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How to Play APLD Stock After a 27% Decline Following Q3 Results?
APLDApplied Digital (APLD) ZACKS·2025-04-24 16:35

Core Viewpoint - Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) has experienced a significant decline in its stock price following disappointing third-quarter fiscal 2025 results, raising concerns about its near-term performance while maintaining a long-term growth potential in high-performance computing [1][2][17]. Financial Performance - APLD reported a loss of 16 cents per share, which was worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 11 cents, and a revenue of 52.9million,missingtheestimateby16.7552.9 million, missing the estimate by 16.75% [1][2]. - The company had earnings of 52 cents per share in the same quarter last year, indicating a substantial year-over-year decline [2]. Revenue and Business Segments - The revenue miss was primarily due to a 35.7% sequential decline in the Cloud Services business, attributed to technical challenges in transitioning to a multi-tenant on-demand model [6]. - APLD has invested nearly 1 billion in assets over the past year, focusing on building infrastructure for its High-Performance Computing (HPC) Data Center Hosting business [7]. Future Growth Potential - APLD is constructing three new buildings expected to increase its data center hosting capacity by 700 megawatts by 2027, with the first building, a 400 megawatt campus, anticipated to be operational by 2025 [8]. - The global high-performance computing market is projected to grow from 48.51billionin2022to48.51 billion in 2022 to 87.31 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.5%, indicating a favorable environment for APLD's growth [13]. Strategic Moves - The company is planning to sell its Cloud Service business to focus on its HPC segment, which is expected to generate significant funds for further investment in data centers [14]. - APLD's partnerships with major companies like NVIDIA, which holds a significant stake in APLD, could provide additional support for its growth strategy [16]. Investment Outlook - Despite the current stock price decline, APLD is viewed as a speculative investment with potential for significant rewards in the HPC hosting sector, appealing to investors with a high risk tolerance [15]. - The recommendation is to hold APLD stock for now, as the company may recover from its current challenges, particularly in the Cloud Service business [17].