Applied Digital: Insiders Buy as Interest Bills Hit $77M
CEO Wes Cummins and President Jason Zhang bought $6.7M of Applied Digital stock on October 16 while quarterly interest expense reached $77.4M. The insider purchases signal confidence in the company's
APLD: $6.7M Insider Buy Meets $77M Quarterly Interest Bill
NEW YORK, November 2 —
When Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) CEO Wes Cummins and President Jason Zhang spent $6.66 million on their own stock at $18, $19 on October 16, they bet the capital structure could absorb the growth. Quarterly interest expense has reached $77.4 million from $8 million a year earlier, as analysts revised fiscal 2028 EPS from a projected profit to a projected loss.
- Fiscal Q1 revenue rose 322% to $341.9 million; over half was one-time fit-out work, not recurring hosting fees.
- Total debt stands at $6.48 billion; shares trade at $17.91, down 65% from the May 2026 high.
- B. Riley cut its price target to $51 from $75 on October 30 while keeping a Buy rating.
What Two Insiders Know
On October 16, CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares at $18.04 and President Jason Zhang purchased 300,000 at $18.86, per Form 4 filings. Net insider activity in the period runs $6.66 million in purchases against $3.02 million in sales, positive even after director Richard Nottenburg's two offloads. Applied Digital pivoted from crypto infrastructure to AI and HPC data center hosting in North America when it renamed itself from Applied Blockchain in November 2022. The company has beaten EPS consensus four consecutive quarters by margins between 96% and 143%, a track record the insiders appear to believe the market has underpriced.
Revenue Without Recurrence
The 322% revenue surge has a catch: more than half of fiscal Q1's $341.9 million came from fit-out work, one-time tenant build-outs that carry thinner margins than recurring hosting fees, per the company's October 7 8-K filing. Interest expense ran $77.4 million for the quarter, up from $8 million a year ago, as the company services $6.48 billion in debt against $2.95 billion in cash. Analysts revised FY2028 EPS from a projected small profit to a projected net loss within three months, even as revenue estimates kept rising. Growth is real; servicing it is not.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| APLD | $5.4B | n/a | -45.8% |
| CRWV | $30.3B | n/a | -56.6% |
| NBIS | $39.1B | n/a | +27.9% |
| IREN | $9.7B | n/a | -64.6% |
| NVTS | $2.2B | n/a | -30.8% |
| BBAI | $1.3B | n/a | -58.7% |
When the $36 Billion Starts Paying
The bull case: $36 billion in signed leases with CoreWeave and two unnamed hyperscalers converting from fit-out work into recurring hosting fees. B. Riley's $51 target, cut from $75 on October 30, implies roughly 185% upside from $17.91. The number to watch: fit-out revenue's share in coming quarters; a declining share, with hosting fees covering more of the interest load, flips the FY2028 loss estimate back toward profit. With 23.9% of the float short, the market and Applied Digital's two most senior insiders are running opposite trades. Track the picture on the Applied Digital stock page. See the full DCF model and price target →
Current fundamentals, valuation and filing history for Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) are tracked on its Basis Report page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Did APLD insiders buy stock recently?
Yes. CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares at $18.04 and President Jason Zhang purchased 300,000 shares at $18.86 on October 16. Net insider activity totaled $6.66 million in purchases against $3.02 million in sales.
What is APLD's quarterly interest expense?
Applied Digital reported quarterly interest expense of $77.4 million in fiscal Q1, a tenfold increase from $8 million a year earlier. This surge reflects the company's $6.48 billion in debt accumulated to fund data center expansion.
Why did APLD stock fall from May highs?
APLD shares fell 65% from the May 2026 high to $17.91 as analysts revised FY2028 EPS estimates from projected profit to projected net loss. B. Riley cut its price target to $51 from $75 on October 30 while keeping a Buy rating.
How fast is Applied Digital's revenue growing?
Fiscal Q1 revenue rose 322% year-over-year to $341.9 million. However, more than half of this growth came from one-time fit-out work rather than recurring monthly hosting fees, limiting near-term margin contribution to interest service.
What leases does Applied Digital have?
The company has $36 billion in signed leases with CoreWeave and two unnamed hyperscalers. As these fit-out contracts convert to recurring hosting fees in coming quarters, the company could cover more of its $77.4M quarterly interest load from recurring revenue.
Applied Digital's CEO and president spent $6.66 million buying their own stock at $18–19 on October 16 — even as quarterly interest expense has surged to $77.4 million, more than nine times what it was a year ago, and analysts have just revised fiscal 2028 from a projected small profit to a projected loss.