Riot Platforms Reports Q1 2026 Earnings Driven by Data Center Expansion

Riot Platforms posted $167.2 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2026, with its newly launched data center business contributing $33.2 million.

The data center revenue helped offset a decline in Riot’s core Bitcoin mining business, which fell to $111.9 million from $142.9 million in Q1 2025, driven by lower average Bitcoin prices and a 24% rise in the global network hash rate. Riot produced 1,473 Bitcoin during the quarter, down from 1,530 a year earlier, while the average cost to mine one coin increased to $44,629 from $43,808.

“The first quarter of 2026 marks a definitive inflection point for Riot, as we officially transitioned into an active, revenue-generating data center operator,” CEO Jason Les said, adding that AMD’s decision to double its contracted capacity to 50 megawatts during the quarter validated the company's ability to execute at institutional scale.

AMD had initially contracted 25 megawatts before exercising an option to expand, bringing total contracted capacity to 50 megawatts of critical IT infrastructure.

Riot ended the quarter holding 15,679 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $1.1 billion based on a March 31 price of $68,222, with 5,802 coins held as collateral. The company maintained $282.5 million in cash, of which $76.9 million is restricted. Riot also said it sold more than $250 million worth of Bitcoin during the quarter.

Meanwhile, engineering revenue, which covers infrastructure services, rose to $22.2 million from $13.9 million year-over-year, adding another layer of diversification to the company's revenue mix.

Riot's stock closed up 7.31% at $18.50 on Friday, surging on the earnings release. The stock slipped 0.57% in after-hours trading to $18.40.

Bitcoin miners are increasingly shifting toward AI infrastructure as tightening mining margins push the industry to seek more stable revenue streams. Core Scientific is converting its Pecos, Texas site into a 1.5-gigawatt AI-focused data center campus, repurposing 300 megawatts of Bitcoin mining capacity and acquiring over 200 acres of land to support the buildout.

Among other miners, MARA Holdings has acquired a majority stake in French AI infrastructure firm Exaion, while Hive, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren are also converting mining facilities into data centers.