CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) used its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings call to outline a broadened strategy that management said is reshaping the company from a “single-track” Bitcoin miner into a digital infrastructure and data center development platform anchored by utility-grade power assets.
Chairman and CEO Matt Schultz said Bitcoin mining remains “foundational,” but emphasized that the company is pursuing multiple, “independently valuable earning streams.” In his framing, “Bitcoin mining funds the platform, AI monetizes it, and digital asset management optimizes it across all cycles.”
Management emphasizes shift toward AI data center infrastructure
He added that the company is making “tenant-driven” design decisions that are not easily reversible, including substation design, cooling architecture, and campus layout. Management argued it is intentionally moving deliberately to reduce delivery risk, citing concerns it has observed in early AI infrastructure leases, including punitive delay provisions.
Schultz said discussions have progressed to entertaining “multiple trillion-dollar balance sheet companies” for long-term leases. In response to analyst questions about demand, he said inquiries from hyperscalers have been increasing and suggested fears of an AI bubble are “highly overstated,” pointing to recent public commentary about large AI infrastructure spending plans by major technology companies.
Power and land portfolio: Houston-area hub and Sandersville focus
CleanSpark highlighted a shift from primarily developing sub-100 megawatt mining sites to assembling larger sites that can support hyperscale AI workloads. Schultz noted that Sandersville, Georgia—approximately 250 MW of live, energized power—had previously been the company’s only large-scale asset positioned for that market, but said the portfolio has expanded.
Management detailed two Texas development initiatives intended to create a Houston-area infrastructure hub with significant scale:
- Austin County (Sealy), Texas: Acquired in October 2025, including 271 acres and 285 MW of contracted power approved by ERCOT. Management said the site also has potential gas capacity for behind-the-meter optionality.
- Brazoria County, Texas: Announced as a second initiative supported by a transmission facilities extension agreement, enabling an initial 300 MW demand load expandable to 600 MW.
On the Q&A, the company provided more specific timing expectations for Sealy: the first 207 to 209 MW is expected in the first half of 2027, followed by roughly 40 MW in 2028 and 40 MW in 2029. For Brazoria County, management said it has not yet closed and expects closing conditions to be completed in Q1, with energization discussed as potentially in a Q4 2027 to Q1 2028 range, while noting efforts to pull the date forward.
Schultz said Sandersville is currently seeing the highest demand among the company’s sites because the power is already energized and infrastructure is in place. Management also disclosed the acquisition of a 122-acre parcel adjacent to Sandersville, describing it as supportive of tenant-driven planning and allowing the company to continue operating Bitcoin miners up until a load transition to data center use.
Harry—who also participated in responses—said the land expansion at Sandersville enables more detailed basis-of-design alignment and helps map out timelines for ramp and commissioning processes that hyperscale tenants typically require.
Q1 financial results: revenue growth year-over-year, mark-to-market impacts drive loss
President and CFO Gary Vecchiarelli reviewed quarterly results and described a quarter shaped by network difficulty, Bitcoin price movements, and non-cash mark-to-market accounting. CleanSpark reported revenue of about $181 million, which management said was more than $180 million with gross margin exceeding 47%. Vecchiarelli said revenue increased year-over-year by approximately $19 million, or nearly 12%.
Bitcoin production was “relatively flat,” but the company realized nearly $100,000 per Bitcoin in the quarter compared with $84,000 in the prior-year quarter. Gross margin declined from about 57% a year ago to 47% in the current quarter, which management attributed mainly to higher network difficulty. Power prices increased to $0.056 per kWh from $0.049 per kWh a year earlier.
CleanSpark posted a net loss of approximately $379 million versus net income of about $247 million in the prior-year quarter. Vecchiarelli said the swing was driven primarily by mark-to-market adjustments to Bitcoin fair value. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $295 million, also driven largely by those non-cash adjustments; he said the quarter included roughly $350 million of such charges. On a “normalized” basis excluding the mark-to-market impact, Vecchiarelli said normalized EBITDA would have been $55 million, representing about a 30% normalized margin.
Compared with the immediately preceding fiscal fourth quarter, management said revenue declined by approximately $43 million, or 19%, due to rising network difficulty and softer Bitcoin prices. The company’s cost per kWh decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter to $0.056 from $0.059, helping gross margin remain at 47%.
Capital strategy: convert issuance, buybacks, liquidity, and digital asset management
Management discussed a November 2025 financing and subsequent capital actions. Schultz said the company completed a $1.15 billion convertible offering and used part of the proceeds to repurchase roughly $460 million of shares, bringing total repurchases to more than $600 million since December 2024. Vecchiarelli said the outstanding share count has decreased almost 20% over the last 15 months and noted the company has not issued equity via an ATM or other offering during that period. Both executives repeated the phrase, “dilution is not a strategy, discipline is.”
Vecchiarelli said cash increased by more than $400 million from Q4 due to the convertible transaction, after paying off Bitcoin-backed lines of credit and repurchasing $463 million of stock. He said the company ended the quarter with approximately $1.15 billion of Bitcoin value and total debt of about $1.8 billion, which he described as roughly a 1.1 debt-to-liquidity ratio on a net basis. He noted the converts mature in 2030 and 2032.
On treasury and “digital asset management” (DAM), management emphasized it is not a trading function but a structured liquidity and capital allocation capability with defined risk limits. Schultz said DAM generated more than $13 million in premiums and cash during the quarter, which he characterized as about 24% of normalized adjusted EBITDA. Vecchiarelli added that the strategy is in the “walk phase,” with 40% of the Bitcoin balance—about 5,200 Bitcoin—allocated for yield generation. He said the quarter’s $13 million in premiums represented an annualized return of 4.2% on the average HODL balance, above a 4% target, and described a covered call overlay and a market-neutral “basis trade” that he said exceeded the risk-free rate by nearly 200 basis points, with an annualized yield above 5.5% on cash allocated to that strategy.
Looking ahead, management said it expects to deploy the “overwhelming” majority of future capital toward AI data center development, citing a reported cost range of $9 million to $11 million per megawatt, while indicating limited incremental spending on Bitcoin mining equipment at current economics. On operations, Schultz said less than 10% of the fleet would be unprofitable at a stated “$30 hash price,” and said the company continues to improve fleet efficiency through deployment of more efficient machines.
About Cleanspark (NASDAQ:CLSK)
CleanSpark, Inc (NASDAQ: CLSK) is a leading energy software and services company specializing in advanced microgrid controls and distributed energy resource (DER) management. The firm develops proprietary software platforms designed to optimize power flows across on-grid and off-grid installations, integrating renewable generation, battery storage, and traditional generation assets. CleanSpark’s technology is used by utilities, commercial and industrial enterprises, and remote facilities seeking to enhance energy resilience, reduce operating costs, and achieve sustainability goals.
In addition to its core software offerings, CleanSpark provides end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.
