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There is no defensible price-based winner from operating results alone. Applied Digital has more reported live capacity at one named campus, while TeraWulf has a large new lease and has disclosed substantial cash alongside substantial debt. The better buy depends on what investors pay for each company and whether construction, customer deployment, and rent commencement proceed as planned.
What do the companies have operating today?
The reported figures use different periods and milestones, so they are not a like-for-like measure of total company capacity. In particular, live or revenue-generating capacity is not the same as a project pipeline, capacity under construction, or capacity that has been fully deployed by a tenant.
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| Measure | Applied Digital | TeraWulf |
|---|---|---|
| Named operating capacity | Polaris Forge 1 had 175 MW live on June 30, 2026, according to Applied Digital’s FY2026 results. Company results | Lake Mariner had 81 MW of revenue-generating critical IT capacity on June 30, 2026; early-July delivery of CB-3 raised the total to 102 MW, according to TeraWulf’s Q2 release. Company results |
| Capacity under construction | The cited FY2026 materials describe other campuses at different build stages; a comparable company-wide MW figure is not stated there. Company results | 336 MW was under construction as of the Q2 2026 reporting period. Company results |
| Revenue evidence | In fiscal Q4 2026, HPC Hosting revenue was $203.0 million, including $44.1 million of base rent, $152.4 million of tenant fit-out services, and $6.5 million of tenant recoveries. Segment operating profit was $26.2 million. Company results | Q2 2026 revenue was $44.8 million, including $31.9 million of HPC lease revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $18.3 million, a non-GAAP measure reported by the company. Company results |
The capacity figures suggest Applied Digital had more live capacity at Polaris Forge 1 than TeraWulf had revenue-generating capacity at Lake Mariner after the early-July delivery. They do not establish which company has the larger total operating platform: the milestones and dates differ, and the table does not count construction pipeline as operating capacity.
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How much revenue is recurring rent?
Applied Digital: separate rent from fit-out work
Applied Digital’s fiscal Q4 HPC Hosting revenue included a substantial amount of tenant fit-out services, alongside base rent and tenant recoveries. Fit-out revenue may accompany campus delivery, but it should not be treated as equivalent to recurring rent when assessing the durability of revenue or estimating future cash generation. The reported segment operating profit is also not the same as free cash flow after construction spending, financing costs, and other cash needs.
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TeraWulf: leases are the majority, but not all, of quarterly revenue
TeraWulf’s HPC lease revenue made up about 71% of its Q2 2026 total revenue. The remainder included digital asset activity, so the reported quarter still reflected a mixed business rather than a fully transitioned leasing company. Lease revenue offers evidence of monetized HPC capacity; it does not by itself show that future projects will be delivered on schedule or that the business has reached stable profitability.
Period alignment matters: Applied Digital’s figures are for the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2026, while TeraWulf’s figures cover the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Comparing trailing periods and checking each company’s filings is more informative than treating those quarterly totals as directly synchronized.
What does TeraWulf’s Anthropic lease actually promise?
TeraWulf announced a 20-year lease with Anthropic for approximately 401 MW of critical IT capacity at its Justified campus. The company described about $19 billion of contracted revenue over the initial term and up to about $33 billion if both five-year extension options are exercised. Initial delivery was expected in the second half of 2027, with full delivery expected in early 2028. These are announced contract terms and schedules, not revenue already earned. TeraWulf Q2 2026 results
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How should investors compare cash, debt, and funding needs?
TeraWulf reported approximately $3.0 billion of cash and restricted cash at June 30, 2026. Its Q2 investor presentation calculated total debt of $5.7 billion and net debt of $2.7 billion. The presentation’s net-debt figure is the company’s calculation, and cash plus restricted cash should not be assumed to be entirely unrestricted or available for any use. Q2 results Investor presentation
A directly comparable cash-and-debt snapshot for Applied Digital is not stated in the cited results summarized here. Its FY2026 Form 10-K describes financing needs and significant campus capital requirements. Investors comparing the two should check unrestricted versus restricted cash, project-level obligations, interest expense, debt maturities, committed construction costs, and possible share issuance in the latest filings—not compare one company’s disclosed cash figure with the other’s without the rest of its financing picture. Applied Digital FY2026 Form 10-K
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What could delay the projects or weaken the investment case?
- Construction and power: Sites need completed electrical and mechanical infrastructure, power availability, and successful commissioning before planned capacity can serve tenants.
- Tenant deployment and rent start: Delivered capacity does not automatically mean a tenant is fully deployed or that rent has begun. Delays can push expected revenue into later periods.
- Capital intensity: Building data centers and completing tenant-specific fit-outs require substantial spending. Cost overruns or more expensive financing can reduce the value of future lease revenue.
- Customer and contract exposure: Investors should review lease conditions, credit support, escalation provisions, construction milestones, and customer concentration in the filings. A signed lease is not a substitute for assessing those terms.
- Business transition: TeraWulf is shifting from bitcoin mining and other digital asset activity toward HPC leasing. The transition is incomplete while its reported revenue still includes digital asset activity.
- Reporting dates and new developments: The comparison above is anchored to Applied Digital FY2026 and TeraWulf Q2 2026 disclosures. TeraWulf’s investor-relations page showed an October 5, 2026 update about Muskie contracted power; the Q2 operating comparison therefore does not capture every subsequent development. TeraWulf investor relations
What would make either stock the better buy?
Operating progress alone cannot settle a stock comparison. A valuation-led decision needs share prices from the same date, market capitalizations, enterprise values, and comparable valuation measures, together with realistic estimates of future rent, remaining construction costs, financing expense, and share dilution. Those synchronized valuation inputs are not established by the cited operating disclosures, and stock prices can change materially from day to day.
A practical comparison is to ask how much each company’s current valuation assumes about capacity delivery and rent commencement, then test whether its funding plan can carry projects through those milestones. Applied Digital’s reported rent and live campus capacity are relevant evidence, but fit-out work is a different revenue source. TeraWulf’s lease and cash disclosures are relevant evidence, but future deliveries, debt, and the shift in revenue mix remain part of the risk. Choose between them only after weighing those factors against each stock’s current price and your tolerance for execution and financing risk.
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