Stephen Glagola

Stephen Glagola asked for insight into how ERCOT's proposed large load batch study process might impact the energization timeline for the Sealy site and the approval/development schedule for the Brazoria County, Texas project.

Answer

Harry Sudock (Chief Business Officer, CleanSpark) explained that ERCOT's study process is not yet final, but CleanSpark's Texas assets are favorably positioned. He cited completed large load studies for Sealy, deeply progressed studies for Brazoria, executed interconnect agreements, funded CIAC for Brazoria, and substation construction at Sealy, indicating significant project maturity.

Stephen Glagola asked for insight into how ERCOT's proposed large load batch study process might affect the energization timeline for CleanSpark's Sealy site and the approval and development schedule for its Brazoria County, Texas project.

Answer

Harry Sudock, Chief Business Officer, explained that ERCOT's study process is not yet final, but CleanSpark's Texas assets are favorably positioned. He noted that large load studies are complete or deeply progressed for both sites, with notice to proceed received, and key agreements (interconnect, FDA) are executed. Sudock added that the Brazoria CAIC is funded, and the Sealy substation is under construction, indicating significant project maturity and a location least impacted by ERCOT's reevaluation process.

Stephen Glagola of JonesTrading pressed for more details on the potential for using sites for alternative applications like AI/HPC, asking about the calculus for such a strategic shift and if any preliminary discussions with partners had occurred.

Answer

President and CEO Zachary Bradford reiterated that any alternative use case would need to generate returns superior to their current 55% margins from Bitcoin mining, factoring in the significant opportunity cost of downtime for a site rebuild. He emphasized that proximity to metro areas adds value but stated the company would only announce a deal when it is real and finalized, not while it is being figured out.

Stephen Glagola asked if there is a point where the focus shifts from increasing scale to maximizing free cash flow and returning capital to shareholders.

Answer

Executive Zachary Bradford stated that the company has achieved 'scale velocity,' where each incremental exahash adds directly to free cash flow. Executive Gary Vecchiarelli added that while returning capital is a future option, the current priority is strengthening the balance sheet and capitalizing on growth opportunities. He pointed to the recent share buyback as a significant investment in the company's own growth trajectory.

Stephen Glagola asked for clarification on the counterparty for the Washington IT supply agreement and elaborated on factors making GPU as a Service compelling relative to standard colocation, including GPU risk and ROI hurdles.

Answer

Ben Gagnon (CEO) clarified the Washington supply agreement is with a large publicly traded American national company, not T5. He explained that GPU as a Service at Washington offers significant free cash flow potential, exceeding Bitcoin mining, and provides valuable operational learning for larger facilities, demonstrating the company's capability as an operator.

Stephen Glagola asked for clarification on the counterparty for the $128 million IT supply agreement for the Washington site and inquired about the compelling factors for the GPU Cloud as a Service model in Washington and Sherbrooke compared to colocation, including how Bitfarms evaluates GPU risk and IRR hurdles.

Answer

Ben Gagnon (CEO and Director, Bitfarms) clarified that the supply agreement is with a large publicly traded American national company, not T5. He explained that GPU as a Service is compelling due to its potential to generate significantly more free cash flow than the entire Bitcoin mining business, providing a strong foundation as mining winds down. He also noted that operating a smaller cloud facility allows Bitfarms to gain valuable operational knowledge applicable to larger campuses and hyperscale customers.

Stephen Glagola of JonesTrading sought guidance on potential annual revenue per megawatt and EBITDA margins for a powered shell lease at Panther Creek, the expected Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), and the cost structure of the T5 partnership.

Answer

CEO Ben Gagnon stated it was premature to provide specific revenue or EBITDA forecasts, as they depend on final customer contracts. He confirmed the T5 partnership fee is included in the $400M CapEx estimate and should not materially impact costs, as T5's expertise helps avoid delays. CFO Jeff Lucas added that they are projecting a PUE of around 1.25, which is superior to the industry average.

