Cipher Mining Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Cipher is executing a strategic pivot from Bitcoin mining to building hyperscale-ready HPC data centers, having signed a third hyperscale campus and reporting 907 MW of operating and contracted capacity with about $11.4 billion of contracted revenue and expected average annualized NOI of roughly $787 million from Oct 2026–Sep 2036.
• Management completed a $2 billion high-yield bond (6.125%) to fully fund the Black Pearl build and added a $200 million corporate revolver, leaving the company with $715 million of unrestricted cash, ~$3.5 billion of project-level restricted cash, and total debt of about $5.2 billion as of March 31, 2026.
• Cipher plans to wind down Bitcoin mining: Odessa remains the sole operating mine (207 MW, ~11.6 EH/s, 346 BTC mined in Q1) with a low-cost PPA, but the company has halted further mining capex and expects mining to be immaterial by 2030 and likely exited by end-2027.

Cipher Mining NASDAQ: CIFR executives highlighted a busy start to 2026 focused on executing its shift from Bitcoin mining toward developing and operating hyperscale-ready high-performance computing (HPC) data centers, as management detailed new lease activity, major financings, construction progress, and first-quarter financial results.

Third hyperscale lease and expanded contracted revenue base

CEO Tyler Page said the company “kicked the year off with a strong first quarter,” pointing to the signing of its third data center campus lease with an investment-grade hyperscale tenant, alongside financings intended to fully fund construction at its Black Pearl project and bolster corporate liquidity.

Page said Cipher now has 907 MW of “operating and contracted capacity,” anchored by three signed data center campus leases. He said the portfolio carries approximately $11.4 billion in contracted revenue across base lease terms of 10-15 years, which he described as creating “durable, high quality, and long-term cash flows.”

Management also outlined its longer-term cash flow expectations from executed leases. Page said the three executed campus leases are expected to generate approximately $787 million of average annualized net operating income from October 2026 to September 2036, and that contracted net operating income is expected to be about $892 million in 2035.

During the Q&A, Page said the newly signed contract “covers the 100 MW,” and does not include expansion options beyond the initial amount.

Financing moves: $2 billion bond for Black Pearl and a new revolver

Page and CFO Gregory Mumford emphasized two financings completed in the quarter: a $2 billion high-yield bond offering tied to Black Pearl and a $200 million revolving credit facility at the corporate level.

Page said the $2 billion bond was priced at a 6.125% coupon, was “significantly oversubscribed,” and “fully” funds the build-out of Black Pearl through delivery. He added the offering included reimbursement of approximately $233 million to Cipher for prior equity contributions to the site.

Mumford described the $200 million revolver as a milestone, saying it is the company’s first corporate-level committed credit facility and is supported by a bank syndicate that includes Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Santander, and SMBC. He said the facility bears interest at SOFR plus 125 to 175 basis points depending on total debt to market capitalization, and was undrawn at quarter end.

As of March 31, 2026, Mumford said total debt principal outstanding was approximately $5.2 billion. He reported unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $715 million, Bitcoin totaling $76 million, and undrawn revolver availability. Restricted cash totaled approximately $3.5 billion across the project entities, which he said is dedicated to construction spending.

In response to a question about potential project-level financing for the new 100 MW contract, Mumford said the company has now raised “3 successful project level bonds” and that he is “very confident” future financings could be completed on similar or better terms, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining flexibility in the capital structure and continuing to use non-recourse financing to isolate construction risk.

Construction updates: Barber Lake, Black Pearl, and Stingray

Page provided detailed construction updates across multiple sites.

• Barber Lake: Page said construction is “well advanced” and tracking toward contractual early access and substantial completion milestones. He reported the building “officially topped out” in April, with an approximately 800,000-square-foot structure erected in 127 days. He added the project has exceeded 1 million cumulative labor hours with zero lost time incidents, design is 100% complete, and about 99% of required equipment has been secured.
• Black Pearl: Page said the decommissioning of Bitcoin mining infrastructure is complete and the site has transitioned to data center development. Phase 1 retrofit work is underway, with approximately 93% of Phase 1 equipment secured and 80% of Phase 2 equipment secured. In response to a question on remaining procurement, Page said outstanding items are largely “commodity-like,” citing examples such as cable, office furniture, and miscellaneous mechanical equipment rather than long lead-time components.
• Stingray (Andrews County, Texas): Page said the 100 MW site is fully approved with a target energization date in Q4 2026. Earthwork and pad preparation are underway and substation electrical work has commenced.

