New York, February 23, 2026, 06:21 (EST) — Premarket
- Applied Digital dropped about 1% before the open, adding to Friday’s sharp losses.
- Securing debt for AI data centers is turning into a tougher ask, and investors are taking note.
- The Cloud spin-out remains on hold for new equity financing, a recent filing shows.
Applied Digital Corporation shares slipped another 1% to $28.74 before the bell on Monday, adding to losses after the stock fell below $30 late last week. The data-center developer skidded 7.9% on Friday, with trading volume spiking as the stock logged its eighth straight drop.
Investors are on edge about any signs of strain in funding for AI data-center growth, particularly as costs escalate. On Friday, Business Insider said Blue Owl Capital has struggled to line up debt for a $4 billion data-center build in Pennsylvania tied to CoreWeave. BMO Capital Markets analyst Brennan Hawken tagged the debt difficulties as “a bit of a red flag.” Business Insider
Applied Digital faces a financing snag. In a Feb. 17 filing, the company outlined plans to spin off its cloud division to Ekso Bionics, picking up 138.2 million new Ekso shares in exchange. That would hand Applied Digital roughly 97% of the merged entity’s stock prior to any related agreements. One hitch: the whole deal is contingent on a PIPE—private investment in public equity—getting done simultaneously.
The filing points to a potential close in the second calendar quarter of 2026, but emphasizes there’s no guarantee the business combination will close at all. Under the proposed governance setup, Applied Digital would be able to choose four out of seven board seats if it holds the majority of voting shares.
Applied Digital runs massive data centers built for AI workloads and other heavy-duty computing. CEO Wes Cummins points to North Dakota’s “cool climate and abundant energy” when pitching to big customers. The company recently signed leases with two hyperscalers on different North Dakota campuses, news that helped highlight its regional strategy. Reuters
Fast hands have made the stock a favorite for gauging appetite for riskier AI infrastructure bets. Trouble in private credit? The shares react in a flash, news or no news from the company itself.
Bulls have something to watch: if the PIPE grows larger, or turns out more dilutive than expected, that’s trouble. Delays nudging the deal into the back half of the year, or missing deal conditions, could drag, too. Plus, with AI infrastructure lending tightening up, there’s a chance the company leans harder on equity, putting extra weight on the stock.