Stephen Glagola, a Director at JonesTrading, requested an update on the contracting status of the remaining 12,000 GPUs from the initial 23,000 batch in British Columbia. He also asked about the demand for IREN's bare metal offering in BC, specifically if it extends beyond AI-native enterprises.

Answer

Chief Commercial Officer Kent Draper reported that IREN has contracted over 1,000 additional GPUs since the last update, with strong demand and increased customer appetite for pre-contracting the remaining capacity. He confirmed that demand for bare metal services in British Columbia is broad, encompassing not only AI-native enterprises but also a range of enterprise customers for inference workloads.

Stephen Glagola requested an update on contracting the remaining 12,000 GPUs from the initial 23,000 batch in British Columbia and inquired about demand for IREN's bare metal offering in BC beyond AI-native enterprises.

Answer

Kent Draper (Chief Commercial Officer, IREN) updated that IREN had contracted a bit over another 1,000 GPUs since the previous guidance of 11,000, with the remaining uncontracted GPUs being those with later delivery timelines. He noted strong demand and increasing appetite for pre-contracting, with late-stage discussions for a significant portion. He confirmed servicing a wide range of customer classes, including AI natives and enterprise customers for inference, out of the British Columbia sites.

Stephen Glagola asked for details on IREN's participation in NVIDIA's DGX Cloud/Lepton marketplace, including the economics versus its own cloud offering. He also questioned if IREN's own cloud services business would create conflicts when considering colocation deals with potential competitors at Horizon 1.

Answer

Chief Commercial Officer Kent Draper stated that participating in platforms like Lepton is an additional demand driver that expands their reach to new customer segments. He asserted there is no conflict in the colocation market, as potential customers value IREN's proven operational expertise, viewing it as a significant positive. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts added that the Lepton marketplace is still in its early stages and that IREN is in direct discussions with NVIDIA about integration.

Stephen Glagola raised investor concerns regarding the HPC monetization of Sweetwater 1, specifically its suitability for inference compute and the willingness of hyperscalers to partner with a Bitcoin miner, and asked if retaining land ownership has affected deal talks.

Answer

Co-CEO Daniel Roberts asserted that these concerns are outdated, stating the 'world's moved past' them. He pointed to major market announcements validating West Texas for AI and reiterated that IREN has always built multi-purpose data centers, noting they have been operating NVIDIA GPUs alongside miners for a year. He believes these issues have been comprehensively addressed.

Stephen Glagola inquired about the expected ready-for-service date for a hypothetical colocation lease at the 300 MW River Bend site and any updated timelines for scaling the site to one gigawatt.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot projected the 300 MW (216-224 MW IT capacity) at River Bend to be ready by the end of 2026, with switchyard delivery, civil work, and substation construction underway. He added that deep discussions are ongoing with Energy to scale the campus to one gigawatt, with more updates to follow after the first deal announcement.

Stephen Glagola inquired about the expected ready-for-service date for a hypothetical colocation lease at the 300 megawatts gross capacity Riverbend site and asked for updated milestones or timelines for scaling the site to one gigawatt.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot stated the expectation for Riverbend's delivery is the end of 2026, with an estimated IT capacity of 216-224 megawatts from 300 megawatts utility. He mentioned progress on the switchyard and civil work, with substation construction underway. Regarding scaling to one gigawatt, Genoot indicated deep discussions with Energy and plans to share more updates post-announcement of the first deal, noting the site's high-density transmission line capacity and proximity to generation.

Stephen Glagola from JonesTrading asked about the preference between powered shell and turnkey build-to-suit leases for its AI sites and the long-term vision for monetizing its stake in American Bitcoin.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot responded that they are pursuing both models, including a triple-net lease colo build and a build-to-suit project. Regarding the American Bitcoin stake, he described it as a strategic, multi-billion dollar asset that provides synergistic value and could be leveraged for low-cost financing for Hut 8's core infrastructure business, while acknowledging the need to manage its impact on consolidated earnings.

Stephen Glagola of JonesTrading asked about the preferred leasing model for new AI capacity (powered shell vs. turnkey) and the long-term plan for monetizing the American Bitcoin stake.

