Applied Digital Corp. (APLD) is having a moment. The data center and cloud computing company just posted second-quarter results that sent its momentum score rocketing to the 99th percentile, meaning it's currently outperforming nearly every other stock in the market. That doesn't happen by accident.
The Numbers Tell the Story
According to market data, Applied Digital's momentum score sits at 98.93, a reflection of price action and volatility that's crushing the competition. The stock is flashing what traders call a "triple-trend" buy signal, showing positive momentum across short, medium, and long-term timeframes. Translation: things are looking good from just about every angle.
The technical breakout follows a strong Q2 earnings report where the company beat analyst estimates on both revenue and profit. Shares jumped 3.69% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the release, adding fuel to an already impressive run. By Thursday's premarket session, the stock was up another 6.33%.
The ChronoScale Surprise
Here's where things get interesting. Buried in the earnings call was an announcement that could reshape the company's future: CEO Wes Cummins revealed plans to spin off the GPU Cloud business into a standalone public company called ChronoScale.
The deal is structured as a merger with EKSO Bionics and is expected to close in the first half of 2026. Applied Digital plans to retain more than 80% ownership of the new entity, which means shareholders get exposure to both businesses without diluting their stake.
Why does this matter? The spinoff separates the capital-intensive data center real estate operations from the high-growth cloud services division. It's essentially financial engineering that could unlock significant value by letting investors choose which story they want to own.
Growth at Scale
Beyond corporate restructuring, the operational results were stunning. Applied Digital reported revenue of $126.6 million for the quarter, up 250% from the same period last year. The growth was driven primarily by its High-Performance Computing hosting business, which serves customers with massive computational needs.
But the real competitive advantage might be in how the company is solving infrastructure problems. Management detailed a strategy to bypass the power bottlenecks that plague the industry. By partnering with Babcock & Wilcox to deploy natural gas steam turbines, Applied Digital can bring power online three to four years faster than competitors stuck waiting for traditional grid connections.
That speed matters when you're trying to capture market share in a rapidly growing sector. The company has three additional sites totaling 900 megawatts in advanced discussions, signaling plenty of runway for continued growth through fiscal 2027.
Market Performance
The stock's recent performance reflects this momentum. Shares of APLD have surged 220.61% over the past six months and 239.38% over the past year. While the stock closed down 2.33% on Tuesday before the after-hours pop, the overall trend remains decidedly upward.
For investors watching the AI infrastructure space, Applied Digital is positioning itself as a credible alternative to larger competitors, with the operational chops and strategic flexibility to compete on execution rather than just balance sheet size.