core Scientific, joining other miner-turned-data-center names. S&P Global’s Visible Alpha unit expects several miners will lean more on high-performance computing revenue than Riot does this year.
Starboard Value is also pushing Riot to pick up the pace. In a letter from February, Starboard’s Peter Feld said Riot should “urgently seize this extraordinary opportunity,” according to Reuters. The report said Starboard saw the AMD lease as a good step but just a small proof-of-concept. Reuters
Riot’s nuclear plan carries clear risks. Its deal isn’t for quick energy—the first IMSR plants from Terrestrial are not expected until the early 2030s, and so far no small modular reactors have actually gone live, Data Center Dynamics said. Riot also points to possible setbacks like construction delays, supply chain problems, permitting, financing, or weak demand for big data centers.
Riot’s mining revenue slipped to $111.9 million in the first quarter, down from $142.9 million last year, as the company reported a 24% jump in network hash rate. Bitcoin stayed close to $76,992, leaving Riot’s mining results subject to the price volatility that drove its interest in AI. Bitcoin is still a big part of the story.
Another Korea story mentioned Riot, but it referred to a different company. ChosunBiz said South Korean PC bang owners sued Riot Games after access was blocked in a fee fight; Riot Games makes League of Legends and VALORANT. Riot Platforms, which trades on Nasdaq, is a bitcoin miner and digital infrastructure company.
