Author: Nancy, PANews
The story of Bitcoin mining companies transitioning to AI is no longer new and is gradually becoming an industry standard. However, as more mining companies enter this space, Wall Street is beginning to reduce the valuation premium it assigns to the AI transition narrative.
Blocksbridge Consulting recently analyzed that as more mining companies invest in AI/HPC infrastructure, market reactions to these transformation narratives are noticeably cooling. Even large-scale AI hosting contracts are becoming increasingly difficult to replicate the early market stimulation. Data shows that early AI business announcements often triggered significant stock price fluctuations, with the average absolute price movement reaching 24.1% following announcements; recently, the average absolute price movement after similar transactions has declined to approximately 10.2%.
Meanwhile, the commercial value of AI/HPC hosting services continues to rise. Data shows that the annualized revenue per megawatt for related leases has increased from approximately $1.67 million initially to about $1.9 million.
This shift means the market is no longer simply buying into AI transformation slogans, but is now focusing on tenant quality, project delivery capabilities, capital investment, and the realization of future cash flows. For Bitcoin mining companies, the key to AI transformation has shifted from “telling stories” to “proving the business model.”
As second-quarter earnings reports are released, the AI transformation of Bitcoin mining companies is entering a new phase of evaluation. PANews reviewed the latest financial results of five leading Bitcoin mining firms, finding that while some companies remain in the construction phase with their AI businesses yet to generate revenue, others have already begun generating new income through AI/HPC hosting services and are even reshaping their business structures. Overall, most mining companies still face declining revenues, expanding losses, and high capital expenditure pressures, with their transformation narratives still far from delivering tangible cash flow.
From a secondary market perspective, investor sentiment toward mining companies’ AI transitions has also become more rational. Over the past month, most Bitcoin mining companies have seen their stock prices decline to varying degrees, partly due to a broader correction in the global AI sector. However, even when some mining companies announce large AI/HPC leasing deals or make significant business progress, market reactions remain relatively muted.
MARA: Losses widen as AI transition has not yet contributed revenue
Data shows that over the past month, MARA's stock price declined by approximately 11.6%, and dropped about 5.25% on the day the Q2 earnings report was released.
According to the latest quarterly financial report, MARA’s traditional mining business continues to be constrained by industry cycles, with profit margins steadily narrowing; meanwhile, its investments in AI/HPC infrastructure remain largely in the foundational stage, with the commercialization story yet to materialize.
In the second quarter of this year, MARA generated revenue of approximately $175 million, a 27% year-over-year decline from $238.5 million in the same period last year. On the profitability front, MARA reported a net loss of over $610 million in the second quarter, compared to a net profit of approximately $810 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to a loss of $361 million, a significant decrease from the $1.245 billion profit recorded in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to a $343 million impairment of digital assets driven by the decline in Bitcoin prices.
In this earnings report, MARA explicitly outlined its "Three Pillars of Infrastructure" strategy, encompassing Bitcoin mining, power resources, and AI computing infrastructure.
Regarding mining operations, as of the end of the second quarter, MARA held 35,577 BTC, a 29% decrease compared to 49,951 BTC at the same time last year. During the quarter, the company mined 2,422 BTC and sold 2,213 BTC at an average selling price of approximately $73,000. Currently, its combined cash and BTC assets total approximately $2.5 billion.
Regarding the AI/HPC transition, as of June 30, 2026, MARA has 1.4 GW of operational capacity, with total current capacity reaching 1.9 GW and potential energy capacity of approximately 4.8 GW. The project in Matagorda County, Texas, USA, is a key milestone for future transformation, planned to reach up to 2 GW of power capacity and be developed into an AI/HPC computing campus, with construction expected to begin in 2027. Meanwhile, MARA is collaborating with Starwood to establish a data center and has acquired the Long Ridge energy assets and French HPC operator Exaion (annual revenue expected to be below eight digits, i.e., several million to tens of millions of US dollars).
Notably, to support the expansion of its energy infrastructure, MARA has established a new $100 million credit facility, backed by an initial collateral of 18,750 BTC. This move enhances the liquidity and capital efficiency of the company’s Bitcoin holdings, providing funding for future infrastructure investments.
However, AI/HPC currently contributes nearly zero to MARA’s revenue. During the earnings call, MARA’s management acknowledged this reality, stating that the company’s core focus for the first half of this year is to scale up and drive platform transformation, with the second half dedicated to execution, including securing customer agreements, bringing new assets online, and validating the platform’s profitability potential.
Core Scientific: AI revenue accounts for over 80%, begins increasing BTC holdings
Data shows that over the past month, Core Scientific's stock price declined by approximately 3.04%, and rose by approximately 0.05% on the day the Q2 earnings report was released.
