Why Riot Platforms Stock Jumped 13% This Morning
Key Points
Riot Platforms stock jumped as much as 13% on Friday after reporting Q1 2026 earnings.
AMD doubled its contracted capacity at Riot's Rockdale, Texas data center.
Management emphasized Riot's transition from pure Bitcoin miner to diversified data center operator.
- 10 stocks we like better than Riot Platforms ›
Shares of Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) gained as much as 13.3% at 11:30 a.m. ET. The digital infrastructure company reported disappointing Q1 2026 results last night, but the weak financials had a silver lining. Riot also reported a smooth rollout of AI computing capacity for chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), which may lead to a larger and more lucrative computing contract over time.
Image source: Getty Images.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
The good, the bad, and the Bitcoin
Let's start with the basic numbers.
Riot's Q1 sales rose 3.6% year over year, landing at $167.2 million. The company generated 1,473 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) during the quarter, down from 1,530 coins in the year-ago period, and Bitcoin prices have fallen sharply in recent months. At the same time, other revenues jumped from $18.5 million to $55.3 million, driven by strong demand for AI computing capacity. Riot's Bitcoin-mining facilities offer robust electric power supply and advanced system cooling to other number-crunching businesses when Bitcoin prices are down.
On that note, the AMD deal Riot signed in 2025 is now generating revenues. The chip veteran also exercised the option to double its contracted capacity at Riot's Rockdale, Texas, facility from 25 to 50 megawatts. Pending further development of that site, AMD could double its installed capacity again.
The active capacity is only 5 megawatts so far, with expansions scheduled throughout 2026 and early 2027.
Mining Bitcoin is so 2025
Management spent most of the earnings call on the potentially game-changing details of Riot's AMD deal. So far, the company still generates most of its revenues via Bitcoin mining, but the business model is changing rapidly.
"Riot Platforms is now an active data center operator, and for the first time, our top line includes contracted lease revenue from an investment-grade tenant," said CFO Jason Chung. "To be clear, we are not looking to push all of our future growth through a single financing channel." Instead, the company plans to continue mining Bitcoin when it makes sense, while diversifying into other computing services such as the AMD deal.
Should you buy stock in Riot Platforms right now?
Before you buy stock in Riot Platforms, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Riot Platforms wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $504,832!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,223,471!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 971% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 202% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 1, 2026.
Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
