Applied Digital (Nasdaq: APLD) on June 8, 2026 signed a 15-year, take-or-pay lease for 210 MW of critical IT load at Delta Forge 2, a new purpose-built AI Factory campus in an undisclosed U.S. southern state. The lease is worth approximately $5.2 billion in base-term contracted revenue — up to $12.7 billion over 30 years if all renewal options are exercised — and pushes APLD's contracted AI Factory portfolio to about $36 billion across five campuses.
Third Lease With The Same Hyperscaler
The customer is the same "U.S. based high investment-grade hyperscaler" that already anchors two of Applied Digital's other AI Factory campuses, making this the third long-term lease with the same counterparty. Applied Digital declined to name the tenant; Construction Review Online previously identified the company's Delta Forge 1 site in Louisiana, but Delta Forge 2's host state remains undisclosed beyond "a new southern state." Initial operations at Delta Forge 2 are anticipated in Q1 2028.
Why The Take-Or-Pay Structure Matters
The deal uses a take-or-pay structure: the hyperscaler is on the hook for the full 210 MW whether or not it consumes it, the same way an apartment tenant owes rent regardless of how many nights they sleep at home. That mechanism turns Delta Forge 2 from a speculative build into something closer to a 15-year bond from an investment-grade counterparty — the reason a $12.6 billion market-cap company can credibly book a $36 billion contracted portfolio. About 70% of Applied Digital's contracted revenue is now backed by U.S. investment-grade hyperscalers.
Five Campuses, 1.4 GW, $86B Of Optionality
The Delta Forge 2 lease lifts Applied Digital's total contracted critical IT load to 1.4 GW, with approximately 2.15 GW of grid-connected utility power across five campuses. Headline math: $36 billion contracted, $86 billion if every renewal option through 30 years is exercised. Compass Point, Needham and Lake Street all reiterated Buy ratings on the news — Needham raised its price target to $83 from $66, Lake Street to $90 from $70 — and CEO Wes Cummins framed the announcement around what he calls a "franchise model" replicating design, construction and operations teams across geographies.
Building For Vera Rubin And Beyond
The campus is purpose-built for AI training and inference, using Applied Digital's proprietary waterless cooling and high-power-density infrastructure. The same compute classes that the company's hyperscaler is racing to deploy are the ones NVIDIA and SK Hynix locked in via a multi-year HBM memory pact two days earlier and that Meta has been rushing to power with fabric "tent" buildings in Ohio. Delta Forge 2 is the hyperscaler-grade version of that same scramble.
The Three Risks That Temper The Story
Three things temper the celebration. The first is concentration — three of Applied Digital's five long-term leases now sit with one unnamed hyperscaler. The second is construction financing: Delta Forge 2 produces no cash until Q1 2028, with the build funded by a Macquarie loan facility, preferred-equity draws and a new $550 million revolver also announced on June 8. The third is dilution risk from an active S-3 shelf. APLD shares are still up roughly 60% year to date and have more than tripled over the past 12 months.
Reporting based on coverage from GlobeNewswire, Tech Times and Invezz.