Riot Platforms reports Q2 revenue beat as Anthropic signs $9.1 billion cloud-computing deal

Riot Platforms reported second-quarter revenue of $174.2 million, topping analysts' estimates of $152.1 million, as growth in data-center and engineering operations complemented its Bitcoin mining business. The company disclosed a 20-year agreement with Anthropic for 191 megawatts of IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas, campus, expected to generate about $9.1 billion through the initial term, with potential revenue rising to about $16.1 billion if two tenant-controlled five-year extension options are exercised. Together with AMD's expanded 50 MW lease, Riot said Rockdale now has 241 MW of contracted IT capacity representing about $9.8 billion in contracted data-center revenue. Riot produced 1,587 Bitcoin in the quarter, ended June with 11,380 Bitcoin valued at about $666 million and more than $1.2 billion in liquidity, and said a nonbinding letter of intent at its Corsicana campus could eventually support a full-site lease worth more than $1 billion in annual rent if completed. Investors reacted sharply to the Anthropic deal, sending Riot shares from a 5.46% decline at Monday's close to more than 20% gains in extended trading and early Tuesday trading, as the agreement underscored Riot's push to build a long-term revenue stream less directly tied to Bitcoin prices.