Answer

CEO Asher Genoot stated they are flexible, pursuing both triple-net leases and build-to-suit projects based on partner needs. He added that given their large power pipeline, they are open to powered shell deals to monetize assets. Regarding the American Bitcoin stake, he acknowledged its significant value and noted they are exploring how it can be leveraged for low-cost financing for Hut 8's core infrastructure business.

Stephen Glagola from JonesTrading inquired how the new requirements of Texas Senate Bill 6 might affect the cost structure and operations of Riot's mining and HPC activities at both its Corsicana and Rockdale sites.

Answer

CEO Jason Les explained that since both sites have existing interconnection agreements (FEAs), he does not expect a need to renegotiate them due to the new legislation. He noted the bill primarily initiates information gathering and will likely impact new agreements more than existing ones. Riot's policy and power teams are actively engaged in the process, particularly regarding potential changes to the 4CP program.

Stephen Glagola asked if the timing of additional capacity for Core42 was dependent on their customer visibility or on seeing the first build-out completed, and also inquired about the expected timeline for the 170MW of capacity planned for 2026.

Answer

CEO Paul Prager clarified it's not a 'delay,' but a focus on perfectly executing the current contract, which will enable better terms for future expansion for all parties. CFO Patrick Fleury explained the 2026 capacity currently has no signed customer and represents roughly three 50MW buildings. He noted a reasonable timeframe from lease signing to operation is 12 months, implying contracts would need to be signed by year-end 2025 to meet that timeline.

Stephen Glagola of Jones Trading questioned the disconnect between MARA's stock performance and its fundamentals, the company's off-grid expansion strategy, and its capital allocation policies. He sought details on public-private energy partnerships, the economic trade-offs of off-grid mining versus grid-connected sites, and the timeline for international growth. Glagola also inquired about the progress of the 2PIK immersion cooling pilot for AI applications, the rationale for the $2 billion ATM facility over debt, and the company's commitment to its 'full hoddle' Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Answer

CEO Frederick Thiel and CFO Salman Khan addressed the questions. Thiel explained that the market currently values MARA's Bitcoin holdings but undervalues its mining operations. He detailed the strategy to partner with global energy firms and governments to monetize underutilized energy, which will lower costs and enable co-location with AI data centers. Thiel also noted progress in developing proprietary 2PIK cooling technology for AI and custom miners through its investment in Oradin to mitigate tariff impacts. CFO Salman Khan elaborated on capital strategy, stating the ATM program provides opportunistic funding for high-return projects focused on Return on Capital Employed. Khan reaffirmed the 'twin turbocharge' strategy of combining low-cost mining with holding Bitcoin, which he believes creates superior long-term shareholder value.

Stephen Glagola asked if the high customer concentration with CoreWeave could be a deterrent for other hyperscalers and inquired about the level of enterprise demand being seen for the Grand Forks site.

Answer

CEO Adam Sullivan framed the CoreWeave execution as a positive proof point, stating that successfully delivering 250 MW in a single year will build confidence with other potential customers, not deter them. He added that the Grand Forks site is attracting interest from all segments, including enterprises, content providers, and hyperscalers.

Stephen Glagola questioned the long-term health of the AI neocloud business model and the security of CoreWeave's contracts, especially given the potential for AI model commoditization.

Answer

CEO Adam Sullivan expressed confidence in the neocloud model, pointing to CoreWeave's ability to secure long-term contracts as a strong indicator of demand for new GPUs. He believes the winners in this space will be those, like CoreWeave, who can sign large contracts with enterprise customers, differentiating them from providers with less stable, hourly-based business models.

Asked about the strategic review process, specifically a potential take-private, and the long-term growth outlook for the representation business after changes to packaging fees and union contracts.

Answer

The company declined to comment on the strategic review. For the representation business, they highlighted its diversification across many areas (sports, music, digital) and noted that revenue from legacy packaged content continues, expressing confidence in the portfolio's strength.