Does Applied Digital Stock Lead the Pack?
Applied Digital (APLD) stock has significantly outperformed its peers over the past year. Yet, a deeper look at this data center and crypto infrastructure player reveals robust revenue growth but persistent unprofitability with deeply negative operating and free cash flow margins. Its premium valuation, despite lower revenue compared to many rivals, suggests potential overextension given its cash burn profile.
- APLD’s -28.0% margin, negative against HUT’s 60.3%, suggests high AI/HPC infrastructure spend versus established mining operational efficiency.
- APLD’s 63.0% revenue growth, outpacing some but lagging others, suggests its AI/HPC contract wins vary versus peers’ mining expansion scale.
- APLD’s 538.6% gain, with a -93.6 PE, shows investor optimism for its AI data center strategy, valuing future growth over current earnings.
Here’s how Applied Digital stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| APLD | MARA | RIOT | CLSK | CORZ | HUT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 11.5 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 6.5 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| PE Ratio | -93.6 | 4.2 | 37.1 | 10.3 | -8.3 | 31.7 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 63.0% | 53.5% | 103.6% | 102.2% | -40.1% | 88.7% |
| LTM Operating Margin | -28.0% | -68.0% | -50.8% | -14.0% | -47.5% | 60.3% |
| LTM FCF Margin | -637.9% | -144.0% | -256.0% | -133.6% | -106.0% | -112.5% |
| 12M Market Return | 538.6% | -42.5% | 53.3% | 28.8% | 76.8% | 212.6% |
For more details on Applied Digital, read Buy or Sell APLD Stock. Below we compare APLD’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APLD | 63.0% | 5.5% | 146.6% | 547.9% | |
| MARA | 53.5% | – | 69.4% | 229.1% | -26.0% |
| RIOT | 103.6% | – | 34.2% | 8.3% | 21.5% |
| CLSK | 102.2% | 102.2% | 125.0% | 28.0% | |
| CORZ | -40.1% | – | 1.6% | -21.5% | 17.6% |
| HUT | 88.7% | – | 422.0% | 9.5% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APLD | -28.0% | -28.0% | -11.0% | -77.5% | |
| MARA | -68.0% | – | -71.2% | -28.5% | -99.0% |
| RIOT | -50.8% | – | -88.0% | -90.9% | -31.9% |
| CLSK | -14.0% | -14.0% | -15.6% | -73.2% | |
| CORZ | -47.5% | – | -2.4% | 3.1% | -38.2% |
| HUT | 60.3% | – | 69.1% | -2.9% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APLD | -93.6 | -21.4 | -5.8 | -14.2 | |
| MARA | 4.2 | – | 4.8 | 11.8 | -3.8 |
| RIOT | 37.1 | – | 32.0 | -36.1 | -4.2 |
| CLSK | 10.3 | 7.8 | -13.7 | -8.2 | |
| CORZ | -8.3 | – | -2.8 | -21.7 | � |
| HUT | 31.7 | – | 12.6 | -18.0 |
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