New York, January 17, 2026, 08:07 EST — The market has closed.
- Shares of Riot Platforms surged following a long-term data-center lease deal with AMD, alongside the purchase of land at its Rockdale, Texas location.
- The deal takes the bitcoin miner further into data-center services focused on artificial-intelligence computing.
- U.S. markets remain closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, setting up Tuesday’s open as the initial test of the recent move.
Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) shares jumped 16.1% to close at $19.24 on Friday, following news of a long-term data-center lease deal with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) and a land acquisition in Texas. AMD shares gained 1.7%. Riot’s volume hit roughly 54 million shares. 1
Bitcoin miners are making moves to convert their sizable power assets into more reliable income streams, tapping into demand from artificial-intelligence servers and other high-performance computing setups that require heavy electricity and space use. 2
Riot expects the deal to generate around $311 million in contract revenue over the first 10 years, kicking off with 25 megawatts of “critical IT load”—essentially the power capacity available for servers. The company added that options could boost total contract value to roughly $1 billion and scale capacity up to 200 MW. CEO Jason Les called the partnership a strong endorsement of Riot’s infrastructure, while AMD’s CIO Hasmukh Ranjan said the chipmaker needs partners who can “match our pace and scale.” 3
Riot also announced it completed a “fee simple” purchase of 200 acres at Rockdale for $96 million, fully owning the land now. The deal was funded by selling about 1,080 bitcoin from its balance sheet. Rockdale boasts a 700-MW grid interconnection. Riot said it currently owns and manages over 1,100 acres with 1.7 gigawatts of approved power capacity across two Texas locations. 4
Riot revealed plans for roughly $89.8 million in capital expenditures to retrofit a building for its first deployment. It expects the average net operating income — rent minus site-level costs — to hit about $25 million annually. Delivery should kick off in January and wrap up by May, the company said. 5
Crypto prices remain in focus. Bitcoin hovered around $95,000, while Marathon Digital (MARA.O) and CleanSpark (CLSK.O) climbed as the weekend approached, underscoring how miner stocks track the token’s fluctuations.
Riot’s immediate challenge is figuring out if AMD marks the beginning of a steady pipeline or just a one-time deal. Investors want to see if the company can secure additional tenants and what that means for capital expenditure. They’re also tracking how much power Riot keeps for its own mining operations.
There’s a downside risk as well. Retrofitting and expanding data centers might face delays, costs could rise, and expansion rights remain mostly in the tenant’s hands. Plus, even under a new lease, Riot’s cash flow hinges on bitcoin prices and network conditions that can shift rapidly.
U.S. equity markets remain closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next trading session on Tuesday will serve as the first real test to see if Friday’s rally can sustain itself. 6
The next major event on the calendar is earnings. Riot hasn’t set a date yet, but MarketBeat expects the report on Feb. 23 after the market closes. Investors will be digging into spending details, timelines, and how quickly more leasing is ramping up. 7
