Applied Digital (US:APLD) ZACKSยท2025-07-15 14:00Core Insights - Applied Digital (APLD) achieved a 22% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 of fiscal 2025, totaling $52.9 million, despite challenges in its Cloud Services segment [2][10] - The company is transitioning its business model, focusing on high-performance computing (HPC) hosting, particularly for AI infrastructure, while facing a decline in Cloud Services revenue [3][6] Financial Performance - Cloud Services segment revenues fell to $17.8 million due to a shift to on-demand capacity and technical issues, which have since been resolved [2][10] - Data Center Hosting segment revenues increased to $35.2 million, driven by full utilization of North Dakota facilities and favorable Bitcoin pricing [3][10] - APLD's aggressive capital expenditures range from $30 million to $50 million per month, with a total debt of $689 million [5][10] Strategic Developments - The construction of the Ellendale campus, a 400MW data center, is on schedule, with the first 100MW facility expected to launch in Q4 2025 [4] - APLD has secured significant funding, including $5 billion from Macquarie and $375 million from SMBC, to support its strategic pivot [4] - The company is experiencing strong leasing interest, with potential for a single anchor customer to occupy the entire initial build [4] Competitive Landscape - Digital Realty (DLR) is expanding its AI infrastructure with a $10 billion U.S. Hyperscale Data Center Fund, focusing on major metropolitan areas [7] - Equinix (EQIX) is also capitalizing on AI demand, with numerous projects underway and a strategy emphasizing high-density builds [8] Valuation and Estimates - APLD's shares have increased by 24.6% year-to-date, outperforming the industry growth of 4.5% [9] - The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 7.97X, significantly above the industry average and its five-year median of 1.47 [12] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APLD's fiscal 2026 earnings suggests a 67.7% year-over-year increase [14]