New York, July 10, 2026, 17:06 EDT
TeraWulf Inc. NASDAQ:WULF shares fell 5.3% to finish at $21.97 on Friday. Investors are looking at the financing needs for its planned AI data center in Kentucky. The stock drop came after news broke that TeraWulf is looking to raise around $3.5 billion to fund the Anthropic-leased project.
The raise is important because TeraWulf’s balance sheet is far from clean. As of March 31, the company had $2.63 billion in cash and about $5.29 billion in debt and convertibles, all measured at balance-sheet value less discounts and fees. Interest expense in the first quarter was $67.1 million—almost double the $34.0 million in revenue. Raising $3.5 billion would be close to two-thirds of its debt and 1.3 times the company’s cash.
TeraWulf could roll out the package this year, combining its first leveraged loan and high-yield bonds, Bloomberg News said, quoting CFO Patrick Fleury. Morgan Stanley NYSE:MS is seen as the likely leader. A leveraged loan is made to a company with heavy debt. High-yield bonds pay more because they carry more risk for investors.
TeraWulf says the Justified Data campus will deliver around 401 megawatts of critical IT load, with electricity set for direct use by computing gear. The company expects the capacity to come online in phases starting in the second half of 2027 through early 2028. The 20-year lease should have investment-grade credit support. CEO Paul Prager called it “validates our strategy and establishes a long-duration revenue stream.” TeraWulf Inc.
| Kentucky project measure | Reported or derived value | Investor read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Proposed debt financing | $3.5 billion | Runs out to around $8.73 million per MW |
| Contracted lease revenue | About $19 billion over 20 years | Works out to a straight $950 million a year |
| Simple annual revenue per MW | About $2.37 million | That’s before operating costs, interest, or taxes |
| Contracted revenue-to-debt ratio | About 5.4 times | Doesn’t factor in timing of payments |
| Average gross rent needed to equal debt | About 3.7 years | This isn’t the same as a project payback |
This week, trading in WULF made the impact of the financing clear. WULF ended up just 3.7% from its July 2 close, right before the lease news, and was 12.6% under Monday’s intraday high of $25.15. About 30.4 million shares traded Friday, which is 41% of the 74.7 million shares seen the day the news broke.
TeraWulf lagged three other miners with strong power assets that investors see as AI infrastructure plays. Shares of IREN Ltd. NASDAQ:IREN, Core Scientific Inc. NASDAQ:CORZ, and Riot Platforms Inc. NASDAQ:RIOT slipped about 1.7% on average Friday. WULF ended the session around 3.7 percentage points below those names.
| Stock or index | Friday move |
|---|---|
| TeraWulf | dropped 5.3% |
| IREN | fell 1.4% |
| Core Scientific | down 1.0% |
| Riot Platforms | slipped 2.5% |
| Nasdaq Composite | gained 0.3% |
TeraWulf is looking at at least one funding offset. The company agreed to sell its 50.1% stake in the 168-MW Abernathy data center project to a group led by Fluidstack. TeraWulf had put about $450 million into the Texas project. Management said the deal would close at a premium and free up capital for other campuses it owns outright.
The risks are clear. Anthropic’s rent doesn’t start until each phase goes live, and the whole 401 MW won’t be online before early 2028. Any construction delays mean cash receipts get pushed back, all while interest accrues. The loan rate, bond yield, collateral terms, and whether lenders can go after assets outside the project haven’t been made public. Cost overruns or tighter credit may force more equity or cut shareholder cash.
Right now, WULF trades like a financed construction job, not like a finished $19 billion cash generator. The next move probably comes on the debt terms. Every percentage point on $3.5 billion in debt means roughly $35 million extra per year before paying down principal.
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