Bitcoin mining at Odessa and longer-term plans to wind down

Page said Odessa remains the company’s sole operating Bitcoin mining site and performed well in the first quarter. He reiterated that Odessa’s fixed-price power purchase agreement (PPA) at approximately $0.028 per kilowatt hour positions Cipher among the lowest-cost Bitcoin producers. He said the company is operating 207 MW, generating approximately 11.6 exahash per second at a fleet efficiency of about 17.2 joules per terahash, and mined approximately 346 Bitcoin during the quarter.

Page also said the mining business remains self-funded and that the company does not anticipate additional capital investment in Bitcoin mining as it prioritizes the HPC platform. In the Q&A, he said Odessa could operate through the end of July 2027 with favorable economics, but that Cipher has also seen hyperscaler interest in the site and could consider repurposing it to HPC, which would require renegotiating the PPA.

Asked whether Cipher could exit Bitcoin mining entirely, Page said he sees Bitcoin “winding down” and that the company does not plan further mining capex. He also said he expects Bitcoin mining to be immaterial to the company’s financials before it is fully wound down, adding that he does not expect Bitcoin to be part of the company’s story by 2030 and suggested “end of 2027 at the latest, if not sooner.” Page said the company has been managing down its Bitcoin inventory and noted it sold calls above market prices during the first quarter to collect premium while potentially selling at higher levels.

Pipeline sites, pricing commentary, and behind-the-meter generation efforts

Management said the company has approximately 3.3 GW of pipeline grid capacity beyond operating and contracted assets. Page identified Reveille (Cotulla, Texas) and Ulysses (southeastern Ohio) as the most advanced pre-contracting opportunities, both with interconnection approvals and active discussions with multiple prospective tenants. He said Reveille’s energization timeline is targeted for Q3 2027 and Ulysses for Q4 2027.

For longer-dated ERCOT pipeline sites—McLennan, Mikeska, and Colchis—Page said the company expects energization in 2028 and believes the sites are positioned for “batch zero” under ERCOT’s new batch process, which he said should be finalized in June. He said having interconnection approvals is a key gating item for accelerating lease negotiations with hyperscalers.

On pricing, Page told analysts it is difficult to generalize, but said sites with near-term availability or already energized capacity can command premium pricing. He added, “I do not see lease rates going down for premium sites with good timelines,” and said Cipher continues to see premium pricing in negotiations, particularly for near-term sites.

Page also discussed “behind the meter” on-site generation as a potential opportunity, saying Cipher’s West Texas sites have access to cheap natural gas. He described the effort as complex—requiring engineering solutions, gas infrastructure, permitting, and financing—but said the company is spending significant time on it and characterized the potential upside as meaningful, while noting it is still early.

CFO Mumford said the quarter reflected a company “in an active investment phase,” deploying capital across multiple large-scale construction projects while contracted revenues are expected to ramp as assets come online.

For the first quarter, Mumford reported revenue of $35 million, down from $60 million in Q4, attributing the decline to the planned wind down of mining operations at Black Pearl, which was fully decommissioned in February. The company posted a GAAP net loss of $114 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $734 million, or $1.85 per diluted share, in the prior quarter.

Mumford said the Q1 loss was driven primarily by lower revenue, a decrease in the fair value of the PPA, and higher interest expense tied to new debt facilities, while the Q4 loss was driven by non-cash and one-time items including embedded derivative revaluation on convertible notes and mining asset write-downs.

About Cipher Mining NASDAQ: CIFR

Cipher Mining Inc is a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company that develops, owns and operates large-scale mining facilities across the United States. The company focuses on deploying advanced ASIC hardware and securing long-term low-cost power contracts to optimize bitcoin production. By strategically locating its sites in regions with abundant energy supply, Cipher Mining seeks to maintain a competitive cost structure and deliver efficient hashrate capacity growth.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Cipher Mining has pursued an integrated approach encompassing site development, equipment procurement and operations management.

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