Applied Digital Corporation vs CleanSpark Inc — how do they compare? Applied Digital Corporation trades at $30.83 (market cap $8.55B), while CleanSpark Inc trades at $12.07 (market cap $2.96B). The key difference: Applied Digital Corporation is far larger — about 2.9× CleanSpark Inc's market cap, and Applied Digital Corporation is trading nearer its 52-week high, CleanSpark Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APLD | CLSK | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $8.55B | $2.96B |
Sector | Technology | Technology |
52-Week High | $49.65 | $23.20 |
52-Week Low | $13.89 | $8.18 |
Enterprise Value | $12.06B | $3.95B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Applied Digital (APLD) trades at $31.50, up 8.4% today, showing strong momentum despite recent volatility. The stock maintains a neutral technical signal with mixed indicators, while fundamentals reveal aggressive growth with $144M revenue in 2025 projected to surge to $611M in 2026. The company secured $36B in contracted AI infrastructure revenue, driving investor optimism, though it operates at a net loss with negative margins. Analyst consensus is unanimously bullish with a $72.36 price target, representing 130% upside potential from current levels.
APLD presents high-growth potential as an AI infrastructure play with massive contracted backlog, but carries significant execution risk amid substantial losses and heavy capital expenditure needs. The stock's valuation appears stretched at 13.37x sales despite negative profitability, while insider selling and institutional position reductions signal caution. Investors face binary outcomes between transformative AI infrastructure success and financial strain from the company's aggressive expansion pace.
CleanSpark (CLSK) trades at $12.23, up 5.52% today but showing bearish technical signals with recent earnings misses. The company reported a Q3 2026 loss of $0.89 per share versus expectations of $0.47, continuing a trend of negative profitability despite securing a significant $6.6 billion AI data center lease. Revenue declined to $679 million in 2026 with a negative profit margin of -146.91%, though analyst consensus remains unanimously bullish with a $24.13 price target.
The stock presents a high-risk opportunity with strong institutional support but significant fundamental challenges. While the AI infrastructure pivot offers long-term potential, near-term execution risks and persistent losses require careful monitoring. The 100% buy rating from analysts suggests confidence in the strategic shift, but investors must weigh the substantial valuation premium against ongoing cash burn and competitive pressures.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Applied Digital provides high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and cloud services. It designs and operates data centers tailored for AI, machine learning, and other intensive digital workloads across North America.
Read more on APLD →CleanSpark is a leading Bitcoin mining company that operates high-density data centers. It focuses on using sustainable energy to power its mining fleet and provides digital infrastructure for the blockchain ecosystem.
Read more on CLSK →