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Call sheet · Q1'26

Applied Digital (APLD)

Q1'26 earnings call · held October 9, 2025 · compared with the Q4'25 call · management-credibility review
4/12
Disclosure score
4 high, 4 medium, 1 low flags
Financial quality
Bottom line
APLD is using low-margin construction work to paper over the reality that they're still 2-3 quarters from any meaningful lease revenue, while mysteriously hiding their only cash-flowing business segment (Bitcoin hosting) behind vague 'performance improvements.' The market sees the $11B CoreWeave headline; they're missing that APLD has become a construction company burning cash on the hope that hyperscaler demand continues. The binding constraint isn't power or demand, it's that APLD needs to fund $3B+ in construction before seeing returns, and they're already diluting via Macquarie preferred. As Wes admitted: 'These investments are just the beginning to generate returns and have yet to be reflected in our income statement.' My view changes if they actually start generating positive FCF from operations, not just adjusted EBITDA.

The 30-second version

  • The sleeper: APLD quietly became a construction company masquerading as a data center REIT, burning $25M on low-margin fit-out work that's obscuring the real economics
  • The obvious: CoreWeave expanded from $7B to $11B in contracted revenue, but APLD still has zero operating data centers generating lease income
  • The red flag: Management stopped disclosing Bitcoin hosting segment performance metrics and vaguely cited 'performance improvements' worth only $5M

What changed this quarter

MetricQ4'25Q1'26Change
Revenue$38.0M (Q4 2025)$64.2M (Q1 2026)+69% sequential surge
Revenue ex-fitout$38.0M$37.9MFlat underlying business
Adjusted EBITDA$1.0M (Q4)$5.0M (Q1)+400% but still minimal
Net Loss$26.6M (Q4)$27.8M (Q1)Losses deepening
EPS-$0.12 (Q4)-$0.11 (Q1)Slight improvement
SG&A$28.1M (Q4)$29.2M (Q1)+4% with $16.6M stock comp
Cash & Equivalents$120.9M (Q4)$114.1M (Q1)Cash burn despite raises
Total Debt$688.2M (Q4)$687.3M (Q1)Stable debt load
Property & EquipmentNot disclosed$1.6B+Massive CapEx commitment
MW Under Construction400MW (Q4)700MW+75% construction scale

Accountability tracked

7 new promises made6 narrative shifts flagged7 prior promises scored
Inside the full report
The complete write-up covers the full promise ledger with kept/missed calls, disclosure-quality scoring, the metrics-vanished check, verification items, and the questions to ask next quarter.
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Scores, kept-promise rates, and flags on this site reflect the author's opinion, applying a stated methodology to statements management made on public earnings calls. Informational and educational purposes only - not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Sources believed reliable but not guaranteed; the author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

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