Riot Platforms Inks $28 Billion AI Data Center Lease for Corsicana Facility
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Key Takeaways
- Riot signed a 15-year triple-net lease for its 910 MW Corsicana campus with a Frontier AI Lab.
- The agreement is valued at $28 billion initially, with potential to reach $54 billion via extensions.
- Riot expects a 99% net operating income margin as the tenant covers power and equipment costs.
- Total Q3 2026 revenue was $181.4 million, with Bitcoin mining production up 16% year-over-year.
- Digital asset custody has been fully migrated from NYDIG to BitGo Bank & Trust.
Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) confirmed the full commitment of its 332-acre Corsicana site to a Frontier AI Lab under a triple-net lease structure. The 910-megawatt (MW) agreement is set for an initial 15-year term, with Riot anticipating average yearly rental income of $1.8 billion. Should the tenant exercise two available five-year extensions, the total revenue from the contract could climb to $54 billion.
The operational framework requires Riot to provide the site's power infrastructure and pads, while the tenant manages the installation and maintenance of modular computing hardware. The tenant will also assume responsibility for electricity costs and other operating expenses, leading Riot to project a net operating income margin of nearly 99%. The 910 MW capacity is scheduled for delivery in three stages: 400 MW in late 2027, followed by 200 MW and 310 MW increments in 2028.
To develop the site, Riot estimates a capital expenditure of $6 million per MW, totaling $5.5 billion. Riot is responsible for $2 million per MW in infrastructure costs, while the remaining $4 million per MW is reimbursable to the tenant upon phase completion. Management intends to use non-recourse project financing for these costs, aiming to avoid new equity issuance for the project's funding.
In its third-quarter financial update, Riot reported $181.4 million in total revenue. While engineering and data center segments saw growth, Bitcoin mining revenue declined to $116.0 million from $160.8 million the previous year. This drop occurred despite a 16% rise in Bitcoin production to 1,637 tokens, as the average price per Bitcoin fell to $70,855 during the period.
