Applied Digital의 1기가와트 규모 핀란드 프로젝트가 64억 달러 규모의 현실적 점검을 받고 있다고 ad-hoc-news.de가 보도했다.

Artificial intelligence may run on silicon, but it is built on electricity, land, and capital. Applied Digital is currently testing all three to their limits. The data center operator is pushing forward on two continents, while its balance sheet and share price tell a more sobering story than its expansion headlines suggest.

**North Dakota Buildout Hits a Milestone**

At its Polaris Forge 1 campus in Ellendale, North Dakota, the company has brought the second phase of Building 2 online. Three data halls now contribute 75 MW, lifting the campus's operational critical IT load to 250 MW. Once construction is complete, the fully leased site is contractually obligated to deliver 400 MW.

This domestic progress is paired with a bolder move abroad. In Finland, Applied Digital has secured access to as much as 1 GW of potential power capacity for a planned AI campus, with first electricity availability anticipated from 2028. Talks with hyperscale customers about the site are already underway.

**The Numbers Behind the Expansion**

Scaling at this pace leaves deep marks on the income statement. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which closed on August 31, 2026, Applied Digital reported revenue of $341.9 million, a 322 percent increase from the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $64.4 million.

The same quarter, however, produced a net loss of $221.0 million attributable to common shareholders, which highlights the cost of building modern data centers at high speed. The gap between that GAAP net loss and an adjusted net loss of just $4.1 million raises further questions about how much of the loss stems from the core business and how much from one-time items.

The funding structure behind the buildout is equally striking. Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted funds of $3.7 billion stand against $6.4 billion in liabilities, a mismatch that puts the company's financing strategy squarely in the spotlight.

**Wall Street Takes a Harder Line**

Market sentiment has shifted accordingly. Analysts still credit the company with considerable upside, but their enthusiasm is no longer unbridled. The re-rating reflects a broader realization: expanding capacity at gigawatt scale is not a self-propelling endeavor but a capital-intensive grind.

The stock's trajectory mirrors that recalibration. Applied Digital closed Friday at €21.16, 51 percent below its 52-week high of €43.48. The market is no longer simply pricing in the promise of future computing capacity. It is demanding proof that the enormous investment can be converted into durable cash flows.

**Local Pushback Adds a New Variable**

Data centers do not exist in a vacuum. They claim land, tie up grid capacity, and consume scarce resources, and their physical footprint is increasingly drawing local scrutiny.

On October 1, the organization WORC reported resistance to a planned data center in Harwood, North Dakota, where residents raised concerns about public participation and the impact on the local community. Similar objections have surfaced elsewhere regarding transparency and potential effects on electricity and water supply, emissions, and traffic.

This grassroots opposition signals growing resistance to unchecked data center expansion. When municipalities and residents demand transparency, delays can quickly disrupt tightly scheduled timelines. For developers of digital infrastructure, social acceptance is becoming as critical as a secured power supply.

**What Shareholders Will Weigh on November 4**

Applied Digital remains a archetypal high-risk infrastructure bet. Investors are wagering that the world's demand for AI computing power will be large enough to offset mounting debt and local resistance.

Whether that equation works will be decided not by visionary announcements but on construction sites and in the balance sheets of the coming years. Shareholders will have their next formal opportunity to weigh strategic priorities and the financing of upcoming expansion stages at the annual meeting scheduled for November 4, 2026.