U.S. Hyperscalers' AI Spending Soars to $700 Billion
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 20 2026
0mins
Source: Fool
- Surge in Capex: The top four U.S. hyperscalers are projected to spend at least $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year, a significant increase from last year's $394 billion, indicating robust demand for AI data centers that could drive stock prices higher for related companies.
- Applied Materials' Strong Performance: Applied Materials exceeded Wall Street expectations in its fiscal Q1 2026 results, with revenue guidance of $7.65 billion suggesting nearly 8% year-over-year growth, despite a 2% decline in revenue, showcasing the company's solid position in AI infrastructure development.
- Applied Digital's Rapid Growth: Applied Digital's business is booming due to the aggressive buildout of AI data centers, with a staggering 250% year-over-year revenue increase to $127 million in Q2, and a strong outlook for continued growth, particularly in lease agreements with hyperscale clients.
- Market Demand Fuels Expansion: Applied Digital is constructing two data center campuses in North Dakota, projected to generate $16 billion in lease revenue over 15 years, while also engaging in advanced discussions with other investment-grade hyperscalers to further expand its market presence and revenue streams.
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Analyst Views on APLD
Wall Street analysts forecast APLD stock price to rise
10 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 47.280
Low
36.00
Averages
52.22
High
99.00
Current: 47.280
Low
36.00
Averages
52.22
High
99.00
About APLD
Applied Digital Corporation is a designer, builder, and operator of sustainably engineered data centers and colocation services for artificial intelligence, cloud, networking, and blockchain workloads. The Company’s segments include data center hosting (Data Center Hosting Business) and high-performance compute hosting (HPC Hosting Business). The Data Center Hosting Business operates data centers to provide energized space to crypto mining customers. Customer-owned hardware is installed in its facilities, and the Company provides operational and maintenance services for a fixed fee. Its facilities include a 106 megawatt (MW) facility in Jamestown and a 180 MW facility in Ellendale, North Dakota. The HPC Hosting Business designs, builds, and operates data centers which are designed to support high-compute applications using advanced technologies and infrastructures to provide services to customers. Its HPC data center is located at its Polaris Forge 1 campus with 100 MW capacity.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Diverse Investment Strategy: The fund invests not only in publicly traded companies expected to benefit from AI adoption but also backs startups like Anthropic, while also taking smaller short positions against industries that may be disrupted by AI, showcasing its adaptive market response capabilities.
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See More
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- Rapid Capacity Expansion: With this expansion, Applied Digital has surpassed 1.2 GW of contracted AI Factory capacity across four campuses, showcasing the company's rapid growth in the burgeoning AI infrastructure market.
- Positive Stock Reaction: Following the announcement of this major investment, Applied Digital's shares rose over 6% to approximately $48.14, reflecting investor optimism regarding the scale of the expansion, despite recent market volatility.
- Long-term Strategic Vision: Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins emphasized that this investment reflects the company's long-term vision of building high-performance digital infrastructure in underserved regions, aiming to capitalize on future growth potential.
See More
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- Massive Market Potential: A UNCTAD report predicts that the global AI market could grow 25 times from 2023 to 2033, reaching annual revenues of $4.8 trillion, which will significantly accelerate the growth of companies involved in AI infrastructure.
- Long-Term Lease Revenue: Applied Digital is building 1 gigawatt of data center capacity, with 90% secured through long-term leases, creating a stable revenue stream, particularly with its partnership with CoreWeave expected to generate $11 billion in lease revenue over 15 years.
- Expanding Client Base: Applied Digital has a 400 MW lease agreement with CoreWeave, and as CoreWeave secures contracts with major clients like OpenAI, Applied Digital is likely to gain more data center construction business, further increasing its market share.
- Optimistic Growth Outlook: Applied Digital's stock has surged 436% over the past year, and despite a high price-to-sales ratio of 27, its long-term lease revenue pipeline and data center expansion potential suggest strong future growth, with all analysts covering the stock rating it a buy.
See More
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- Revenue Growth Outlook: Applied Digital's revenue backlog reached an impressive $99.4 billion at the end of the last quarter, reflecting a 284% year-over-year increase, indicating a rapidly rising demand in the AI data center sector that lays a solid foundation for future revenue growth.
- Long-Term Lease Contracts: The company has secured a 15-year lease agreement with CoreWeave, expected to generate $11 billion in lease revenue for Applied Digital, which not only strengthens its cash flow but also highlights its critical position in the AI infrastructure market.
- Data Center Expansion Plans: Applied Digital is currently building 1 GW of data center capacity, with 90% of this capacity locked in through long-term leases, and it aims to expand its active data center capacity to 3.5 GW to meet the growing market demand.
- Market Recognition Boost: Despite Applied Digital's high price-to-sales ratio of 27, its stock has surged 436% over the past year, with all 12 analysts covering the stock rating it a buy, reflecting strong market confidence in its growth potential.
See More
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- Fuel Cell Technology Recognition: Bloom Energy's stock rose after Nebius Group selected its fuel cell technology for U.S. data center expansion, with potential revenue of up to $2.6 billion over a decade, indicating the growing importance of alternative power systems in AI facilities.
- Quantum Manufacturing Initiative: GlobalFoundries shares hit a record high of $81.46 following its announcement of plans to receive up to $375 million in federal funding through the CHIPS Act to support quantum computing infrastructure, launching a new business unit focused on Quantum Technology Solutions, pushing its market value above $44 billion.
- Market Enthusiasm: Stocks of Applied Digital, Bloom Energy, and GlobalFoundries reached fresh 52-week highs, reflecting strong investor interest in companies tied to computing capacity, energy infrastructure, and quantum machine learning, with respective gains of 21%, 9%, and 14%.
See More
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