Applied Digital's Contracted Backlog Hit $31 Billion — Here's the Bar for Oct. 8

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares are in the spotlight, with earnings on deck and a wide split in recent analyst activity. Applied Digital shares are under pressure. Why are APLD shares declining? Earnings Preview & History Applied Digital is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings on October 8 after the market closes. Analysts estimate a loss of 30 cents per share along with revenue of $134.86 million. For the prior quarter, Applied Digital reported EPS of 4 cents, beating the consensus estimate of a loss of 22 cents. The company also posted revenue of $258.75 million, beating the consensus estimate of $94.84 million. What to Expect: AI Factory Buildout, Hyperscaler Lease Updates in Focus Investors will be closely tracking the pace of construction and energization milestones across Applied Digital’s four AI Factory campuses — Polaris Forge 1, 2, and 3, and Delta Forge 1 — which together carry $31 billion in contracted lease revenue, or up to $73 billion including renewal options. Commentary on the Polaris Forge 3 lease, a 300 MW agreement signed with a U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler valued at approximately $7.5 billion in base-term revenue, will also be in focus, along with any updates on the CoreWeave subsidiary’s progress toward investment-grade credit status under the companies’ Building 3 assignment agreement. Progress on Base Electron, the company’s independent power venture aimed at adding 1.2 gigawatts of grid capacity in the Dakotas, along with the pace of new lease signings and the company’s ongoing efforts to lower its cost of project-level debt, should offer additional signals on execution heading into fiscal 2027. Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $61.65. Recent analyst moves include: UBS: Initiated with Buy (Target $38.00) (Sept. 23) Rothschild & Co: Initiated with Neutral (Target $22.00) (Sept. 21) Wells Fargo: Initiated with Overweight (Target $50.00) (Sept. 17) Read Also: Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Jones Futures Fall as Rising Yields and Trump’s Hormuz Deal Rejection Spook Investors—LLY, PEP, JEF in Focus Applied Digital Shares Edge Lower APLD Price Action: At the time of publication, Applied Digital shares are trading 1.60% lower at $25.83, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Image via Shutterstock