Snapshot
- Ticker: RIOT (Nasdaq)
- Bucket: Data-Center Operators (HPC Pivots)
- Q4 2025 fund position: $78.1 M (6.17 M sh) — 1.42 % of 13F
- HQ: Castle Rock, CO
Business Overview
Riot is one of the largest US public Bitcoin miners by hashrate, operating principally at:
- Rockdale, TX — 700 MW developed, the legacy campus.
- Corsicana, TX — 400 MW energized for mining; Phase II (600 MW) was pivoted from Bitcoin mining to AI/HPC evaluation in January 2025, the most consequential strategic decision in the company’s history.
- Kentucky — ~232 MW target capacity.
Riot also owns ESS Metron, a custom-engineered electrical-equipment subsidiary that builds switchgear for data-center deployments — both internally for Riot’s own builds and for third-party customers. Switchgear lead times of 18–30 months make in-house production a material competitive advantage if Corsicana Phase II converts to HPC.
Financial Trajectory
| Metric (USD M) | FY2024 | FY2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | 376.7 | 647.4 | +72 % |
| Bitcoin mining revenue | 321.0 | 576.3 | +80 % |
| Engineering / ESS Metron | 38.5 | 64.7 | +68 % |
| Gross profit | — | 302 | — |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 463.2 | 13.0 | collapse |
| Net income (loss) | +109.4 | −663.2 | swing to loss |
| BTC mined | 4,828 | 5,686 | +18 % |
| Cost-to-mine ($/BTC, ex-D&A) | 32,216 | 49,645 | +54 % |
The dramatic FY25 EBITDA collapse and net loss are driven by non-cash BTC fair-value mark-to-market swings under ASU 2023-08 (which requires miners to mark BTC at fair value through earnings). The economic mining-business performance is more cleanly seen in cost-to-mine ($49,645/BTC ex-D&A) and BTC mined (5,686). Halving economics in 2024 raised the per-coin cost meaningfully.
Balance Sheet (12/31/25)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Cash | 76.3 M restricted) |
| BTC holdings (18,005 BTC) | 87,498/BTC |
| Total liquidity | >$1.9 B |
The 18,005 BTC treasury is one of the largest among public miners and represents both an option on BTC price upside and a source of working capital that could fund HPC conversion at Corsicana Phase II.
Operational KPIs
- End-2025 hashrate target: 38.4 EH/s (lowered from 46.7 EH/s mid-year as Phase II pivoted away from mining)
- Dec 2024 deployed hashrate: 31.5 EH/s
- Rockdale TX: 700 MW developed
- Corsicana TX: 400 MW energized + 600 MW Phase II under HPC review
- Kentucky: 232 MW target
AMD HPC Lease — the First HPC Anchor
In late 2025, Riot signed its first HPC anchor:
- Counterparty: AMD
- Site: Corsicana, TX
- Term: 10 years
- Capacity: 25 MW initial + options up to +175 MW
- Operations commenced: January 2026
- Specific contracted revenue: not disclosed
The AMD deal is small relative to Corsicana Phase II’s 600 MW capacity but establishes Riot as a credible HPC host and gives AMD an option to scale deployment as its MI300/MI350-series accelerators ramp.
Why It Fits the Thesis
Riot is a scale + optionality position in the bucket: large hashrate provides decent baseline cash flow during BTC up-cycles; Corsicana Phase II provides multi-GW optionality on AI conversion. The smaller fund position size relative to CORZ, IREN, APLD reflects that Riot is later in the conversion process and has historically been more committed to staying a pure miner. The AMD lease is the first proof point; the question is whether the remaining ~575 MW at Phase II signs additional anchors.
The ESS Metron subsidiary is an under-appreciated source of incremental data-center exposure: it could become a meaningful third-party revenue stream if data-center switchgear scarcity persists.
Position History in the Fund
| Quarter | Position |
|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | New |
| Q4 2025 | 6.17 M sh |
Risks
- Slow pivot pace vs. peers — management was historically least vocal about HPC strategy.
- Activist overhang — multiple activist campaigns (including reported Starboard involvement) push for HPC monetization but raise governance noise.
- Power-cost exposure to ERCOT volatility.
- High BTC price-sensitivity in headline EBITDA / net income via fair-value mark.
- Cost-to-mine inflation in post-halving economics.