“A rising tide lifts all boats” is a popular piece of market jargon, but you can see why it sticks around in circles like the AI gold rush. Anyone and everyone is trying to get into the data center game today, including former Bitcoin miners who are strategizing for the next big thing. In particular, three companies stand out with this theme: Hut 8 Corp. NASDAQ: HUTTeraWulf Inc. NASDAQ: WULFand Core Scientific Inc. NASDAQ: CORZ. Each has seen their company’s stock rise more than 100% year-to-date (YTD), but are these gains based on actual future cash flows or hype from an extreme rally?
Pivoting From Bitcoin Miner to Data Center Landlord
All three companies share certain characteristics that appeal to AI hyperscalers. Like the former Bitcoin miners, these companies already have large buildings with electricity connected to the grid. To enter the AI race, these companies have prepared these areas with data center shells that can support high-density GPU racks. Once the transformation is complete, these companies are looking for tenants who bring their own racks and build the AI cloud infrastructure.
What makes the landlord comparison work is the type of deals these companies sign with tenants. The agreements are usually triple-net and take-or-pay, meaning that tenants are responsible for taxes, insurance, and maintenance, and pay 100% of their bill whether they use all the energy or not. The shift from Bitcoin mining to data center ownership is changing the way these companies make money. Instead of relying on variable, asset-linked income like mining, these companies can now boast reliable, recurring income through ten-year rental contracts. It was also a relatively easy transition, as Bitcoin mining and data center operations require many of the same skills and inputs, such as a continuous power supply, a well-established foundation, and experience using dense computer labs.
3 Stocks Capitalizing on Data Center Energy Demand
Hut 8, TeraWulf, and Core Scientific haven’t jumped on the coattails of the AI convention; they are active participants with REIT-style contracts. But each is seen at different parties and times, and the Bitcoin overhang remains. A deep dive into the numbers is required before putting any money into these names.
Hut 8 Corp: High Value Contracts But Revenue Recovery Still Far Away
Hut 8 Today
- 52 week interval
- $15.26
▼
$140.80
- Target Value
- $113.95
Hut 8 has gotten some of the biggest headlines this year for its data center construction, including a $4.25 billion senior secured note offering for its Beacon Point property in Texas. The Beacon Point data center is expected to provide up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power, with another 1,000 MW in the River Bend area of Louisiana. In Q1 2026, Hut 8 announced that the Beacon Point property received a 15-year triple-net lease valued at $9.8 billion, which could exceed $25 billion for the escalator. The problem with this stock is time. Neither River Bend nor Beacon Point is expected to operate until 2027, and the company’s 16,000 Bitcoin token hoard is becoming an albatross. Q1 2026 earnings revealed a big miss in earnings per share (EPS); the company lost $1.98 per share despite beating revenue by 40%. Bitcoin losses are weighing on the balance sheet, and the stock is currently trading at 45 times sales.
Fixed, secure income is coming, but the stock is priced to perform well. Both data centers are still under construction, and BTC’s decline is driving losses. The stock is up more than 150% YTD, and it may be time to take some profits. A bearish crossover in the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) index has formed a cloud over the rally, which is more prominent since the bullish crossover announced the largest increase in April.
TeraWulf: Strong Technology, Weak Fundamentals, and High Short Interest
TeraWulf Today
- 52 week interval
- $3.39
▼
$29.84
- Target Value
- $31.86
TeraWulf has an aggressive pipeline, and there’s evidence that its high-performance computing (HPC) revolution is paying off. The company reported $21 million in HPC leasing revenue in Q1 2026, which was up more than 100% from Q4 2025. Some of its contracted tenants include Core42 and Google-backed Fluidstack, giving the stock a compelling narrative during the build. But TeraWulf has been issuing tons of equity to fund its build, including an $800 million stock offering in April. Shareholder dilution may be why the stock carried 26% short interest at the end of May.
The company only earned $34 million in revenue in Q1, down 1.1% year-over-year (YOY). Like Hut 8, data center rent remains a source of future income, and the stock trades at 82 times sales. Despite the weak fundamentals, the stock chart is attractive. There is strong price support at the 50-day moving average, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is in bullish territory without reaching an overbought condition. Traders seem to think the company can execute its plan flawlessly, but with shares up more than 140% YTD, there’s a lot that can go wrong if something goes wrong.
Core Scientific: The Cheapest Estimating and Renting Place You’ve Already Collected
Core Scientific Today
- 52 week interval
- $10.93
▼
$30.46
- Target Value
- $29.49
Unlike Hut 8 and TeraWulf, Core Scientific is already raising rent from a key AI player in CoreWeave Inc. NASDAQ: CRWV. The company is providing CoreWeave with 243 MW of computing capacity starting in Q1 2026, with the remaining 347 MW scheduled to come online in early 2027. The overall deal is valued at more than $10 billion, and Core Scientific has raised the project’s total funding target to 80-85% from 75-80%. CORZ shares are also very cheap from a valuation perspective at 25 times sales. Q1 2026 also saw the company post a surprising EPS loss due to a $266 million mining impairment charge, but Bitcoin mining is expected to end completely by the end of 2026.
Core Scientific may have clean fundamentals, but the chart is pretty good. The bearish MACD cross at the beginning of this month points to a fading momentum, and the price is struggling to surpass the June 2 high of $29.05. However, CORZ has very strong fundamentals, a small YTD profit (90%), and the only active site. If one of these three stocks has upside that isn’t baked into it right now, it’s this one.
Before you consider Hut 8, you’ll want to hear this.
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