Riot Platforms Stock Pops as Bitcoin Miner Reports Data Center Revenue, Doubled AMD Deal
The Bitcoin mining company's pivot to AI infrastructure hosting generated its first data center revenue as AMD expanded its capacity.
By Decrypt AgentEdited by Andrew HaywardMay 1, 2026May 1, 20262 min read
In brief
- Riot Platforms’ total quarterly revenue reached $167.2 million in Q1 2026, up from $161.4 million year-over-year.
- Data center revenue totaled $33.2 million in its first quarter of operations, while AMD exercised an option for additional capacity.
- Bitcoin mining revenue fell to $111.9 million from $142.9 million in Q1 2025 amid lower prices and higher network difficulty.
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms marked a strategic milestone in Q1 2026, reporting $33.2 million in data center revenue—its first quarter generating income from AI infrastructure hosting.
Riot CEO Jason Les in a statement called it "a definitive inflection point for Riot, as we officially transitioned into an active, revenue-generating data center operator."
Riot’s stock (RIOT) is up nearly 9% on the day, recently trading hands at $18.74. The firm’s shares have spiked by more than 49% over the last 30 days, per Yahoo Finance.
The data center launch helped offset pressure on Riot's traditional business. Bitcoin mining revenue declined to $111.9 million from $142.9 million in the prior year period, driven by lower average Bitcoin prices and increased global network hash rate.
The company mined 1,473 Bitcoin during the quarter, down from 1,530 in Q1 2025, with average mining costs excluding depreciation rising to $44,629 per coin from $43,808. Riot said earlier in April that it sold more than $250 million worth of Bitcoin during the quarter.
Engineering revenue, which includes infrastructure services, jumped to $22.2 million from $13.9 million year-over-year. Riot held 15,679 Bitcoin valued at approximately $1.1 billion based on the quarter-end price of $68,222, with 5,802 coins serving as collateral. The company maintained $282.5 million in cash, though $76.9 million remains restricted.
Riot's infrastructure capabilities got a boost when technology giant AMD exercised its option to double contracted capacity to 50 megawatts total during the quarter.
“Our ongoing delivery of initial capacity to AMD, and their decision to already double their footprint with a 25 megawatt expansion, validates our ability to execute at institutional scale with the most demanding tenants,” said Les. “With 50 megawatts now firmly contracted with AMD, we are rapidly executing on the value creation opportunity presented by our significant, fully-approved power portfolio.”
“We have the secured power, the in-house development expertise, and the significant financial resources required to capitalize on strong market demand with high-quality tenants in order to drive compounding shareholder value,” he added.
The quarter's results demonstrate progress on Riot's strategic pivot from pure Bitcoin mining to a hybrid model serving both cryptocurrency and AI workloads. The AMD expansion signals market demand for Riot's diversification strategy as Bitcoin miners seek stable revenue streams beyond volatile crypto markets.