According to the latest quarterly financial report, Core Scientific’s traditional mining business has significantly shrunk, while its AI/HPC infrastructure has become the primary revenue driver, largely fulfilling its commercialization narrative.
In the second quarter of this year, Core Scientific generated revenue of approximately $164.2 million, a year-over-year increase of about 109%. On the profitability front, the company still reported a net loss of approximately $1.155 billion, but adjusted EBITDA reached approximately $41.1 million, with a gross profit of about $70 million and a gross margin of approximately 43%.
From a business structure perspective, Core Scientific is rapidly reducing its reliance on mining revenue. Mining revenue in the second quarter declined to approximately $21.5 million, accounting for about 17% of total revenue. Meanwhile, Core Scientific’s Bitcoin holdings increased from 547 BTC at the end of the first quarter to 848 BTC, adding 301 BTC in a single quarter. Previously, the company had sold large amounts of BTC to support its transition into AI and high-performance computing businesses, but it has resumed accumulating Bitcoin in the second quarter.
The AI/HPC infrastructure business is the primary driver of revenue growth. In the second quarter, hosting revenue reached approximately $136.7 million, significantly surpassing the $10.6 million recorded in the same period last year, accounting for about 83% of total revenue. The company has currently deployed billing capacity of approximately 395 MW, which increased to 437 MW by mid-July, corresponding to an annualized hosting revenue of about $635 million. Meanwhile, Core Scientific announced a 15-year infrastructure agreement with AMD covering 530 MW of capacity across five data center campuses, with potential base contract revenue exceeding $14 billion. Core’s total available customer power capacity now stands at approximately 1.1 GW, with potential contract revenue exceeding $24 billion.
Of course, the transition also involves significant capital investment. The company’s capital expenditures in the second quarter reached $797.5 million, primarily for data center construction and land acquisition, resulting in a net cash outflow of over $1.18 billion from investing activities in the first half of the year. It has also raised additional funds through instruments such as the issuance of $3.3 billion in senior secured notes, but this has led to higher interest costs and a marked increase in balance sheet leverage. Shareholders’ equity remains negative, and the volatility of warrant liabilities persists. Additionally,托管 income is highly concentrated among a small number of customers, and construction progress, access to power, and supply chain stability will directly impact delivery timelines and revenue realization.
Core Scientific's management noted on the Q2 earnings call that the company has passed the turning point in its transformation and is now positioned to consistently create value for customers and shareholders, with future priorities including efficient delivery of computing capacity, strict project timeline management, and responsible capital allocation.
TeraWulf: Transition expectations are turning into operational results, with HPC business becoming the primary revenue driver
Data shows that over the past month, TeraWulf's stock price declined by approximately 12.97%, and dropped about 4.29% on the day the Q2 earnings report was released.
In the same quarter, TeraWulf’s traditional mining business also saw reduced contributions due to industry cycles, but its AI/HPC transition has begun to show results, generating significant revenue.
The Q2 financial report showed that TeraWulf's total revenue for the quarter was approximately $44.77 million, with Bitcoin mining revenue accounting for only about $12.80 million, while HPC leasing revenue reached approximately $31.93 million, representing about 71% of total revenue. The net loss widened to approximately $940.8 million, primarily due to the fair value change of warrants (a loss of $755.7 million); adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $18.34 million. As of June 30, cash and restricted cash totaled approximately $3 billion, indicating relatively strong liquidity.
On the operational front, the Lake Mariner data center campus is progressing smoothly, with 102 MW of critical IT capacity already operational as of early July and an additional 336 MW under construction, with each MW of critical IT construction cost remaining within the guided range of $8 million to $10 million. Following the delivery of CB-3, Google’s $600 million credit support for Fluidstack’s lease obligations has officially taken effect. Meanwhile, TeraWulf is also advancing applications for an additional 250 MW of power capacity. The Lake Hawkeye campus, spanning approximately 183 acres, has a potential critical IT load capacity of around 320 MW and is not expected to become operational until after 2029.
Following the quarter, TeraWulf signed a 20-year data center lease agreement with Anthropic for approximately 401 MW of critical IT capacity at the Justified campus in Kentucky. The contract is expected to generate approximately $19 billion in revenue over its term, rising to as much as $33 billion if Anthropic exercises two five-year renewal options. Initial deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027.
Additionally, TeraWulf sold a 50.1% stake in its Abernathy joint venture for approximately $530 million and acquired the Muskie Data Campus in Kentucky, securing a power supply agreement of up to 1 GW. The FERC has approved the acquisition of the Morgantown power plant in Maryland, removing a major regulatory hurdle for its subsidiary Chesapeake Data Campus, which is scalable to up to 1 GW and is expected to begin data center operations around 2030. TeraWulf reaffirmed its target of adding 250 to 500 MW of contracted critical IT capacity annually, emphasizing a focus on opportunities with stable power supply, clear customer demand, and scalable infrastructure.
TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager noted that the company is shifting from platform development to scalable execution, with a replicable model centered on controlling power-advantaged infrastructure, securing long-term credit-backed customers, and delivering capacity in phases.
Hut 8: Revenue surges but still reports losses; completes first AI park commercialization
Data shows that over the past month, Hut 8's stock price declined by approximately 6.3%, and on the day the Q2 earnings report was released, it fell by about 9.74%.
In the second quarter, Hut 8 generated revenue of approximately $74.9 million, an 81.4% year-over-year increase. The primary driver of revenue growth was computing operations—particularly ASIC mining—amounting to approximately $72.5 million, with digital infrastructure revenue at $1.3 million and power revenue at $1.2 million. Despite strong revenue performance, the company reported a net loss of approximately $177.1 million for the quarter, primarily due to unrealized losses on digital assets totaling $138.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $10.45 million, a 149% year-over-year increase.
On the commercialization front, Hut 8 successfully commercialized its first gigawatt-scale AI data center campus, Beacon Point, and signed a second 352 MW IT lease agreement following the end of the quarter. The total contracted base value amounts to approximately $26.6 billion, covering 949 MW of committed IT capacity with investment-grade tenants, and is expected to generate annual net operating income (NOI) exceeding $1.75 billion. Meanwhile, the combined under-construction power capacity at River Bend and Beacon Point reaches 1,330 MW, with initial data halls targeted for delivery in the second and third quarters of 2027, respectively. As of the end of the second quarter, Hut 8’s total development pipeline stands at approximately 8,660 MW, primarily impacted by unrealized losses on digital assets of $138.6 million.
In terms of financing, Hut 8 completed $7.5 billion in investment-grade project financing for a single quarter, including $3.3 billion for the River Bend campus and $4.25 billion for Phase One of Beacon Point—all structured as non-recourse and non-dilutive arrangements, setting a precedent for investment-grade construction financing of data center projects under a single sponsor and providing robust financial support for large-scale development.
Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot emphasized that the company’s current core focus has shifted from securing orders to project delivery, aiming to rapidly convert contracted capacity into operational reality and stable cash flow, further solidifying the foundation for its transition from mining to AI infrastructure.
CleanSpark: Mining Revenue Declines; $6.6 Billion Lease Agreement Is the Key Focus
Data shows that over the past month, CleanSpark's stock price increased by approximately 2.16%, but declined by about 5.56% on the day the Q2 earnings report was released.
In the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, CleanSpark's revenue was $138 million, a 30.5% year-over-year decline; net loss reached $239.8 million, compared to a net profit of $257.4 million in the same period last year; adjusted EBITDA also dropped significantly from $377.7 million in the prior-year quarter to a loss of $113 million.
As of June 30, CleanSpark held $202.6 million in cash, with its Bitcoin assets valued at approximately $814.9 million, net long-term debt of $1.78 billion, and working capital of $761 million. Overall, CleanSpark continues to maintain strong asset reserves and financing capacity; however, ongoing expansion of its data centers and computing infrastructure requires significant capital investment.
Notably, CleanSpark’s revenue for this quarter still came entirely from Bitcoin mining operations, with no actual revenue generated from AI/HPC-related businesses.
However, the biggest highlight of this quarter was CleanSpark’s Sandersville project signing a 20-year, $6.6 billion data center lease agreement with a global technology company whose name has not been disclosed. According to CleanSpark’s disclosures, the project employs a high-spec data center construction approach, with an estimated construction cost of $10 million to $12 million per MW. For a 175 MW capacity, the total investment is projected to be approximately $1.75 billion to $2.1 billion, with an expected average annual net operating income (NOI) of about $330 million. However, this revenue will only materialize after the project’s completion, with initial deliveries expected no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2027. CleanSpark also stated that the required equity funding has been secured, and key long-lead equipment has been procured with advance payments arranged, ensuring the project remains on track for timely commissioning.
Compared to some mining companies still focused on telling AI stories, CleanSpark’s advantage lies in its accumulated scale of power resources, land reserves, and data center operational experience. Currently, it controls over 1.8 GW of power, land, and data center resources in the United States.
Based on the performance reports from various mining companies, this AI transformation is entering a pivotal stage. For investors, the focus is no longer on who has the biggest AI story, but rather on more concrete operational metrics. For Bitcoin mining companies, possessing electricity, land, and computing power resources is merely the entry ticket; what ultimately determines the valuation reassessment is project delivery capability, customer quality, and the ability to realize future cash flows.